Introduction:
Managing the abstract submission workflow for academic conferences typically necessitates the use of abstract management software or dedicated tools such as MeetingHand, Oxford Abstracts, Cvent, EasyChair, and others. These tools streamline the abstract collection process through customized online abstract forms. These online solutions automate abstract submission and management processes, encompassing tasks such as assigning papers to reviewers, processing evaluations and decisions, creating optimized conference programs, and publishing accepted content as a book of abstract or book of proceedings. This article delves into the capabilities of leading abstract management platforms and highlights how automation empowers impactful academic events.
What is 'abstract'?
An abstract is a summary that briefly outlines key details about a larger work or document, such as a research paper, academic paper, or scientific presentation. As stated in the blog post, an abstract typically highlights the main hypothesis or research question, methodology, data collected, and key results and interpretations from the full paper or presentation.
Abstracts allow researchers to concisely summarize the core focus and findings of their work so others can quickly grasp the topic and scope without reading the entire paper. They are commonly submitted to academic conference organizers who review and select abstracts to be presented at the event.
What is abstract management?
'Abstract management' refers to the overall process of handling the submissions, peer review process, selection of eligible papers, creating a conference program, publication of accepted abstracts, and other administrative tasks related to abstract submissions in an academic conference.
Here are some key points about abstract management:
- Authors' submission of their research results as abstract summaries,
- Organizers reviewing submissions to select abstracts aligning with the conference focus,
- Notifying authors of acceptance status,
- Scheduling accepted abstracts into conference presentations and sessions,
- Publishing accepted abstracts in conference proceedings, books, or online,
- Using conference management systems and software to organize, track, and manage multi-step workflow.
So, abstract management handles the chain of events from the call for abstracts to acceptance decisions to final conference presentation and publication - which ensures high-quality research is presented.
What is the process of abstract management?
1. Pre-Conference Preparation:
- Set up a scientific committee to define conference topics, submission guidelines, etc.
- Publish a "Call for Abstracts" outlining important dates, instructions, submission process, etc.
2. Abstract Submission:
- Researchers submit abstracts summarizing their study/paper through an online form,
- Abstracts undergo plagiarism checks and administrative screening.
3. Abstract Review and Selection:
- Submitted abstracts are peer-reviewed by expert committee members,
- Reviews assess clarity, relevance, originality, methodology, etc.
- Committee decides acceptance/rejection based on reviews,
- Authors are notified of decisions.
4. Conference Program Scheduling
- Accepted abstracts are scheduled into oral/poster presentations,
- Presentations are grouped by topic into sessions.
5. Presentation Delivery & Publication
- Authors present accepted abstract content during the conference,
- Accepted abstracts are published in conference proceedings,
The end-to-end process is facilitated using platforms like MeetingHand to streamline workflows.
What is abstract management software?
This type of software refers to specialized platforms and tools that help automate and streamline the organizing and handling of abstracts for academic conferences and events.
Key features include:
- Customizable online submission forms to collect abstracts from authors,
- Workflow automation for abstract review assignments and notifications,
- Dashboards and reports to manage submissions and track review progress,
- Communication tools to notify authors of decisions,
- Ability to publish accepted abstracts online or in print proceedings,
- Integration of abstract database with conference scheduling and programming,
- Format exported abstracts into a polished book of abstracts.
In summary, abstract management software provides a centralized solution to efficiently coordinate the submission, review, selection, scheduling, and publication of research abstracts and papers for conferences. This saves organizers significant manual effort compared to approaches like email and spreadsheets. Leading tools in this space covered in the post are MeetingHand, Fourwaves, Cvent, and others.
By streamlining what is otherwise an extremely labor-intensive process, makes hosting academic research conferences more scalable and impactful. The automated organization empowers organizers to focus on driving scientific discourse rather than getting lost in administrative tasks.
How does abstract management software work?
Specialized to help automate and streamline the organizing and handling of abstracts for academic conferences and events.
Key features include:
- Customizable online submission forms to collect abstracts from authors
- Workflow automation for abstract review assignments and notifications
- Dashboards and reports to manage submissions and track review progress
- Communication tools to notify authors of decisions
- Ability to publish accepted abstracts online or in print proceedings
- Integration of abstract database with conference scheduling and programming
- Format exported abstracts into a polished book of abstracts
In summary, those platforms provide a centralized solution to efficiently coordinate the submission, review, selection, scheduling, and publication of research abstracts and papers for conferences. This saves organizers significant manual effort compared to approaches like email and spreadsheets. Leading tools in this space covered in the post are MeetingHand, Fourwaves, Cvent, and others.
By streamlining what is otherwise an extremely labor-intensive process, those platforms make hosting academic research conferences more scalable and impactful. The automated organization empowers organizers to focus on driving scientific discourse rather than getting lost in administrative tasks.
How to set up and run a call for conference abstracts?
There are several best practices on setting up and running a call for conference abstracts:
1. Determine conference structure:
- Map out tracks, symposia, number of sessions, session types (oral, poster etc.), length of each type.
2. Set content goals:
- Define key focus areas or topics to be covered.
- Set any DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) speaker goals.
3. Create timeline:
- Set abstract submission open and close dates.
- Set peer review timeframe.
- Dates for acceptance notification, author registration etc.
4. Build submission questions:
- Tailor questions to gather all details reviewers need for decisions.
- Include fields like title, authors, affiliations, abstract, keywords, etc.
5. Set review process:
- Determine the number of reviewers per abstract.
- Choose blind or double-blind review methods if applicable.
- Choose a review method such as scoring, staring, etc.
6. Test submission forms:
- Recruit internal & external volunteers to test processes and forms.
The key tips include allowing enough time for the process, promoting the call for abstracts across different channels, communicating timelines clearly to submitters, keeping submission questions focused, and gathering feedback to improve the process.
Using those kind of systems also helps streamline most of the aspects related to abstract submissions.
How to promote a call for abstracts?
Here are some effective tips on promoting a call for abstracts:
1. Email researchers and authors: Send personalized emails to relevant contacts, departments, and academics about the upcoming call for abstracts. However, note that researcher emails get overloaded so have ambassadors directly call them too.
2. Leverage social media: Share posts highlighting what is unique about your conference call for papers on research social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter. Using images and memorable captions can further boost visibility.
3. Conference announcements: If you have a presence at upcoming academic events or conferences in your discipline, announce details of your call for abstract submissions there.
4. Website posting: Publish details like submission timelines, focus areas, and process clearly on your conference website.
5. Third-party sites: Consider getting your call for papers hosted or promoted by reputable academic societies and publisher channels.
6. Diversify channels: Use a multipronged approach including email, social promotion, conference plugs, websites etc. to get the word out to researchers instead of just relying on one outlet.
In summary, a key takeaway the post emphasizes is that solely emailing researchers about call for submissions has become less effective due to email overload. Hence using social media, active ambassadors, presentations at other academic gatherings, websites, and third-party hosts to promote your call for abstracts can play a significant role in attracting quality submissions.
What is an abstract submission form?
An abstract submission form is an online form used to collect and gather abstracts, research papers, presentations, or proposals for a conference.
The abstract provides a brief overview of the main objectives, methods, results, and conclusions of the work.
When authors want to present their work at a conference, they typically need to complete an abstract submission form.
Abstract submission form and its functionality
The configurable online abstract form software serves as the gateway for gathering submissions, using flexible fields tailored to conference needs. From proposal titles and author details to abstract text limits and optional supplementary uploads like images, the abstract app must balance ease of use and requirements. Setting rules for word counts or styling formats further improves abstract quality for assessment. Structuring forms with a simple abstract app interface while also customizing submission software fields and required uploads is key.
What are the key elements of abstract submission forms?
This form usually includes fields or sections for the following information:
1. Title: The title of the research or project.
2. Authors: Names and affiliations of the authors involved in the work.
3. Abstract Content: A concise summary of the research, highlighting the key aspects and findings.
- Introduction: A brief introduction to the research problem or question.
- Methods: An overview of the research methods or approaches used.
- Results: Summary of the main findings or outcomes.
- Conclusion: Concluding remarks or implications of the research.
4. References: including the related literature references may help readers and reviewers understand the context of the abstract
5. Keywords: Relevant keywords that describe the main topics or themes of the work.
6. Other fields: May the organizers need to collect more information such as request approval for printing, applying for best poster awards, etc.
The abstract submission process allows organizers or editorial boards to review and select abstracts or presentations for inclusion in an conference program based on the quality and relevance of the submitted abstracts. It serves as a preliminary screening to ensure that the content aligns with the objectives and focus of the conference.
What is submission deadline?
Abstract submission deadlines refer to key dates in the abstract management lifecycle that authors should be aware of, including:
Abstract Submission Deadline: This specifies the final cutoff date for researchers to submit their abstracts summarizing their academic papers or studies to be considered for presentation at the conference. Adhering to this deadline is crucial for event organizers to coordinate planning.
Notification Deadline: The date by which conference organizers aim to inform submitting authors about whether their abstracts have been accepted, conditionally accepted pending revisions, or rejected after the peer review process. Knowing their status by this date allows authors to better plan their conference participation and presentations accordingly.
Deadline Extensions: Submitting authors should be aware if conferences organizers provide any deadline extensions or late submission allowances, which give authors additional time to prepare and submit abstracts due to unforeseen circumstances. These are not widely prevalent but can be offered by organizers on a case-by-case basis.
Presentation Type Based Deadline Diversity: Organizers may define presentation type based deadline (poster presentation, late poster, etc.) to ease their scheduling and coordinate the planning process.
Revised Abstract Submission Deadline: If abstract revisions or supplemental information are requested prior to final acceptance, authors need to adhere to the specific deadline for re-submission of an improved abstract version or additions through the online submission system.
Staying updated on these key abstract submission and management deadlines, including any extensions, through the conference website, direct notifications, or other official organizer channels is essential to ensure a smooth abstract-to-presentation process for academic conferences.
How to communicate with abstract authors and submitters?
Communicating with abstract corresponding authors and submitters is a crucial aspect of organizing a conference or managing submissions for a presentation and publication. Here are recommendations on effective communication with abstract authors and submitters:
- Automated notifications: Email templates and workflows should be set up in the abstract management system to automatically inform authors about key milestones like abstract receipt, review status, acceptance/rejection decision, requested revisions etc.
- Submitter accounts: Give submitters access to a personal account where they can track real-time status of their submission as it goes through review, make edits if required, and access custom notifications.
- Personalized acceptance letters: Send acceptance letters customized due to the author’s names, abstract’s titles and presentation types. You can also inform authors about next steps like presentation length, date/time allotted, registration process etc. These should be personalized and downloadable.
- Presentation reminders: Leading up to the conference, reminders about scheduled presentation date/time and modality (in-person, virtual etc.) ensures authors prepare accordingly and minimize no-shows.
- Discussion forums: Consider hosting online forums where accepted presenters are available to answer audience questions before, during and after the conference, creating more opportunities for engagement.
- Post-conference feedback: Seek submitter feedback about the abstract process to help improve experiences for future conference cycles.
Automation combined with personalization helps streamline communication at scale while also giving submitters a tailored, supportive experience during abstract result anticipation and next steps. Discussion channels also continue the conversation beyond the conference itself.
What is an abstract submission guideline?
Abstract submission guideline refers to the instructions and directions provided to researchers by conference organizers that outline the requirements and expected format for preparing and submitting abstracts summarizing their work.
Some key elements the abstract submission guideline typically covers:
- Purpose and scope of the conference to frame submissions
- Key deadlines for abstract submission and revisions
- Recommended structure and content areas to be covered like background, methods, results etc.
- Expected length or word count limits of the abstract text
- Formatting specifications around font, text layout, references etc.
- Overview of the submission system and process to follow
- Types of presentations abstracts can be submitted for (oral, poster etc.)
- Number of submissions allowed per author
- Supplementary materials that can be uploaded alongside
The submission guideline serves as an important reference for prospective authors to understand what is expected in conference abstracts and shapes the information ultimately received by organizers. A detailed yet easy-to-parse guideline drives quality in submissions.
Here is a template abstract submission guideline / instruction to ensure a seamless abstract management process. As preparing and submitting accurate, high-quality abstracts is crucial for prospective presenters seeking to contribute their research to your conference.
Abstract Submission Guideline Template
"We kindly request you review the following details for a smooth submission experience:
- You may submit 2 abstracts maximum, with only 1 selected for an oral presentation.
- Editing, saving, and submitting for review are enabled in the system.
- Please select presentation type and scientific topic.
- The system automatically formats abstract length, type, etc.
- Capitalize each word in the title within a max of 20 words.
- The submitting author is the “Corresponding Author.”
- Add co-authors individually and order them using drag and drop.
- Carefully enter author affiliations and emails since the system automatically merges based on name. Copy/paste affiliations to avoid misspellings and rewrite names if authors have multiple affiliations.
- The text must be 100-400 words, written in the appropriate section, and can use basic formatting like super/subscripts. Copy/paste from Word or PDF is enabled, but check formatting in the preview.
- Please avoid images, charts and tables if possible. If necessary, add only as an image.
- Do not include title, authors, and affiliations in the text section. You may mention research support like project names.
- Only add references and keywords in the designated fields, not in the abstract text.
- Research support notes can optionally be added to the text section if applicable. "
What is an Abstract Review?
Abstract review refers to the critical assessment and evaluation of the summary/abstract submissions researchers have sent in to an academic conference, based on predefined standards.
Abstract Review Process Steps
- Expert reviewers are selected to evaluate abstracts based on their scientific backgrounds.
- Submitted abstracts are assigned to reviewers, usually 2+ assigned per abstract via management software.
- Reviewers analyze the abstract summaries considering criteria like relevance, original contribution, clarity, methods used and score submissions or make accept/reject recommendations along with qualitative feedback.
- Conference chairs/committees make final determinations considering reviewer evaluations - authors are notified afterward.
Potential Abstract Review Criteria
- Relevance to Conference/Event Focus Areas
- Originality of Research or Content
- Methodological Rigor & Validity
- Clarity & Readability of Abstract
- Significance of Research Problem/Questions
- Meaningful Conclusions & Takeaways
- Ethical Considerations Observed
Having clear scoring criteria aligned to conference goals and objectives brings consistency, fairness and selectivity to the abstract screening and selection process for desired presentation content.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Different Abstract Review Models Like Open, Blind, Public or Crowd-Sourced Assessments?
What are some alternatives to a blinded abstract review process that conference organizers could consider?
There are a few different abstract review approaches that conferences can use other than a blind review:
Open Review:
With an open review, the identities of the authors are visible to the reviewers. This allows reviewers to assess the submission while also factoring in the author's expertise and body of work if they are already familiar with it. However, it may potentially introduce some bias.
Double-Blind Review:
The double-blind review hides both author and reviewer identities from each other, enabling the most unbiased assessment. But it also loses context around the author's background. Logistically it requires careful workflow coordination as well.
Transparent Review:
Reviewers are aware of author identities, and their review comments and scoring is visible to submitting authors after decision notifications. This enables authors to receive constructive feedback, even if declined. However, reviewers may hesitate to provide critical reviews.
Collaborative Review:
Multiple rounds of review are conducted with back-and-forth interaction between authors and reviewers to clarify aspects, refine submissions, and develop consensus on final status. However, this demands significant time and coordination.
Crowd-Sourced Review:
Conference attendees or broader community reviewers provide reviews instead of (or along with) a formal scientific committee. This brings new perspectives but has less oversight on quality.
In summary, while a blinded review process helps eliminate biases, other approaches offer benefits around context, transparency, collaboration or community involvement. Conference organizers should pick what best fits their goals, resource constraints and community norms while ensuring fair assessment.
How to effectively manage abstract review process?
Here are some tips for conference organizers to ease the workload for abstract reviewers:
- Provide an intuitive, user-friendly interface for the review system - Simple navigation and evaluation forms reduce frustration.
- Offer clear review guidelines/criteria - Explicitly outline expectations around assessment dimensions, ratings, and ideal feedback to standardize the process.
- Set reasonable review timelines - Take into account reviewer availability and constraints when setting deadlines to complete evaluations.
- Limit assigned reviews - Balance the number of abstract review requests per reviewer so it's manageable alongside their other responsibilities.
- Automate administrative tasks - Notification emails, review assignments etc. handled automatically via management software cuts down reviewer coordination effort.
- Enable progress tracking - Review systems with dashboards allow reviewers to self-monitor outstanding reviews, minimizing follow-ups.
- Maintain open communication - Address additional reviewer questions promptly and be accommodating to constraints easing their experience.
- Send appreciative reminders - Positive reminders noting that their contributions help make the event successful and meaningful.
- Offer reviewer rewards - Certificates, name mentions, priority registration etc. provide motivational incentives besides just intrinsic rewards from contributing to scientific discourse.
Making the platform interaction easy, expectations clear, volume reasonable and communication supportive helps minimize the burden on academic reviewers while enabling quality. Automating and tracking progress also smooths coordination overhead for their volunteer effort.
What is automating review and selection?
Simplifying the historically manual submission management burden on organizers and reviewers has driven adoption of these platforms. By automatically allocating papers to topic-aligned reviewers, then using dashboards to track progress, and notifications to prompt potentially late peer reviewers, critical assessment moves rapidly. Combined with communication tools to inform authors of acceptance decisions, the efficiency dividends and transparency of automated submission management is substantial.
Abstract submission software and scheduling
Once assessment is complete, the flexible abstract software integrates with agenda creation and scheduling based on submitted content. From factoring in logistical constraints like room capacities mentioned by presenters to custom categorizations and scheduling requests submitted with the abstracts, organizers can translate submissions into conference schedules matching website. Preferences captured by the initial Call for Papers form provide data-driven organization.
What is a conference program or schedule?
The conference program or schedule refers to the timetable of events and sessions that are planned to occur over the course of the academic conference.
In more detail:
- The conference program encompasses the sequence of key events constituting the meeting agenda - from speaker sessions, presentations, workshops and panels scheduled for each day to breaks and meals.
- The program aims to allocate accepted abstracts into coherent sessions categorized by topic as well as factor in logistical constraints around venue capacity, audio-visual requirements etc.
- Conference organizers develop the schedule after the abstract review process by slotting presentations into time slots while accounting for invited speakers, social events etc.
- The sequence of presentations and activities is optimized to maximize attendee engagement by grouping relevant research topics and papers together in sessions.
- The conference schedule ties together the culmination of months of abstract submissions, review and selection into a cohesive, value-packed and enjoyable experience for attendees over the course of the in-person or virtual meeting.
- The program and any schedule changes are communicated to attendees, speakers and organizers via the website, apps, signage and other channels.
In summary, the conference schedule strategically sequences and timing abstract Presentation prevents
How to effectively allocate accepted abstracts in the conference schedule?
When organizing accepted abstract presentations within the conference program schedule, organizers should:
- Group together oral, poster session etc. based on themes to enable attendees to easily attend topics of interest
- Sequence the sessions logically for each track/room - introductory/general sessions first before specialized
- Mix up session types if possible for variation (oral, panel, interactive workshop, etc.) rather than the same format
- Slot poster sessions during meeting breaks so participants can visit exhibits
- Distribute keynotes and sessions with well-known speakers evenly across the schedule
- Standardize session lengths for predictability and clear transitions (moving 15 min buffers)
- Avoid scheduling thematically similar talks in parallel conflicting slots
- Evenly balance sessions by day based on overall attractiveness
Strategically grouping related presentations, creating Harvard insightful session flows, blending formats, distributing strong speaker content across the program, and allowing flexibility yet standardized slotting and transition times all help efficiently allocate accepted abstracts to engage attendees.
What is the role of abstracts in shaping a conference program or schedule?
The selected abstracts that researchers submit play a key role in directly shaping the actual conference program schedule and sequencing of both presentations and associated events.
The accepted abstracts form the candidates that conference organizers slot into oral presentations, poster sessions, etc. in the schedule based on topic alignment to achieve themed coherence.
Scheduling constraints like venue capacity, and AV equipment needs mentioned by authors in their submissions assist assigning presentations to appropriate session rooms matching capabilities.
The number of accepted abstracts per topic determines how many parallel sessions are required in the program and the optimal length for each session.
Preferred presentation formats indicated by authors in submissions guide dividing schedule segments between oral talks, posters etc. as per room allotted.
Specific scheduling requests around dates, days, times stated by abstract authors needs consideration where possible when building the conference timetable.
In essence, the profiling details and preferences captured during the initial call for abstracts and submission process provide the inputs that then shape scheduling decisions by organizers when structurally developing the conference program content and timeline. The abstracts fuel the foundation upon which the entire schedule is constructed.
What is conference speaker management?
Conference speaker management refers to the processes and tasks involved with organizing, coordinating, and managing the speakers and presenters at an academic conference event.
Some key aspects of conference speaker management include:
- Identifying and contacting potential speakers to invite for presentations, keynotes or other roles. This may include call for abstracts respondents, subject matter experts, academics etc.
- Collecting information on availability, presentation needs, travel requirements etc. from speakers through submission forms or direct requests.
- Managing speaker agreements & logistics - finalizing talk formats, securing releases, booking travel etc. based on conference planning.
- Coordinating any speaker preparation assistance needed for slides, dry runs etc. or guidance around event objectives.
- Scheduling speakers appropriately within the conference agenda based on content, availability etc.
- Managing presentations onsite - room setups adjusted to needs, on hand for issues during talks, ensure smooth transitions between speakers.
- Gathering presentation materials, slides etc. during/after the event for sharing with attendees.
- Following up post-event for payments, gathering feedback to improve speaker experience.
Essentially, speaker management entails handling the coordination before, during and after the conference encompassing identification, preparation, scheduling, on-site logistics and post-event follow-ups to orchestrate impactful presentations.
What is a Book of Abstracts?
Book of Abstracts refers to a formal published compilation of the abstracts or summaries of the research papers and presentations that were accepted and scheduled to be presented at an academic conference.
In more detail:
- It includes the concise abstracts outlining the key details about the topic, methods, outcomes and implications of the studies.
- The abstracts are usually grouped together by presentation type (oral, poster etc.) or by themes/topic tracks.
- Besides the summaries, a book of abstracts generally contains supplementary information like presentation schedules, tables of contents, author details and keywords to allow readers to easily navigate the research.
- They are typically published digitally and/or as printed paperback books distributed to conference attendees before or after the event.
- Books of abstract act as valuable permanent records that disseminate the essence of conference research content to wider academic audiences beyond just attendees.
- They help researchers determine interest in conference presentations most relevant to their work based on the succinct summaries.
In essence, a well-organized, properly formatted compilation of accepted abstracts in a book enables the core of the conference research to achieve broader visibility and citation impact. It delivers discrete snapshots of presentations in a portable reference guide.
How structure your book of abstracts?
Here are some best practices for structuring a book of abstracts for an academic conference:
- Include a title/cover page with conference details like name, date, location etc.
- Have a copyright notice page outlining usage policies and terms.
- Add a foreword or welcome note from conference organizing chairs.
- Include a table of contents listing all included abstracts.
- Organize abstracts into sections - oral presentations, posters etc. Further categorize by themes under section headers for easy lookup.
- Use a standard format for each abstract listing with title, authors, affiliations, main text, and keywords.
- Ensure a unified structure, word limit and stylistic consistency across abstracts through system enforced rules.
- Add back matter elements like author index to lookup abstracts by specific people, acknowledgments and conference information.
- Use page numbers, headers, visual styling elements etc. to enhance scanability.
- Offer the compiled book of abstracts in both digital and print format for accessibility.
A clean, standardized format with logical organization, taxonomies and navigation tools enables readers to efficiently discover specific abstracts relevant to their interests. Both form and function are important for usable books of abstracts as academic references.
How to publish abstracts online?
Here are some tips on how conference organizers can effectively publish accepted abstracts online:
- Use the abstract management platform's built-in publishing tools to automatically convert abstract text and metadata into web-ready format like meetinghand.com. This streamlines the process.
- Group and display the abstracts in a clear taxonomy based on tracks/themes and presentation types so readers can easily find relevant research.
- Show key details like title, authors, affiliations etc in summary snippet for each abstract to gauge relevance before clicking to read the full text.
- Allow searching and filtering of the published abstract library based on presenter names, keywords, session type etc. to aid discoverability.
- Embed supplementary presentation materials like slides, videos, demo links etc. with each abstract for more context.
- Link the published abstracts to the conference schedule so readers understand when/where presentations will occur.
- Promote the published abstracts portal through emails, conference website banners, social shares etc. to drive visibility.
- Enable comment threads/Q&A functionality for each abstract to encourage scholarly discussion.
- Provide analytics dashboards to track page views, downloads and engagement metrics on published abstracts.
- Maintain archival access post-event as a permanent record benefitting wider research sharing and metrics.
Leveraging robust publishing tools followed by amplification through curated taxonomies, metadata/full-text search, multimedia embeds and discussion channels helps scale access and visibility of key conference insights beyond just physical attendees.
What are the differences between the main abstract management software?
Here is an overview of some of the top platforms for academic conferences and events:
MeetingHand: Offers an end-to-end solution for abstract submission, customizable peer review, scheduling integration, automated notifications, and publishing accepted content in books of abstracts or online. Intuitive interface and workflows.
Oxford Abstracts: Enables customizable abstract submission forms and simplifies the review process. Automates reviewer assignments and follow-ups. Provides decision data to select submissions.
Cvent: Customizable abstract submission, review, acceptance, and publishing. Creates conference agenda automatically. Powerful email automation. But very expensive and not user-friendly.
ExOrdo: Structures multi-track conferences, automates paper allocation to reviewers by topic. Dashboard tracks review progress. Facilitates result communications. But no free trial.
EasyChair: Smart call for papers builder. Flags conflicts of interest. Enables online discussion of submissions. Other core review and scheduling features.
FourWaves: Drag and drop submission form. Automates distribution and scoring of papers. Allows supplementary file uploads. Publishes abstracts online. Offers free version.
Key criteria to evaluate are customization breadth, end-to-end workflows spanning reviewing to publishing, integration depth, interface intuitiveness and pricing.
While features and costs is important when consider selecting an abstract software, the most important part is to have and offer your target participant, speakers, reviewers easy-to-use interfaces. This will encourage your target audience and ensure you gathering more abstracts and a seamless review, decision, notification, scheduling and publishing.
An automated end-to-end software like meetinghand will save you time and effort in addition ensuring successful abstract management and scientific workflow.
The root benefits of using abstract management software, in summary:
Using a SaaS system centralizes an otherwise disconnected array of manual workflows, enabling organizers to focus on developing an impact conference vs administrative tasks. Customized abstract forms boost relevant submissions while process automation, transparency and integrated scheduling create high quality programs showcasing the best research. With solutions often available on a free abstract submission software or trial basis like FourWaves pricing, it pays dividends for planning academic conferences.
Comparison Chart for Main Tools
