Submissions FAQ
Authors will submit their proposals using our submission system, an online submission form that collects information about your proposal and allows you to upload a proposal document. No proposals will be received via email.
The Annual Conference accepts submissions of research proposals and proposals for panel sessions to be held in parallel with research presentation sessions. Special Conferences generally accept research proposal submission; other types of proposal submissions vary by Special Conference. Please see the submission guidelines for instructions for each type of submission for each conference individually for further information.
All authors must follow the submission guidelines for their proposal, or risk the submission being desk-rejected.
The deadline for submission to Special Conferences vary by conference; please visit the conference webpage for more information. The deadline to submit a proposal for the Annual Conference is in February of the current conference year. All proposals received by the deadline date are deemed original and final. Before the deadline, you can edit a submission you have made. All co-authors must confirm their involvement by the conference-specific deadline in February.
If you are not the sole author of a proposal, you must name all co-authors in the submission system. A maximum of two (2) proposals, either as an author or a co-author, may be submitted. Authors should not be omitted from a proposal they contributed to as a means to avoid the two-proposal maximum. Submissions that have omitted authors or otherwise violate the two-proposal maximum may be subject to exclusion at any time and are considered an ethical violation of the Society. Co-authors will be asked to confirm their involvement. Submissions with unconfirmed authors by the provided deadline risk desk rejection.
It is a hallmark that presentations made at SMS Conferences are on the cutting edge of research. Therefore, SMS invites proposals rather than finished, complete papers for SMS Conferences.
An online system to is used to collect and review proposals for SMS Conference. Only submissions of proposal(s) through the online submission system will be accepted. The submission process includes the following steps:
- Step 1: If you are not a registered user of the SMS website already, create an SMS user profile and provide contact information for yourself.
- Step 2: After creating your SMS user profile and logging in to the website, you can use the “Submit Your Proposal” button found on the conference webpage to complete the online submission form that collects your proposal file and information on the title, abstract, track, as well as any names of co-authors, if applicable.
- Step 3: If you are not the sole author of the proposal, your co-authors listed in the submission form will be automatically contacted by email. They will be asked to confirm their involvement with the submitted proposal, which may include creating an SMS profile if they don’t have one already. You can login at any time again to see the progress of your submitted proposal and your co-authors confirmation status.
- Step 4: The SMS office will verify the completion of your submission once we have all necessary information and confirmation from all authors and will forward the submission into a blind peer review.
- Step 5: Once the peer review is completed, you will be informed about the decision of the Program Review Committee regarding your submission. Authors of accepted proposals will be expected to register to attend the conference by the specified deadline and present in-person at any time during the conference dates. Please see the conference timeline on the conference webpage for more information about specific dates and deadlines.
Presentations FAQ
A Paper Session is one of the proposal presentation session formats, and is composed of 3 - 4 proposals that are presented sequentially by their author(s). There is a short amount of time allotted for audience members to ask questions.
A Common Ground Session is one of the proposal presentation session formats. It is an interactive discussion between the author(s) of 5-6 proposals, audience members and a facilitator, centered around one common theme.
The conference will begin with a day of Interest Groups & Communities Workshops. All other session types, including proposal presentation sessions, will be held for the rest of the duration of the conference. Please note that if you are a presenting author, you must be available to present your proposal at any time during the days that presentation sessions will take place, typically Sunday-Tuesday.
Due to the size of the conference and the complexity of constructing the conference schedule, it is very difficult to accommodate special requests for scheduling. All presenting authors should be available to present at any time during the conference dates.
We do recognize that occasionally there may be extenuating circumstances that prevent a presenter from being available on a specific day. In cases like these, please email the SMS Executive Office to let us know of your constraints, and we will make an effort to take them into consideration when building the schedule. Please note however that we cannot guarantee accommodation for scheduling requests.
Additionally, for the Annual Conference, proposal presentation sessions are held exclusively on Sunday afternoon through Tuesday evening of the conference; no research proposal presentations will be scheduled on the Saturday or Sunday morning of the conference.
Authors will be notified of session assignment information, including date, time, track, and format, in mid-July of the year the conference will take place.
Registration FAQ
Yes, all conference attendees are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. For the Annual Conference, SMS contracts a room block at the hotel where the conference will take place. Rooms are available for a special discounted rate on a first-come, first-serve basis. Early booking is recommended, as the block of discounted rooms frequently sells out. For Special Conferences, a list of suggested hotels, or occasionally an SMS room block, is provided, however this varies by conference.
Registration for the SMS Annual Conference typically opens in mid-May of the conference year. Please see the conference webpage for Special Conference registration dates.
Yes, current SMS members receive a reduction on their registration fee. Click here for more information on becoming an SMS member.
Yes, there is a special registration rate for student SMS members. Click here for more information on becoming a student member of the SMS.
When you are completing your online registration for the conference, a checkbox will be available for you to indicate your request for an invitation letter. Please be aware that visa issuance is outside of our control and often requires considerable time and effort from you.
Visa requirements are set by the country you plan to visit. It is your responsibility to check entry requirements with the consular officials of the countries to be visited well in advance of your trip. Please note, the SMS cannot guarantee the issuance of a visa.