OpenSym 2014 Paper Types

OpenSym (and WikiSym) distinguishes between research track papers and community track contributions. Research track papers are further divided into full and short papers, posters, and research-in-progress presentations. Community track contributions are further divided into full and short experience reports as well as workshop, panel, demo, and tutorial proposals. In addition, there will be a Doctoral Symposium.

Overview

Research track papers have to pass rigorous academic peer review, while community track papers are primarily evaluated based on their interest to the community. 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 (ACM DL), authors of submissions classified as research papers will either have to transfer their copyright to the ACM or pay for the open access option. If authors don’t want to transfer the copyright, they should choose the “research-in-progress presentation” paper type, which will give them a presentation slot at the conference but only an abstract in the conference proceedings.

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 OpenSym website.

Research Track Paper Types

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

Full 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 full 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) will either have to sign a copyright transfer agreement to the ACM or they can choose to pay for the open access option. If the authors don’t want to publish in the ACM DL, they can submit a research-in-progress presentation, see below. The authors will have to present their work at the conference in an allocated time slot. A full research paper is given a 30min presentation slot and a short research paper is given a 15min presentation slot.

Research Poster

A research 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 poster 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.

Research-in-progress Presentation

A research-in-progress presentation is a manuscript that is identical to a full 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.

Authors of accepted research-in-progress presentations will nevertheless have to provide an abstract of 2-4 pages that will be put into the conference proceedings to properly document the contribution to the event. Like the corresponding research paper type, a full research-in-progress presentation will be given a 30min presentation slot and a short research-in-progress presentation will be given a 15min presentation slot.

Community Track Paper Types

The following types of papers can be submitted to the community track:

Submissions are reviewed by the community track committee for their interest to the 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. Many attendees want to learn from people on the front lines what it is like to do things like start a company wiki, run an open source project, or build a political campaign using 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.

Full experience reports may be 5-10 pages long and short experience reports may be 2-4 pages long. At the conference, a 30min presentation slot will be provided for full experience reports and a 15min presentation slot will be provided for short experience reports.

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).

A workshop proposal may be up to 4 pages long. At the conference, a workshop slot (half-day or full-day) will be provided.

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 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.

A panel proposal may be up to 4 pages long. At the conference, a session (90min) discussion slot for the panel will be provided.

Demos

No format is better suited for demonstrating the utility of a new innovation 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.

A demo proposal may be up to 2 pages long. At the conference, space and time will be provided at the demo session (90min).

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.

A tutorial proposal may be up to 4 pages long. At the conference, a tutorial slot (90min) will be provided.

Doctoral Symposium Position Papers

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.

One thought on “OpenSym 2014 Paper Types

  1. I am new to paper writting. Can you plz explain me the basics of the same. and how many type of papers are there, as well which is supposed to be good to initiate with.
    thanks and regards,
    Swati

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