ESRA Early Career Researcher Award 2027

The European Survey Research Association (ESRA) invites early career researchers to submit a paper for consideration for the 2027 ESRA Early Career Researcher Award. The author(s) of the winning paper will be announced at the ESRA Conference in July 2027 and will receive a cash prize of €500.

Criteria

The competition aims to recognize excellence in survey research by scholars at an early stage of their careers. Papers are welcome in any field broadly related to survey research, including:

theoretical issues in survey methodology;
the use of statistical techniques in the design, adjustment, or analysis of survey data; and
innovative empirical applications of survey methodology.

Papers should be fewer than 7,000 words, excluding the title page, abstract, tables, references, and appendices. Submissions must be complete papers and based on abstracts accepted by the organisers for presentation at the 2027 ESRA Conference.

Eligibility

The ESRA Early Career Researcher Award is open to researchers who meet at least one of the following criteria:

Recent PhD completion: The researcher completed their doctorate on or after 1^st July 2025. For the purpose of this criterion, the relevant date is the official date on which the doctorate was awarded.
Early career in survey research: The researcher began their professional career in survey research on or after 1^st July 2022, regardless of when they completed their doctorate.
Current university students: The researcher is currently registered as a university student at the time of paper submission for the award.

Eligibility is assessed at the time of the paper submission deadline (30^th April 2027).

A paper is eligible only if it is based on an abstract that has been accepted for presentation at the 2027 ESRA Conference and is presented at the conference.

Co-authorship

Papers may have one or more authors. A paper is eligible if:

all authors meet at least one of the eligibility criteria above; or
the first author meets at least one of the eligibility criteria above and any additional author(s) are members of the first author’s PhD supervisory team.

Review Committee

The winning paper will be selected by a review committee comprising ESRA Board members and external experts in survey research. Papers will be evaluated based on the quality of the research design, originality, significance, organisation, and presentation. The committee will also consider whether the paper is based on previously unpublished research and whether it is authored by a single early career researcher or by a team.

Paper Submission for the 2027 Competition

When submitting your abstract, please indicate that you wish to be considered for the ESRA Early Career Researcher Award, provided that you meet the eligibility criteria. Once your abstract has been accepted, we will contact you and ask you to upload your paper no later than 30^th April 2027.

Please note that full paper submissions must include both a blinded and an unblinded version. The blinded version should include the title and abstract but must not contain any identifying information about the author(s), acknowledgements, or other identifying details.

If a paper includes co-authors (e.g., PhD supervisors) a separate document of no more than one page must be provided detailing the role and contribution of each author.