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EABA B. F. Skinner Foundation Student Research Award

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  31st March 2026

The B. F. Skinner Foundation sponsors this award for EABA student research. Two awards of $500 each will be granted annually, one recognising a basic research proposal and the other one recognising an applied research proposal. Awards will be presented at the European Association of Behaviour Analysis (EABA) conference or the EABA summer school..

PURPOSE OF THE AWARD

  • To support and encourage research efforts in behaviour analysis among students in Europe
  • To promote behaviour analytic science
  • To boost the overall quality of academic research in behaviour analysis
  • To provide recognition for students conducting behaviour analytic research.

CRITERIA

  1. Applicants must be attending an undergraduate or graduate-level program in Europe. Applications will be evaluated without respect to the applicant´s level of education.
  2. Applicants must be members of EABA.
  3. The proposal must be for a student-driven research-based empirical project, thesis or dissertation approved by their department of study.
  4. Applicants do not have to be in a behaviour-analytic graduate program, but the research must be behaviour-analytic in nature. Consideration will be given to proposals that describe research with a focus on observable and measurable behaviour (or the products thereof) as the dependent variable and the manipulation of well-defined environmental events as independent variables. Both applied and basic research award proposals are encouraged. Applied research proposals should correspond to the guidelines suggested by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968, 1987). Basic research proposals should correspond to the criteria set forth by Sidman (1960/1988). Those submitting proposals are encouraged to look to the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis or the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior for examples of behaviour analytic research.  

APPLICATION PACKAGE

Applicants must submit a complete application package that includes all of the materials listed below. All documents must be submitted in accordance with the guidelines specified for each component. Incomplete submissions or applications that do not meet the stated requirements will not be considered for review.

  1. Letter of Support: A letter of support from a supervising faculty should attest to the fact that the research is expanding or replicating knowledge in the field of behaviour analysis.
  2. Cover Letter (1 page): This should include the student's contact information, current institution, their program of study, whether the proposal is submitted under the basic or applied research category, and a detailed description of what they intend to do with the award. There are very few limits to what the award can be used for, but preference will be given to direct research-related use, such as equipment, software, paying data collectors, purchasing reinforcers for participants, etc. For equipment or software, applicants should explain how it will be used in the research project. EABA does not fund conference attendance for presentation of the award.
  3. Research Proposal (maximum 5 pages, plus up to 2 pages for references): Applicants must submit a research proposal with a clear and informative title, organized into the sections outlined below.
  4. Format: The cover letter and the research proposal must be formatted in Arial, 12-point font, with 1.15 line spacing and margins set to 2.5 cm.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 Scientific or Applied Relevance (maximum 1 page): 

The purpose of this section is for applicants to clearly define the phenomenon to be studied in basic or applied contexts and to explain the relevance of the proposed project. Applicants should address the questions What theoretical, empirical, or applied problem does it aim to address or clarify? And why is this project important for the field?

This section will be evaluated based on the clarity of the problem definition, the significance of the project for basic or applied behavior analysis, and the potential contribution of the proposed work.

Conceptual and Empirical Framework (maximum 1 page)

This section should describe the conceptual framework, grounded in principles of behavior analysis and prior empirical evidence, that guides the proposed project. Applied research proposals should address the guidelines proposed by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968, 1987), whereas basic research proposals should address the criteria outlined by Sidman (1969/1988).

This section will be evaluated based on the clarity and coherence of the conceptual framework, its grounding in relevant empirical evidence, its alignment with the proposed objectives and methods, and its consistency with the theoretical standards required for basic or applied research.

Research Questions, Objectives and Hypothesis (maximum half a page):

This section should clearly state the main research question(s), followed by a set of well-defined objectives and a general hypothesis.

This section will be evaluated based on the clarity of the research question(s), the logical derivation and feasibility of the proposed objectives, and the coherence of the general hypothesis.

Method (maximum one and a half pages):

This section should describe the methodological components of the project and be organized into the following subsections: participants or subjects, materials, procedure, and data analysis plan. Applicants are expected to clearly specify the relevant groups or conditions, variables, experimental design, and procedures, as well as the strategy that will be used to analyze data or evaluate outcomes.

This section will be evaluated based on whether the proposed design, procedures, and data analysis plan are adequate for addressing the project aims and feasible within the proposed scope.

Expected Results and Interpretation (maximum half a page):

This section should describe the expected outcomes of the project and explain how different possible results would be interpreted. Applicants should indicate which patterns of results would be consistent with the proposed objectives or hypothesis, as well as how alternative outcomes would be interpreted and what they would imply for theory, research, or practice.

This section will be evaluated based on the analytic soundness of the proposed interpretations and the applicant’s ability to reason about different possible outcomes and their implications for theory, research, or practice.

Work Plan (maximum half a page):

This section should outline a realistic plan for completing the proposed project. Applicants should briefly describe the main phases of the work and their approximate timing.

This section will be evaluated based on whether the proposed work plan is realistic and feasible given the scope of the project, the proposed methods, and the applicant’s level of training. 

Reference list

This section should include only the references cited in the proposal. References should be limited to a maximum of 15 entries and selected based on their relevance and direct contribution to the conceptual framework, objectives, and methodological decisions of the project. 

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

  1. The materials including the cover letter and the research proposal must be sent as an MS Word email attachment to the EABA secretary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
  2. The faculty letter of support should also be sent to the EABA secretary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) from the supporting faculty member’s email address.

CONDITIONS OF AWARD

Recipients of the EABA B.F. Skinner Award agree to write a brief summary of their research and findings which may be posted on the EABA website. Recipients are also expected to acknowledge the award if the research is published.

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS

2016: Anastasia Salma (Greece) and Ruth Kopperud (Norway)

2018: Nicole Pfaller-Sadovsky (N.Ireland)

2023: Sima Mart (Turkey) and Marlon Palomino (Spain)

2024: Erna Dögg Pálsdóttir (Iceland) and Sergio Ramos (Spain)

2025: María Fernández-Shaw (Spain) and Minos Ntinas (Greece)

REFERENCES

Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91-97. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1987.20-313

Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1987). Some still-current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20(4), 313-327. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1987.20-313

Sidman, M. (1960/1988). Tactics of scientific research: Evaluating experimental data in psychology. New York, NY: Basic Books. Boston, MA: Authors Cooperative (reprinted).