Academic conference - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researcher

Researcher

A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...

s (not always academics) to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journal

Scientific journal

In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...

s, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.

Overview

Conferences are usually composed of various presentation

Presentation

Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...

s. They tend to be short and concise, with a time span of about 10 to 30 minutes; presentation

Presentation

Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...

s are usually followed by a discussion. The work may be bundled in written form as academic papers and published as the 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...

. Usually a conference will include keynote speakers (often, scholars of some standing, but sometimes individuals from outside academia). The keynote lecture is often longer, lasting sometimes up to an hour and a half, particularly if there are several keynote speakers on a panel

Panel

- Art and comic books :*Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art, such as a triptych, a piece of sequential art such as a graphic novel or comic strip, or a wooden panel used to paint a picture on...

.

In addition to presentations, conferences also feature panel discussions, round table

Round table (discussion)

Round table is a form of academic discussion. Participants agree on a specific topic to discuss and debate. Each person is given equal right to participate, because of the circular layout usually used in round table discussions....

s on various issues and workshops.

Prospective presenters are usually asked to submit a short abstract of their presentation, which will be reviewed before the presentation is accepted for the meeting. Some disciplines require presenters to submit a paper of about 6–15 pages, which is 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...

ed by members of the program committee or referees chosen by them.

In some disciplines, such as English and other languages, it is common for presenters to read from a prepared script. In other disciplines such as the sciences, presenters usually base their talk around a visual presentation that displays key figures and research results.

A large meeting will usually be called a conference, while a smaller is termed a workshop. They might be single track or multiple track, where the former has only one session at a time, while a multiple track meeting has several parallel sessions with speakers in separate rooms speaking at the same time.

At some conferences, social or entertainment activities such as tours and receptions can be part of the program. Business meetings for learned societies

Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...

or interest groups can also be part of the conference activities.

The larger the conference, the more likely it is that academic publishing houses

Academic publishing

Academic publishing describes the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in journal article, book or thesis form. The part of academic written output that is not formally published but merely printed up or posted is often called...

may set up displays. Large conferences also may have a career and job search and interview activities.

Academic conferences fall into three categories:

the themed conference, small conferences organized around a particular topic;
the general conference, a conference with a wider focus, with sessions on a wide variety of topics. These conferences are often organized by regional, national, or international learned societies
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...

, and held annually or on some other regular basis.
the professional conference, large conferences not limited to academics but with academically related issues

Organizing an academic conference

Conferences are usually organized either by a scientific society or by a group of researchers with a common interest. Larger meetings may be handled on behalf of the scientific society by a Professional Conference Organiser or PCO.

The meeting is announced by way of a "Call For Papers

Call for papers

A call for papers ' is a method used in academic and other contexts for collecting book or journal articles or conference presentations...

" or a Call For Abstracts, which lists the meeting's topics and tells prospective presenters how to submit their abstracts or papers. Increasingly, submissions take place online using a managed service such as Community of Science

Community of Science

Community of Science is a collection of online databases, providing research information to both the public and subscribers, and services for the research community...

or Oxford Abstracts

Oxford Abstracts

Oxford 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...

Overview

Organizing an academic conference

See also

Professional Conference Organisers – trade bodies

Lists of conferences

Conference publishing services