Deciding where to submit your research for presentation

Typically only an abstract will be submitted for consideration. Less commonly your entire manuscript will be evaluated. Because space and time constraints limit the number of projects accepted for presentation at any academic meeting, submissions undergo a rigorous review process by senior society members with expertise in the research area of interest. Therefore, ensure that your subject is appropriate and consistent with the mission and objectives of the sponsoring organization.

If you are unclear or uncertain regarding the compatibility of your research with the presentation forum, consult the society’s web site, the previous year’s meeting proceedings (often published as a special issue of the group’s official journal in print and online), or a knowledgeable mentor. Advanced planning in this regard is most important because submission deadlines are often 5-8 months before the meeting.

Determine your purpose in presenting the research and select a forum that intersects with your goals. Are you a medical student planning for residency? A resident seeking a fellowship? Are you a fellow looking for a junior faculty position? Junior faculty launching an academic career? Perhaps you simply want to disseminate your findings as widely as possible. Regardless, discussing your project in a scholarly forum provides a ripe opportunity to explore ideas with fellow researchers, network, and broaden one’s involvement in the specialty.

Does the sponsoring organization foster involvement by investigators-in-training? Encouragement can assume many forms: presentation forums restricted to trainees or junior faculty, awards for outstanding research, and funds to support meeting attendance made available through the generosity of society members (travel or discounted or waived registration fees). Mentors actively involved with these professional societies as well as the organizations’ web sites may provide valuable insights. In certain instances, the abstract submission documentation will permit designation of the presenting author as in training to determine eligibility to present in certain sessions or for awards.

Once you have tentatively selected a target meeting, be certain that all the prerequisites for submission are met. Some meetings may require that a society member be a sponsor or coauthor for the project. Many groups require that the submitted research not be presented or published prior to the meeting. In this age of electronic manuscript submission, online peer review, and advance electronic publication, such a faux pas is more possible than one might expect. Such a mistake reflects poorly on the authors and the institution. Moreover, withdrawal of an accepted presentation for this reason unfairly prevented another researcher from participating.

Pay careful attention to all instructions and details. Provide all required information at the time of submission. If requested, select the most appropriate category from among the provided options for classifying your research topic. Miscategorization may have a negative impact on your abstract’s scoring. Ensure compliance with the due date, beyond which no new submissions or revisions will be permitted. Hurried, last-minute preparations may increase the risk of such errors.

Do not forget the seemingly obvious. Will you be able to take the time to attend the meeting and present your work if it is selected? Are there financial resources to support your travel to and from the meeting, including the registration fee? Programs may not fund travel outside the United States. Check with your department or training program director. The institutional prestige and benefits associated with your scholarly activity is likely to lead to positive responses to these inquiries.

Crafting your abstract

The abstract structure and content is similar to that of one accompanying a manuscript. Each meeting will note either a word or character limit for the abstract and other structural specifics. Typically a meeting abstract may be longer than the one accompanying a paper. We recommend using the extra space to expand on the methods and results, especially if the study design and statistical analyses are notable. Look at previous years’ abstracts for the meeting: these are examples of successful abstract writing.

Unlike your manuscript’s abstract, a meeting submission often permits presentation of results in tabular form. This option can be quite attractive if the table is visually pleasing and clearly and concisely presents the study’s pertinent findings. A well-executed table can be easier and faster to read and also includes more information than the textual format. A poorly designed table can exert the opposite effect, obscuring your findings and jeopardizing the abstract.

A more detailed discussion of this subject is available elsewhere. Keep in mind, however, that tables often cost more than text with regard to the abstract’s word or character count. Finally, avoid promissory abstracts that state that data or results “will be presented.” The actual analyzed results should be included in the submitted abstract.

Ensure clarity, brevity, absence of spelling and typographical errors, and data integrity and consistency. Do not include references in the abstract and do not mention your institution because most reviews are conducted in a blinded fashion. Before you perform the final submission, allow all coauthors the opportunity to review the abstract and offer constructive comments to improve the work. Each author should sign off on the final abstract content. The order of authorship should be considered because only in-training presenting or first authors may be eligible for an award.

Your abstract should now be ready for submission. Some venues will request that you designate your preferred manner of presentation, oral or poster, whereas others will assign the format to accepted abstracts. Generally, oral presentations are fewer in number than poster presentations, awarded to the highest-scoring abstracts and therefore more prestigious. However, despite its brevity (usually between 5 and 15 minutes), this format is likely to require more extensive preparation and likely to be surrounded by greater stress, particularly for the young investigator.

At large meetings, podium presentations may be part of a plenary session, which represents the only talk at a given time and will likely be highly attended. Alternatively, the presentation may be given at 1 of several concurrent sessions, during which multiple papers are presented simultaneously in different locations. Smaller meetings usually offer just plenary sessions.

Poster presentations are usually more numerous than oral ones. Poster presentations are usually available for viewing at designated times, such as a morning, afternoon, or full day. It is generally expected that the presenter will be available at the poster presentation during a specific time frame to discuss the research with interested attendees. Some meetings will feature the presenter, giving a brief oral summary of the work, followed by a moderated question-and-answer period. Advantages of the poster format include the chance to network, interact one on one or in small groups, and exchange ideas with other researchers, all in a less intimidating setting than the oral presentation.

Disposition of the submission

You will receive notification of your abstract’s receipt fairly quickly and its ultimate rejection or acceptance timely enough to prepare for the meeting. If it is declined, unlike a manuscript refusal, you will not receive a critique with suggestions for improvement. Nonetheless, a critical reappraisal of your abstract based on the previously discussed considerations is in order before submitting the work to an alternative forum. If your effort is rewarded with a presentation, the acceptance notification will describe the format and include the date, time, and location as well as other important details. Ensure that you make any necessary travel arrangements early because meeting hotels in desirable locations often fill quickly. If the meeting is in another country, be sure to obtain a valid passport and visa, as necessary. Now it is time to prepare for your presentation.