Good abstract management software can dramatically reduce the administrative burden on your conference committee. It is important to consider a number of factors before configuring your abstract management software. Doing this will streamline abstract submission and eliminate confusion among users down the line. We’ve compiled a list of the most important things to consider:
1. Collect all the necessary information
Decide on the information fields to capture from authors before opening abstract submission as it becomes difficult to capture at a later stage. Make sure your abstract management software allows you to customize the abstract submission form.
2. Define the topics for abstract submission
Clearly defined topics will make life easier for authors. Good abstract management software will make it possible for you to override the submission categories that authors submitted in, as well as assign reviewers to specific topics of expertise.
3. Define the roles required to manage abstracts
The typical roles required to manage abstract submission and review include:
- Organiser: This user will have privileges to manage submission, assign reviewers, draw reports and send reminders.
- Committee: The committee will decide which abstracts to accept based on recommendations from the reviewers.
- Reviewers: Peer reviewers are assigned to their topics of expertise and their reviews will serve as a recommendation to the committee.
4. Have clear instructions for submission
It will dramatically reduce queries if there are clearly defined instructions for abstract submission on your conference website. It could also reduce the number of times amendments are requested by the organising committee.
5. Assign reviewers based on their expertise
It could be easier for reviewers to review abstracts in their field of expertise as they will not have to research topics. It is also very important not to overload reviewers with too many abstracts to review. Rather reduce the number of reviews required if this is an issue.
6. Define the reviewing criteria for reviews
Clearly defined reviewing criteria gives a framework for the organising committee to decide which abstracts to accept. Make sure your abstract management software allows you to customize the abstract review form.
7. Is this a blind review process?
A blind review process will hide the author names from reviewers. This is useful to make sure that the review process is unbiased and fair.
We specialize in software for conference organisers. For more information on our abstract management software, follow these links: