Logbook Submission Format
The choice of judging format for the event rests with the Event Partner. Detailed information about judging should be found on the event page on RobotEvents. All teams at the event must submit their Logbooks in the same format, regardless of their logbook’s native format. A team with a physical Competition Logbook may need to upload a link to a digital copy via RobotEvents, or conversely, a team with a digital Competition Logbook may be asked to print a copy prior to the event to submit at the event.
Irrespective of whether the Logbook is submitted digitally or in person (physical Logbook), teams are responsible for their Logbooks formatting and submission, and must ensure all materials are properly organized—including numbering and/or dating pages.
If the Competition Logbook is written in a language that is not common for the region and Judges fluent in the original language are not available, it is the team’s responsibility to provide the original language version along with a translated copy. This should be brought to the Event Partner’s attention as early as possible so they can inform the Judge Advisor.
Different teams may submit Logbooks with varying levels of sophistication and beautification. For example, some teams may have brief sketches in pen, others may have colorized illustrations or CAD/electronic drawings. Judges should be cognizant of evaluating the content of Logbooks, not the level of beautification. It is possible for many different types of Logbook and different communication styles to present relevant content.
Teams may utilize different methods for organizing their Competition Logbooks. For example, some Logbooks may be organized purely chronologically, while others may be organized into subsections based on topic. Depending on the submission format, this may complicate the efforts of Judges to evaluate Logbooks. Judges should make every effort to evaluate the content of the Logbook based on the Competition Logbook Rubric, and not be unduly influenced by the organization methodology chosen by the team, particularly if the submission is not in the native format of the Logbook.
Note: The confidentiality principle of judging also applies to Competition Logbooks. Whether Logbooks are shared physically or digitally, Judges should not photograph, share, or duplicate information found in Competition Logbooks or otherwise breach this principle.
Competition Logbook Handling
Physical Competition Logbooks are typically collected at team check-in at an event and delivered to the Judge Advisor. Digital Competition Logbook links are required to be submitted via RobotEvents prior to the event date.
It is not recommended for Judges to collate Competition Logbooks and rubrics by slipping the rubrics into the Logbook. These can be easily forgotten and unintentionally returned to teams which would violate the confidentiality principle of judging.
Competition Logbooks collected at an event should be returned directly to teams in their pit area or via some other controlled process; it is not recommended that Logbooks be left unattended for teams to pick up. This should be done prior to Finals Matches, as some teams may decide to leave prior to the completion of the event.
STEP 1 – SORTING THE COMPETITION LOGBOOKS
It is recommended that the same Judges which interview a set of teams also evaluate those teams’ Competition Logbooks. The Competition Logbooks and Team Interview should reflect one another; having the same judges evaluate both will help give judges a better understanding of the team and may prove insightful.
Judges perform a quick scan of all the Competition Logbooks and divide them into two categories: Developing and Fully Developed. If it is unclear whether a Logbook should be categorized as Developing or Fully Developed, either another Judge can help make that determination, or the Logbook should be given the benefit of the doubt and categorized as Fully Developed.
Developing Competition Logbooks contain little detail. To save Judges’ time, the Competition Logbook Rubric will not be completed for those teams. However, all Competition Logbooks should still be retained until the end of judging deliberations.
Fully Developed Competition Logbooks contain great detail, and will include detailed drawings, tests and test results, and solutions to problems the team encountered. Logbook attributes for Fully Developed Competition Logbooks may be scored as Emerging, Proficient, and Expert on the Competition Logbook Rubric. Only Fully Developed Competition Logbooks should be considered for any awards requiring a Competition Logbook. The absolute minimum for a Competition Logbook to be considered Fully Developed would be a score of two or higher (Proficient or Expert) in Four criteria on the Competition Logbook rubric.
STEP 2 – COMPLETING THE COMPETITION LOGBOOK RUBRIC
Important: The Competition Logbook Rubric is a tool for initial team Logbook evaluations through quantitative comparison. The final determination of all award candidates and winners is done through further qualitative deliberation among Judges based on award descriptions and criteria. As such, a team earning a particular or overall score on a rubric is not an automatic disqualification or threshold for any judged award.
Fully Developed Logbooks are scored and ranked using the Competition Logbook Rubric. They may be initially ranked according to their rubric scores, then top Logbooks can be re-ranked according to further qualitative evaluation by Judges.
Judges should review the Logbooks to identify the proficiency level of the student entries for each of the Competition Logbook Rubric criteria. There will likely not be enough time to do a page-by-page reading of every Logbook.
Judges should focus on the entries associated with the Rubric criteria and proficiency level to determine the scores for each Fully Developed Logbook. It is recommended that at least two Judges score each Fully Developed Logbook, and the first few Logbook scores be discussed so that Judges can “calibrate” scores to be consistent across the event. Having additional Judges score Logbooks will provide even better calibration. Further Logbook evaluations and Interviews may be needed to support the final rankings of the Logbooks and Interviews during deliberation.
Continue to the next section, Guide to Judging Part 8: Team Interviews