Submission Instructions
Submissions Portal Open NOW! DEADLINE: Extended to November 20th, 2022
Please NOTE that the abstract submission button will not appear on your SWPA profile page until your registration is complete and paid.
General Information Important for all Submissions
SWPA only accepts abstracts through the SWPA online submission process. Thus, prior to submission, all authors for all organizations must create a SWPA profile one the SWPA website.
- Choose the type of profile appropriate for your submission
- At least one author (the submitting author) on each submission to SWPA must be registered for the upcoming conference and paid in full. Note that SWPA combines registration and membership costs into a single cost.
- All authors on a submission must complete a profile prior to submission in order to be included on the submission in the SWPA program.
- The online submission process allows each organization to use the online review process (each organization is in control of its own abstracts, reviewers, and acceptance decisions) and greatly facilitates the building of the master program.
After all project author/co-authors have created a profile (and at least one has completed and paid for their SWPA conference registration), do the following to submit your abstract
- Login to your home page and click on the “Submit Abstract” link. The “Submit Abstract” page will only be active during the period when SWPA is accepting abstracts.
- Be sure to indicate the organization for which you are submitting in the pull down menu.
- During the submission process you will indicate your desired presentation type (e.g., empirical work, theoretical work, etc.) and presentation format (e.g. talk, poster, workshop, symposia).
- Prepare your abstract by following the instructions for that type of presentation, and then follow the instructions on the screen.
- NOTE: You should only submit a single project / abstract one time – do not submit it multiple times under different formats or to more than one of the organizations.
- You will enter each co-author. Authors/co-authors can only be added if they have completed a profile in the online system (the application will not accept names that do not have profiles in the system). We strongly recommend that you have all profiles completed ahead of time so that all intended authors will be included in the submission.
Below on this page are the specific submission guidelines for the various SWPA types and formats. Our affiliate organizations may have different submission guidelines and cut-off dates.
SWPA Submissions Guidelines
In addition to all authors having a current profile, at least one author must have have registered for the conference and paid their registration costs in full. SWPA expects that at least one author will attend the convention if an abstract is accepted.Submission Types
Empirical Reports
- These are what we’ve always done in the past. Presentations submitted as Empirical Reports (talks and posters) should report original research for which data has been collected, analyzed, and interpreted, all in service of some problem of consequence in the psychological and behavioral sciences.
Theoretical Contributions
- These are new this year. Presentations submitted as Theoretical Contributions (talks and posters) do not require data collection, but should clearly demonstrate a theoretical analysis of some problem of consequence in the psychological and behavioral sciences.
- Examples include mathematical psychology, statistical methods, meta-analysis, cognitive science, etc.
- These are also new this year. Presentations submitted as Research Proposals (posters only) should clearly explain the background and proposed method for studying some problem of consequence in the psychological and behavioral sciences.
- NOTE: Submissions in this category will NOT be eligible for student awards.
- Student competitions will proceed as they have in the past. Competitors should submit their work to the graduate or undergraduate competition as is appropriate.
- Additional information and instructions for student award submissions can be found HERE.
Posters and Talks
Every abstract for talks (15 minutes including question-and-answer period) and posters must consist of the following clearly delineated sections: Problem, Method, Results, and Conclusions . Every summary should specify the importance of the problem to the current literature, the procedure used to collect data (as appropriate), the findings/predicted findings/conclusions of the research, the relevance of these findings/predicted findings/conclusions to the original problem, and the implications of the research. Include citations, but do not include a reference list at the end of your abstract. Do not include tables or figures.
Submitted abstract length (text of the abstract itself, not including title or author names) for regular talks and posters are limited to 500 words. The maximum title length is 12 words.
Symposia
Submissions from individuals (at least 2 presenters plus the session chair) wishing to present a symposium must include:
- A title (12-word max) and a 50-word abstract summarizing the workshop;
- A summary for each of the symposium’s participants (the combined word count of these summaries should not exceed 500 words).
All symposium participants must be SWPA members. Priority goes to those symposia that incorporate authors from different universities or professional affiliations. SWPA symposia and workshops are not required to present research project data.
Workshops and Special Meetings
Within the limits of available time and space, SWPA will provide rooms for workshops and special meetings. Some workshops may qualify for Continuing Education credit. Contact the Program Chair to discuss your request. Workshop length may be 1 or 1.5 hours.
Submissions from individuals wishing to present a workshop must include a title (12-word max) and an abstract summarizing the workshop (max 500 words for the text of the abstract itself, not including title or author names).