Submission Guidelines
1. Timelines
28 February 2024 - Online submission system opens
21 June 2024 - The deadline for Posters and Lightning talks
15 July 2024 - Notification of submission outcomes for Individual Papers, Posters and Workshops and Lightning talks
2. 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 will be available to download on the conference website.
Abstracts must be structured according to the following format, incorporating the indicated headings and information:
Research/Work in Progress oral/poster presentation & student lightning talks:
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: State the type of analysis employed and the main findings of the study (when available for Work in Progress). Numerical data may be included but should be kept to a minimum.
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.
Review/Theoretical/Practice oral/poster prestation & student lightning talks:
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.
*Please ensure you use the above headings within your submission
In previous years the most frequent reasons submissions were rejected included;
3. Presentation Methods
The BPS West and East Midlands Branch Committees welcome submissions from both academics and practitioners. The quality of the scientific programme depends on your submissions and we thank you for choosing this conference to present your work.
Oral Presentations
Papers are allocated 15-minute (10-minute presentation and 5- minute questions) slots on the programme. These presentations can focus on research, practice or interesting ideas. The goal is to adopt an energetic approach that captures the interest of a broad audience.
Poster Presentations
Will be timetabled into the conference programme in sessions which provide an opportunity for presenters and participants to discuss work and findings. 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.
Masterclass
We will endeavour to accommodate any type of delivery of a masterclass (please advise us of needs in initial submission). We envisage masterclasses being of a workshop style (a mix of presentations and practical group activity). Please advise us of needs and the length of workshop in initial submission.
Student Lightning Talks
Students are very welcome to submit ALL types of submissions, but to submit a Lightning talk you MUST be a student or recent graduate and be presenting a project that you were involved with conducting as part of your studies. These presentations will be short (approximately 5-8 minutes) with brief time for questions after each presentation.
4. Refereeing Procedure
Reviewers will be assessing each submission on a number of criteria:
For full reviewing criteria please visit the website.
Each submission is blind reviewed by at least two members of the BPS West and East Midlands Branch Committees according to established criteria and standards.
Please note:
From time to time referees may feel that a particular submission lends itself to a different format to that which is proposed and in these cases authors will be invited to consider an alternative format.
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. 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.
5. Further Information
Registration
All presenters are expected to register.
Press Office
If successful, your submission may be considered suitable for a press release, timed to coincide with the conference. If this is so, a Press Officer will contact you to ask whether you wish your submission to be press released, and to discuss the content of the press release with you. To write an accurate press release, and to provide more information for journalists attending the conference, you may be asked for additional information regarding your submission. Please note all presentations and posters are under a media embargo until the day of presentation.
Audio visual requirements
A data projector and laptop will be available in all session 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 from the Society’s website: http://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct
The use of non-sexist language
Submissions must not contain sexist language. The following suggestions are made about ways to avoid sexist language:
Person-first language
As a profession we are mindful to consider how we assign categorical labels to particular groups of service users. The use of labels such as ‘offender’ or ‘sex offender’ inadvertently suggests and supports the inaccurate public view of high recidivism risk among all persons who have sexually offended. Person-first or neutral language separates the person from a behaviour, condition or disorder (e.g. ‘persons with sexual offence histories’, ‘individual who has been adjudicated for…’, ‘child/adolescent with sexual behaviour problems’, ‘man with paedophilic sexual interests’). Further, we now use ‘person with schizophrenia’ in place of ‘schizophrenic’ and ‘person with an intellectual disability’ etc.
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 online: http://www.bps.org.uk/publications/policy-and-guidelines/research-guidelines-policy-documents/research-guidelines-poli
SACWAP guidelines
When submitting material, please note the SACWAP guidelines dealing with the use of animals in psychological research. Copies of these guidelines can be obtained from the Leicester Office.
Multiple submissions
The Conference Committee wishes to maximise the opportunities for delegates to present their work. However, there are often considerable constraints on time and space and inevitably this means that some strong submissions have to be rejected. In order to give every submitter a fair opportunity the committee have decided to discourage multiple submissions. Therefore only 3 submissions per person are permitted. (A submission includes any submission on which an individual is named as an author, in whatever order their name appears on the author list).
Contact
Email: bpssubmissions@redactive.co.uk
Website: www.bps.org.uk/events