Submission Guidelines

1. Timelines
2. Theme for the Conference
3. Presentation Methods
4. Structure for all Submissions
5. Refereeing Procedure
6. Further Information

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

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

Registration will be open from December 2022.

1. Timelines

Authors are strongly advised to register on the on-line submission system and begin preparing their submissions well in advance of the following deadlines:

December 2022 - Submissions open

17 February 2023 5PM - Deadline for Symposium

Week beginning 13 March 2023 - Notification of Symposium outcomes

2. Theme for the Conference

The 2023 overall conference theme is Looking to the future: adapting, building, evolving. Please refer to the Call for Submissions for more information on this theme. This conference is an opportunity for us to come together and share learning on how to continually navigate, negotiate, reflect and move forward with the challenges that we are facing with our work, with the environment and with ourselves. We would like to invite delegates to reflect on this unique period in history, as we emerge from one of the most challenging periods many of us will have experienced in our lifetimes, pushing us to adapt, build and evolve. We are especially interested in contemporary perspectives on relational psychotherapy, ways to work with the mind and body, intellectual and cultural diversity and difference, creative applications and interpretations of the work we do, how advances in artificial intelligence and digital connectivity may hinder/enhance our work and work that (re)examines our relationship with our parent discipline (Psychology) and critical perspectives on its role in colluding with the status quo.

Do not be too concerned if your proposal does not fit exactly into this overall theme.  All submissions are welcome. 

You are invited to share your experiences and knowledge from all areas of applied psychology and to submit abstracts addressing this theme through:

• Research
• Professional practice
• Theory /Opinion papers
• Social activism

You will be prompted to select one of these topics when submitting your proposal.

3. Presentation Methods

Please note: This year the conference is primarily in person. The presenters will need to present in person at York St John University, but two session rooms, one of which will be the main conference room, will be accessible to live online attendees.

There are five different methods of presentation – your first task is to decide which suits your topic best.

Symposium

Chaired presentation and discussion of three or four Papers on interrelated topics lasting in total up to 90 minutes

Please note any submission not received via the online system will not be reviewed and therefore will not be considered for inclusion in the programme.

4. Structure for all Submissions

All submission abstracts should:

• Be up to 250 words in length, exclusive of the title.
• Not include references.
• Be written in either the past or present tense unless the data has yet to be collected as might be the case for a poster, in which case the future tense might be more applicable.
• Not include a statement of the affiliations or names of the author(s).

Abstracts of accepted papers will be published online for the benefit of attendees at the conference and will be available to download from the conference website.

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

Lack of findings or results because the study has not yet been completed yet the abstract is not for a poster

Failure to be written clearly, grammatically, with correct spellings and punctuation

Abstracts must be structured according to the following format, incorporating the following headings and information:

Symposium

The convenor needs to submit a summary, maximum of 250 words. Each presenter within the symposium can submit their own paper or the convenor can submit them all. Each paper must be submitted individually and then linked to form the symposium. Please submit abstracts according to either: 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 from the section above.

So that the papers are linked to each other in the symposium, each paper must also include the symposium title exactly as written in the summary.

It is also essential that for each paper submitted, the title includes the paper number e.g. Paper 1 {Title of Abstract} Paper 2 {Title of Abstract} etc

A symposium will be allocated 90 minutes in most cases, but may be allocated 60 or 75 minutes where only 2 papers have been submitted as part of the symposium (unless additional time has been requested in the case of a 2-paper symposium).

5. Refereeing Procedure

Reviewers will be assessing each submission on a number of criteria:

1. Clear, concise, well-structured abstract i.e. of publishable standard. 
2. The topic contributes to our knowledge base, providing new insight and/or contributing knowledge in an original way.
3. The extent to which the presentation, if accepted, will inform the application of knowledge to counselling psychology practice.
4. Methodological thoroughness and rigour (if applicable). 
5. The appeal factor for the delegates.
6. Relevancy to the theme of 2023’s conference: Looking to the future: adapting, building, evolving.

For full reviewing criteria please visit the website.

Each submission is blind reviewed by members of the Conference Team and the division’s Executive 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

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.

6. Further Information

Registration

All presenters are expected to register and pay at the appropriate rate.  Registration will be open from December 2022.

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://beta.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:

1. Avoid using sex-specific forms generically. For example, use plurals they/their rather than he/she or his/her.
2. Delete pronouns – e.g., the participant completed his/her task becomes the participant completed the task.
3. Avoid specifying the sex of the referent unless it is relevant – e.g., use counsellor, client or participant.
4. 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 online:  http://www.bps.org.uk/publications/policy-and-guidelines/research-guidelines-policy-documents/research-guidelines-poli

Contact

Email: bpssubmissions@redactive.co.uk
Website: www.bps.org.uk/events