‘The role of educational psychology in promoting social justice and positive change’

Note for Reviewers
Please select login at the top right hand corner of the site and create an account using the same email as the one you received your invitation to review. Once you have logged in please press the 'My Review' button at the top right hand corner of the site to access the reviews you have been assigned.


If you have been asked to review the DECP Annual Conference 2023 and the DECP Trainee Educational Psychologists' Annual Conference 2023 you will be asked to create a separate account for each. You can use the same email address and password for both accounts.

Note: The use of a Password Manager may generate an error when two accounts are created with the same email address. You will need to ensure that you are logged out of one account, before trying to log into the other.  

Submission Guidelines 

1. Timelines

2. Structure for all submissions

3. Criteria for Oral Presentation and Workshop and Submissions

4. Refereeing Procedure

5. Further Information

Log into the new submission system. You will need to create an account if this is the first time you are submitting.

Timetable

  • Deadline for submitting symposia, oral presentations, workshops and posters is 10:00 on 28th October 2022
  • Email correspondence with information about acceptance or non-acceptance will be sent to all submitters of symposia, papers, workshops and posters by 11th November 2022

Structure for all Submissions

All submission abstracts should be up to 250 words exclusive of the title. It should not include references and should be written in either the past or present tense. Abstracts of accepted papers are published in booklet form for the benefit of attendees at the conference. They will also appear in The Proceedings of the British Psychological Society which are published online.

Abstracts must be structured according to one of the four following formats, incorporating the indicated headings and information:

Empirical papers/posters:

Objectives: State the primary objective of the paper and the major hypothesis tested or research question posed.

Design: Describe the design of the study and the rationale for the procedures adopted.

Methods: Describe how participants were selected and number of participants (if documentary data used, state how these were selected), materials employed (if appropriate), methods of data collection and analysis.

Results: Include numerical and/or textual data. This should be kept to a minimum. For qualitative analyses briefly describe your findings (eg, themes, categories, discourses identified).

Conclusions: State the conclusions that can be drawn from the study, including theoretical, methodological, or applied/policy implications as appropriate and any key limitations of the study.

Systematic Single Case Studies:

Purpose: State the aim or primary objectives of the paper

Background: Give a concise summary of information, which places the present paper in context

Methods: Provide a justification for using a single case-study approach with regard to the phenomenon being illustrated, and demonstrate the theoretical argument for the particular systematic tool that is used.

Conclusions: State the conclusions that can be drawn from the work described, including theoretical, methodological or applied/policy implications as appropriate and any key limitations of the study.

Review/Theoretical and Practice applicable papers/posters:

Purpose: State the aim or primary objectives of the paper

Background: Give a concise summary of information, which places the present paper in context

Methods: Provide details of the procedures adopted and their rationale (e.g., literature search, inclusion/exclusion criteria and methods of analysis) and/or key arguments and theoretical positions.

Conclusions: State the conclusions that can be drawn from the work described, including theoretical, methodological or applied/policy implications as appropriate and any key limitations of the study.

Workshops:

Background: Provide a concise summary of information, which places the session in context, this includes the aims of the workshop and the expected outcomes for participants 

Key points: Provide details of key arguments or the skills and activities covered.

Conclusions: State the conclusions that can be drawn from the work described, including theoretical, methodological, or applied/policy implications as appropriate.

In previous years the most frequent reasons submissions were rejected included;

  • Failure to meet the submission criteria (particularly by not following the required format, omitting information or details that must be evident in the submission)
  • Incomplete or insufficient empirical evidence reported in the abstract
  • Lack of a relevant theoretical background evident in the abstract
  • The abstract arrived after the deadline

Criteria for Oral Presentation and Workshop and Submissions

Oral Presentations and Workshops are allocated 45 minute slots on the programme.

Proposals for oral and workshop presentations must include:

  • Title
  • Name and institutional affiliation of the first author
  • Name and institutional affiliation of each co-author
  • Abstract (max. 250 words)

Proposals for workshops must include:

  • Title
  • Theme/category you are submitting to
  • Name and institutional affiliation of the first author
  • Name and institutional affiliation of each co-author
  • Abstract (max. 250 words) include in here any limits for the workshop (can be additional to the 250 max word count for the abstract)

Poster presentations will be timetabled into the conference programme in sessions which provide an opportunity for presenters and participants to discuss work and findings.

Proposals for posters must include:

  • Title
  • Name and institutional affiliation of the first author
  • Name and institutional affiliation of each co-author
  • Abstract (max. 250 words)

Further information regarding the dimensions of the poster boards and suggestions of how to display poster material will be supplied to presenters who have their posters accepted.

Refereeing Procedure

Reviewers will be assessing each submission on a number of criteria, namely: its contribution to knowledge; the extent to which it informs the practical application of knowledge; the extent to which it provides new insight into the issues it addresses; its methodological thoroughness; its originality; its clarity and its potential interest to the conference audience.

Each submission is blind reviewed by at least two nominees of the Conference Committee according to established criteria and standards.

Please note:

  • Submissions will be considered solely on the information you provide.
  • If a submission does not evidence all the required elements set out in the submission information above it will be rejected.

In the case of symposia submissions, the refereeing procedure will include the package as a whole and the merit and importance of any individual contributions.

Authors will be notified of the referees’ decision via email. Successful contributors will be advised of the time and date of their presentation. The decision of referees is final. The conference organising committee are unable to respond to further enquiries once a decision has been made. Every effort will have been made to accommodate any timetable constraints notified at the time of submission. Individual presenters in symposia are not contacted directly by BPS Conferences. All correspondence will be conducted through the Convenor who is responsible for keeping presenters informed.

Further Information

Registration

All presenters are expected to register and pay at the appropriate rate. 

Audio visual requirements

A data projector and laptop will be available in all seminar rooms. If you are likely to require additional equipment, please indicate this when submitting your abstract.

Code of Conduct

Authors of all material submitted must confirm adherence to the British Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics and Conduct. Particular attention should be made to the section on Integrity and the importance of sub-sections 4.1iii and 4.1vi. Copies of the Code may be obtained either from the Society’s website or from the Leicester office.

The use of non-sexist language

Submissions must not contain sexist language. The following suggestions are made about ways to avoid sexist language;

i)  Avoid using sex-specific forms generically. For example, use plurals they/their rather than he/she or his/her.

ii)  Delete pronouns – e.g., the participant completed his/her task becomes the participant completed the task. 

iii) Avoid specifying the sex of the referent unless it is relevant – e.g., use counsellor, client or participant.

iv) Avoid making sex-stereotyped assumptions about people, their abilities, attitudes and relationships.

Guidelines for Psychologists Working with Animals

When submitting material, please note the guidelines for psychologists working with animals. Copies of these guidelines can be obtained on the BPS Website or from th e Leicester Office. 

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