Paper Types and Properties

WikiSym + OpenSym 2013 distinguishes between research track papers and community track papers. Research track papers have to pass rigorous academic peer review, while community track papers are primarily evaluated based on their interest to the community. In addition, there will be a Doctoral Symposium. Below we provide precise definitions of the paper types in each category. Please note that a research track does not have to accept all types of papers. However, if the track accepts a particular type of paper, it will conform to the description given below.

For inclusion in the conference proceedings in the ACM Digital Library, authors are expected to transfer their copyright to the ACM for all papers longer than two pages. If authors can’t or don’t want to transfer the copyright, only the abstract of the paper will be provided in the proceedings. The work can nevertheless be presented at the conference itself. Within the proceedings, different paper types are maintained in different sections, and the review process they passed (i.e. the academic value) will be explained in the foreword to the proceedings.

In addition to being published in the ACM Digital Library the proceedings will also be made available, for free, on the WikiSym (and starting 2013) the OpenSym website.

RESEARCH TRACK PAPER TYPES

There are four types of submissions that can be submitted to a research track:

  • Long research papers (5-10 pages)
  • Short research papers (1-4 pages)
  • Research-in-progress presentations (5-10 pages)
  • Research-in-progress posters (1-2 pages)

Long and Short Research Paper

A research paper is a manuscript that the author(s) submit for academic peer review. Research papers present integrative reviews or original reports of substantive new work: theoretical, empirical, and/or in the design, development and/or deployment of novel concepts, systems, and mechanisms. Research papers will be reviewed by a research track program committee to meet rigorous academic standards of publication. Papers will be reviewed for relevance, conceptual quality, innovation and clarity of presentation. A long research paper has a maximum of 10 pages and a short research paper has a maximum of 4 pages.

An accepted research paper will be published in the conference proceedings; the author(s) have to sign a copyright transfer agreement. If the authors can’t or don’t want to sign a copyright transfer agreement, they can submit a research presentation, see below. The authors will have to present their work at the conference in an allocated time slot.

Research-in-progress Presentation

A research-in-progress presentation is a manuscript that is identical to a long or short research paper, except that the author(s) do not want to cause a publication incident. The authors want to present their work at the conference, but they do not want to see it published in the proceedings. This requirement comes out of the social sciences and a research track may offer the research presentation option to its authors.

Research-in-progress Poster

A research-in-progress poster is a two-page manuscript that describes late-breaking or otherwise novel and interesting results to the overall community at large. The goal is to give novel but not necessarily mature work a chance to be seen by other researchers and practitioners and to be discussed at the conference.

The submitted description is put into the proceedings. At the conference, all poster presenters are given a large pinboard or equivalent presentation opportunity to put up material describing their work. A dedicated time slot, the poster session, is reserved for all poster presenters to be available at their pinboard and discuss their work with interested parties.

COMMUNITY TRACK PAPER TYPES

There are several types of papers that can be submitted to the community track:

  • Experience report long and short. A regular presentation slot (30min) will be provided.
  • Workshop. A workshop slot (half-day or full-day) is provided at the conference.
  • Panel. A session (90min) discussion slot for the panel will be provided.
  • Demo. Space and time is provided during the demo session (90min).
  • Tutorial. A tutorial slot (90min) is provided at the conference.

Submissions are reviewed by the community track committee for their interest to the WikiSym + OpenSym community in general. For questions about community track submissions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Experience Reports

Experience reports are an integral part of the conference program. These are opportunities to discuss how ideas that sound good on paper (and at conferences!) work in real life projects and deployments. Many attendees want to learn from people on the front lines what it is like to do things like start a company wiki, use open collaboration tools in a classroom, or build a political campaign around open collaboration systems.
Experience reports are not research papers; their goal is to present experience and reflections on a particular case, and they are reviewed for usefulness, clarity and reflection. Strong experience reports discuss both benefits and drawbacks of the approaches used and clearly call out lessons learned. Reports may focus on a particular aspect of technology usage and practice, or describe broad project experiences.

Workshops

Workshops provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to discuss and learn about topics that require in-depth, extended engagement such as new systems, research methods, standards, and formats.
Workshop proposals should describe what you intend to do and how your session will meet the criteria described above. It should include a concise abstract, proposed time frame (half-day or full-day), what you plan to do during the workshop, and one-paragraph biographies of all organizers.

Workshop proposals will be reviewed and selected for their interest to the community. Each accepted workshop will be provided with a meeting room for either a half or full day. Organizers may also request technology and materials (projector, flip pads, etc).

Panels

Panels provide an interactive forum for bringing together people with interesting points of view to discuss compelling issues around open collaboration. Panels involve participation from both the panelists and audience members in a lively discussion. Proposals for panels should describe the topics and goals and explain how the panel will be organized and how the Wikisym + OpenSym community will benefit. It should include a concise abstract and one-paragraph biographies of panelists and moderators. Panel submissions will be reviewed and selected for their interest to the community. Each panel will be given a 90-minute time slot.

Demos

No format is better suited for demonstrating the utility of new collaboration technologies than showing and using them. Demonstrations give presenters an opportunity to show running systems and gather feedback. Demo submissions should provide a setup for the demo, a specific description of what you plan to demo, what you hope to get out of demoing, and how the audience will benefit. A short note of any special technical requirements should be included. Demo submissions will be reviewed based on their relevance to the community.

Tutorials

Tutorials tutorials are half-day classes, taught by experts, designed to help professionals rapidly come up to speed on a specific technology or methodology. Tutorials can be lecture-oriented or participatory. Tutorial attendees deserve the highest standard of excellence in tutorial preparation and delivery. Tutorial presenters are typically experts in their chosen topic and experienced speakers skilled in preparing and delivering educational presentations. When selecting tutorials, we will consider the presenter’s knowledge of the proposed topic and past success at teaching it.

DOCTORAL SYMPOSIUM POSITION PAPER

Ph.D. students who are interested in receiving feedback on their dissertation work from professors and other experts can submit a two page summary to the doctoral symposium (track). There is only one type of submission, the position paper. Applications are reviewed for the possible value their authors would receive when accepted to the doctoral symposium.