Submission Guidelines 

1. Timelines

2. Structure for all Submissions

3. Presentation Methods 

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.

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: 

March 2023: Online submission system opens

10 April 2023 (11:59PM BST): Deadline for Submissions

5 May 2023: Notification of Submission Outcomes

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 paper/poster:

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 paper:

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.

*Please ensure you use the above headings within your submission

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
• Any submission not received via the online system will not be reviewed

3. Presentation Methods

The Welsh Branch Committee welcomes 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.

Review/Theoretical paper

Papers are allocated 20-minute slots on the programme.

Research/Work in Progress paper/poster

Papers are allocated 20-minute slots on the programme. For work in progress we suggest choosing a length of presentation that allows for presenters and participants to discuss work and findings within the allocated timeslot.

Posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference for maximum exposure, with a dedicated ‘hosted’ session scheduled on the day when authors will be available with their poster. 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.

4. Refereeing Procedure

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

• Written Quality
• Suitability for Welsh Branch Conference
• Overall Quality

For full reviewing criteria please visit the website.

Each submission is blind reviewed by at least two members of the host institution under guidance from a Welsh Branch Committee member 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.

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

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 papers 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 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 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.

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: Paul.hutchings@uwtsd.ac.uk
Telephone:  01792 482080