Abstract management
Encyclopedia
Abstract management is the process of accepting and preparing abstracts
for presentation at an academic conference
. The process consists of either invited or proffered submissions of the abstract or summary of work. The abstract typically states the hypothesis, tools used in research or investigation, data collected, and a summary or interpretation of the data.
The abstracts usually undergo peer review
after which they are accepted or rejected by the conference chair or committee
and then allocated to conference sessions. The abstracts may be presented as an oral talk or as an illustrated poster
during the event. Abstracts are often published before or after the event as conference proceedings
or in academic journal
s or online. In some cases submission of a full paper may be required before final acceptance is given. In some fields (e.g., computer science), most mainstream conferences and workshops ask for the submission of full papers (rather than just abstracts) and academic program committees peer review the full paper to a standard comparable to journal publication before accepting a paper for presentation at the conference and publishing it in an edited proceedings series.
The abstract management process is closely tied to the need to provide continuing education to professionals, especially Continuing Medical Education
or CME. Many annual meetings hosted by specialty societies provide educational credit hours so that attendees may keep current in the field and maintain their professional certifications.
Abstract submission involves the authors in preparing their abstracts and sending them to the conference organisers through an online form, and is a relatively straightforward process. The abstracts are either uploaded as documents (typically Microsoft Word
, PDF or LaTeX
) or, where graphics and tables are not required, they may simply be entered into the form as plain text. The software will send out an email acknowledgement. Following the committee’s decisions on which abstracts are to be accepted for the conference the submission software may also be used to collect full papers and PowerPoint presentations.
Online reviewing
may be more complex as the process is frequently “blinded” or anonymised. Reviewers will have particular interests or specialisations which should be taken into account when assigning abstracts to them, and they may have conflicts of interest. Reviews must be independent, i.e. reviewers should not be able to see other reviews before they have submitted their own. Abstract management software must provide for these options.
The programme committee will require extensive reporting and access to the abstracts and reviews. Software will usually support ranking of reviews and setting an acceptance threshold.
Some software products provide further functionality for the conference organisers. This often includes an email facility to report reviewers' comments and committee decisions to authors , programme building tools and online publishing.
Delegate registration is usually provided separately from abstract management.
Abstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
for presentation at an academic conference
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
. The process consists of either invited or proffered submissions of the abstract or summary of work. The abstract typically states the hypothesis, tools used in research or investigation, data collected, and a summary or interpretation of the data.
The abstracts usually undergo peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
after which they are accepted or rejected by the conference chair or committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
and then allocated to conference sessions. The abstracts may be presented as an oral talk or as an illustrated poster
Poster session
A poster session or poster presentation is the presentation of research information by an individual or representatives of research teams at a congress or conference with an academic or professional focus. The work is usually peer reviewed...
during the event. Abstracts are often published before or after the event as conference proceedings
Proceedings
In academia, proceedings are the collection of academic papers that are published in the context of an academic conference. They are usually distributed as printed books either before the conference opens or after the conference has closed. Proceedings contain the contributions made by researchers...
or in academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s or online. In some cases submission of a full paper may be required before final acceptance is given. In some fields (e.g., computer science), most mainstream conferences and workshops ask for the submission of full papers (rather than just abstracts) and academic program committees peer review the full paper to a standard comparable to journal publication before accepting a paper for presentation at the conference and publishing it in an edited proceedings series.
The abstract management process is closely tied to the need to provide continuing education to professionals, especially Continuing Medical Education
Continuing medical education
Continuing medical education refers to a specific form of continuing education that helps those in the medical field maintain competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. These activities may take place as live events, written publications, online programs, audio, video, or...
or CME. Many annual meetings hosted by specialty societies provide educational credit hours so that attendees may keep current in the field and maintain their professional certifications.
Abstract management software
Historically, abstract management was a time-consuming manual process requiring the handling of large amounts of paper and created a considerable administrative workload. An increasing number of organizations now use web-based abstract management software to streamline and automate the process. The work is sometimes outsourced to dedicated conference departments at major publishers and professional conference organisers.Functionality
Software functionality is based around typical conference workflows. These vary in detail, but in broad terms they must include a submission phase (usually abstract submission but sometimes full papers), reviewing, decision making by the programme committee, building of the conference programme and publishing of the programme and the abstracts or papers (online, in print or on a CD-ROM or other digital medium).Abstract submission involves the authors in preparing their abstracts and sending them to the conference organisers through an online form, and is a relatively straightforward process. The abstracts are either uploaded as documents (typically Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, PDF or LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
) or, where graphics and tables are not required, they may simply be entered into the form as plain text. The software will send out an email acknowledgement. Following the committee’s decisions on which abstracts are to be accepted for the conference the submission software may also be used to collect full papers and PowerPoint presentations.
Online reviewing
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
may be more complex as the process is frequently “blinded” or anonymised. Reviewers will have particular interests or specialisations which should be taken into account when assigning abstracts to them, and they may have conflicts of interest. Reviews must be independent, i.e. reviewers should not be able to see other reviews before they have submitted their own. Abstract management software must provide for these options.
The programme committee will require extensive reporting and access to the abstracts and reviews. Software will usually support ranking of reviews and setting an acceptance threshold.
Some software products provide further functionality for the conference organisers. This often includes an email facility to report reviewers' comments and committee decisions to authors , programme building tools and online publishing.
Delegate registration is usually provided separately from abstract management.
See also
- Abstract (summary)Abstract (summary)An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
- Academic conferenceAcademic conferenceAn academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
- OpenConfOpenConfOpenConf is a web-based conference management software system used extensively in computer science and other disciplines. OpenConf has also been adapted for journals, grants and books. The software is provided as a hosted service and for download by Zakon Group LLC....
- Oxford AbstractsOxford AbstractsOxford Abstracts Ltd is a UK based company that provides a widely used abstract management system notable for its low cost of ownership.Oxford Abstracts was established in the UK in 2001. The company has an extensive global client base - prominent clients include Elsevier and the UK's National...