conference thesis

Conference Papers

What this handout is about.

This handout outlines strategies for writing and presenting papers for academic conferences.

What’s special about conference papers?

Conference papers can be an effective way to try out new ideas, introduce your work to colleagues, and hone your research questions. Presenting at a conference is a great opportunity for gaining valuable feedback from a community of scholars and for increasing your professional stature in your field.

A conference paper is often both a written document and an oral presentation. You may be asked to submit a copy of your paper to a commentator before you present at the conference. Thus, your paper should follow the conventions for academic papers and oral presentations.

Preparing to write your conference paper

There are several factors to consider as you get started on your conference paper.

Determine the structure and style

How will you structure your presentation? This is an important question, because your presentation format will shape your written document. Some possibilities for your session include:

• A visual presentation, including software such as PowerPoint or Prezi
• A paper that you read aloud
• A roundtable discussion

Presentations can be a combination of these styles. For example, you might read a paper aloud while displaying images. Following your paper, you might participate in an informal conversation with your fellow presenters.

You will also need to know how long your paper should be. Presentations are usually 15-20 minutes. A general rule of thumb is that one double-spaced page takes 2-2.5 minutes to read out loud. Thus an 8-10 page, double-spaced paper is often a good fit for a 15-20 minute presentation. Adhere to the time limit.  Make sure that your written paper conforms to the presentation constraints.

Consider the conventions of the conference and the structure of your session

It is important to meet the expectations of your conference audience. Have you been to an academic conference previously?  How were presentations structured? What kinds of presentations did you find most effective? What do you know about the particular conference you are planning to attend? Some professional organizations have their own rules and suggestions for writing and presenting for their conferences. Make sure to find out what they are and stick to them.

If you proposed a panel with other scholars, then you should already have a good idea of your panel’s expectations. However, if you submitted your paper individually and the conference organizers placed it on a panel with other papers, you will need additional information.

Will there be a commentator? Commentators, also called respondents or discussants, can be great additions to panels, since their job is to pull the papers together and pose questions. If there will be a commentator, be sure to know when they would like to have a copy of your paper. Observe this deadline.

You may also want to find out what your fellow presenters will be talking about. Will you circulate your papers among the other panelists prior to the conference? Will your papers address common themes? Will you discuss intersections with each other’s work after your individual presentations? How collaborative do you want your panel to be?

Analyze your audience

Knowing your audience is critical for any writing assignment, but conference papers are special because you will be physically interacting with them. Take a look at our handout on audience . Anticipating the needs of your listeners will help you write a conference paper that connects your specific research to their broader concerns in a compelling way.

What are the concerns of the conference?

You can identify these by revisiting the call for proposals and reviewing the mission statement or theme of the conference. What key words or concepts are repeated? How does your work relate to these larger research questions? If you choose to orient your paper toward one of these themes, make sure there is a genuine relationship. Superficial use of key terms can weaken your paper.

What are the primary concerns of the field?

How do you bridge the gap between your research and your field’s broader concerns? Finding these linkages is part of the brainstorming process. See our handout on brainstorming . If you are presenting at a conference that is within your primary field, you should be familiar with leading concerns and questions. If you will be attending an interdisciplinary conference or a conference outside of your field, or if you simply need to refresh your knowledge of what’s current in your discipline, you can:

• Read recently published journals and books, including recent publications by the conference’s featured speakers
• Talk to people who have been to the conference
• Pay attention to questions about theory and method. What questions come up in the literature? What foundational texts should you be familiar with?
• Review the initial research questions that inspired your project. Think about the big questions in the secondary literature of your field.
• Try a free-writing exercise. Imagine that you are explaining your project to someone who is in your department, but is unfamiliar with your specific topic. What can you assume they already know? Where will you need to start in your explanation? How will you establish common ground?

Contextualizing your narrow research question within larger trends in the field will help you connect with your audience.  You might be really excited about a previously unknown nineteenth-century poet. But will your topic engage others?  You don’t want people to leave your presentation, thinking, “What was the point of that?” By carefully analyzing your audience and considering the concerns of the conference and the field, you can present a paper that will have your listeners thinking, “Wow! Why haven’t I heard about that obscure poet before? She is really important for understanding developments in Romantic poetry in the 1800s!”

Writing your conference paper

I have a really great research paper/manuscript/dissertation chapter on this same topic. Should I cut and paste?

Be careful here. Time constraints and the needs of your audience may require a tightly focused and limited message. To create a paper tailored to the conference, you might want to set everything aside and create a brand new document.  Don’t worry—you will still have that paper, manuscript, or chapter if you need it. But you will also benefit from taking a fresh look at your research.

Citing sources

Since your conference paper will be part of an oral presentation, there are special considerations for citations. You should observe the conventions of your discipline with regard to including citations in your written paper. However, you will also need to incorporate verbal cues to set your evidence and quotations off from your text when presenting. For example, you can say: “As Nietzsche said, quote, ‘And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you,’ end quote.” If you use multiple quotations in your paper, think about omitting the terms “quote” and “end quote,” as these can become repetitive. Instead, signal quotations through the inflection of your voice or with strategic pauses.

Organizing the paper

There are numerous ways to effectively organize your conference paper, but remember to have a focused message that fits the time constraints and meets the needs of your audience. You can begin by connecting your research to the audience’s concerns, then share a few examples/case studies from your research, and then, in conclusion, broaden the discussion back out to general issues in the field.

Don’t overwhelm or confuse your audience

You should limit the information that you present. Don’t attempt to summarize your entire dissertation in 10 pages. Instead, try selecting main points and provide examples to support those points. Alternatively, you might focus on one main idea or case study and use 2-4 examples to explain it.

Check for clarity in the text

One way to anticipate how your ideas will sound is to read your paper out loud. Reading out loud is an excellent proofreading technique and is a great way to check the clarity of your ideas; you are likely to hear problems that you didn’t notice in just scanning your draft.  Help listeners understand your ideas by making sure that subjects and verbs are clear and by avoiding unnecessarily complex sentences.

Include verbal cues in the text

Make liberal use of transitional phrases like however, therefore, and thus, as well as signpost words like first, next, etc.

If you have 5 main points, say so at the beginning and list those 5 ideas. Refer back to this structure frequently as you transition between sections (“Now, I will discuss my fourth point, the importance of plasma”).

Use a phrase like “I argue” to announce your thesis statement. Be sure that there is only one of these phrases—otherwise your audience will be confused about your central message.

Refer back to the structure, and signal moments where you are transitioning to a new topic: “I just talked about x, now I’m going to talk about y.”

I’ve written my conference paper, now what?

Now that you’ve drafted your conference paper, it’s time for the most important part—delivering it before an audience of scholars in your field!  Remember that writing the paper is only one half of what a conference paper entails. It is both a written text and a presentation.

With preparation, your presentation will be a success. Here are a few tips for an effective presentation. You can also see our handout on speeches .

Cues to yourself

Include helpful hints in your personal copy of the paper. You can remind yourself to pause, look up and make eye contact with your audience, or employ body language to enhance your message. If you are using a slideshow, you can indicate when to change slides. Increasing the font size to 14-16 pt. can make your paper easier to read.

Practice, practice, practice

When you practice, time yourself. Are you reading too fast? Are you enunciating clearly? Do you know how to pronounce all of the words in your paper? Record your talk and critically listen to yourself. Practice in front of friends and colleagues.

If you are using technology, familiarize yourself with it. Check and double-check your images. Remember, they are part of your presentation and should be proofread just like your paper.  Print a backup copy of your images and paper, and bring copies of your materials in multiple formats, just in case.  Be sure to check with the conference organizers about available technology.

Professionalism

The written text is only one aspect of the overall conference paper. The other is your presentation. This means that your audience will evaluate both your work and you! So remember to convey the appropriate level of professionalism.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Adler, Abby. 2010. “Talking the Talk: Tips on Giving a Successful Conference Presentation.” Psychological Science Agenda 24 (4).

Kerber, Linda K. 2008. “Conference Rules: How to Present a Scholarly Paper.” The Chronicle of Higher Education , March 21, 2008. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Conference-Rules-How-to/45734 .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Abraham, S.J. (2018). Presenting Thesis in Conferences: Oral and Poster Presentation. In: Parija, S., Kate, V. (eds) Thesis Writing for Master's and Ph.D. Program. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0890-1_21

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Is it an Article, a Book, or a Chapter in a Book? Identifying Citations: Theses, Dissertations, Conference Papers

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• Theses, Dissertations, Conference Papers

THESES & DISSERTATIONS

A thesis is written to satisfy a requirement for a Master's degree.  There is almost always something in the database record or the citation that says "thesis."  Frequently, the degree will be mentioned as well.  The name of an advisor may be included as well as the name of the author.

Dissertations

A dissertation is written to satisfy a requirement for a Doctoral degree.  Look for the word "dissertation" or the phrase, "Dissertation Abstracts."  Advisors and committee members (people who write dissertations must make an oral presentation to a committee) will be mentioned.

CONFERENCE PAPERS & CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Conference Papers

A conference paper is both a written document and an oral presentation by the author or authors at a conference.  Conference papers may or may not be published in the form of scholarly journal articles.  There is usually mention of "a paper presented at the 2019 Such and Such Conference on Stuff."  If published as journal articles, these citations are similar to normal journal citations.

Conference Proceedings

Conference proceedings are collections of conference papers presented at a particular conference.  These are published in book form.  There is usually something that says "proceedings" or "proceedings of the 2019 Such and Such Conference on Stuff."  These citations are similar to normal book or book chapter citations.

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Conference Presentations

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This resource provides a detailed overview of the common types of conference papers and sessions graduate students can expect, followed by pointers on presenting conference papers for an audience. 

Types of conference papers and sessions

Panel presentations are the most common form of presentation you will encounter in your graduate career. You will be one of three to four participants in a panel or session (the terminology varies depending on the organizers) and be given fifteen to twenty minutes to present your paper. This is often followed by a ten-minute question-and-answer session either immediately after your presentation or after all of the speakers are finished. It is up to the panel organizer to decide upon this framework. In the course of the question-and-answer session, you may also address and query the other panelists if you have questions yourself. Note that you can often propose a conference presentation by yourself and be sorted onto a panel by conference organizers, or you can propose a panel with a group of colleagues. Self-proposed panels typically have more closely related topics than conference-organized panels.

Roundtables feature an average of five to six speakers, each of whom gets the floor for approximately five to ten minutes to speak on their respective topics and/or subtopics. At times, papers from the speakers might be circulated in advance among the roundtable members or even prospective attendees.

Workshops feature one or a few organizers, who usually give a brief presentation but spend the majority of the time for the session facilitating an activity that attendees will do. Some common topics for these sessions typically include learning a technology or generating some content, such as teaching materials.

Lightning talks (or Ignite talks, or Pecha Kucha talks) are very short presentations where presenters' slide decks automatically advance after a few seconds; most individual talks are no longer than 5 minutes, and a lightning talk session typically invites 10 or more presenters to participate over the course of an hour or two rather than limiting the presenters like a panel presentation. A lightning talk session will sometimes be held as a sort of competition where attendees can vote for the best talk. 

SIGs (Special Interest Groups) are groups of scholars focused on a particular smaller topic within the purview of the larger conference. The structure of these sessions varies by conference and even by group, but in general they tend to be structured either more like a panel presentation, with presenters and leaders, or more like a roundtable, with several speakers and a particular meeting agenda. These styles resemble, respectively, a miniconference focusing on a particular topic and a committee meeting. 

Papers with respondents are structured around a speaker who gives an approximately thirty-minute paper and a respondent who contributes their own thoughts, objections, and further questions in the following fifteen minutes. Finally, the speaker gets that same amount of time to formulate their reply to the respondent.

Poster presentations ask participants to visually display their ideas on a research poster, which is typically displayed with other research posters in a specific area at a conference. The poster needs to be understandable on its own (without the author) as viewers sometimes look through the posters outside the bounds of the poster session, which is a scheduled period of time where poster authors stand with their posters and engage viewers in conversation about the work. Research posters have long tended to follow common templates for design, but in recent years some scholars have begun challenging these templates for improved usability (for example, the Better Poster campaign as described here  or the APA template based on the original, here.

You can read more about research posters on our resource here .

Presenting the conference paper

Aim to take less time than you are given! If your presentation slot is 15 minutes, aim for 13 or 14 when you practice. A little leeway and a slightly shorter presentation is a courtesy to your audience and to your fellow presenters, and will not at all imply that you are unprepared or unprofessional — in fact, being able to keep well within your allotted time is the mark of a good presenter.

Make sure you speak slowly and clearly, using accessibility aids if available such as a microphone or closed captioning on a slide deck. Many presenters have begun bringing accessibility copies of their talks, which are printed transcripts of the talk using a larger font for audience members who need them. It is also becoming increasingly common for presenters at conferences to share their slides and copies of their talk via a shortened link or QR code found on the bottom of the slides so that audiences may access them later or even while they are in your session.

The conventions for presentation differ based on field. Some fields tend toward reading papers aloud with very little audiovisual accompaniment; others use slide decks; others speak extemporaneously. You can find out more about typical practices in your field by attending conferences yourself and by asking mentors. Generally, you will be able to improve the accessibility of your presentation if you have a visual accompaniment and prepared remarks.

Even in fields where presenters tend to read papers verbatim, it is rarely a good idea to bring a paper from a class or another research paper you have written without editing it for an oral presentation. Seminar papers tend to be too long to read in 15 minutes, and often lead to graduate students surpassing their time limits. Moreover, research papers are meant to be read — they lack the kinds of repetition and simple sentence structure that are more beneficial to listeners. Finally, conference presentations do not serve the same purposes as most class papers — typically in a class, you're expected to show that you have understood the material, but at a conference, listeners are more interested in hearing what contributions you have that might help them in their own research. It's typical to move the bulk of your literature review to an appendix or another document so that you can discuss other scholarship in the area if it comes up in the Q&A, but during your presentation you're left free to focus on your own methods and findings. (Many presenters will even say: "I'm skipping a lot of [X material] for the sake of time, but I'm happy to discuss it later with anyone who's interested.")

Since you will present your paper orally, you may repeat important points and say more about the structure of the essay than a written submission to a journal (or a paper for your undergraduate or graduate courses) would require. This often means signposting orally when you are moving to a new section of the paper or when you are shifting to a new idea. The thesis of your paper should come early in your presentation to give listeners a clear understanding of what is to follow. At this point, you may also overview or forecast your paper and tell listeners how you will move from one argument to the next. It is generally advised to quickly summarize your important points in a bulleted list at the end of your presentation to remind everyone of the two or three most essential arguments or findings.

If you use a slide presentation, you may want to follow the guidelines presented in the OWL resource, Designing an Effective PowerPoint Presentation .

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• Conference papers, presentations, theses

Conference papers, presentations

• For conference papers published online, hyperlink the title . If you’re citing a PDF, avoid linking directly to the PDF. Instead link to the page that hosts the PDF.

Published conference paper and presentation

Elements of the reference, author a (day month year) ‘title of paper: subtitle of paper’ [conference presentation],  name of conference , place of conference, accessed day month year., in-text citation, blunden (2007) or (blunden 2007), reference list, blunden j (9–12 may 2007) ‘ plain or just dull collateral damage from the plain english movement ’ [conference presentation],  3rd iped conference , tasmania, accessed 3 may 2019., unpublished conference paper, author a (day month year) ‘title of paper: subtitle of paper’ [unpublished conference presentation],  name of conference , place of conference., blunden j (9–12 may 2007) ‘plain or just dull collateral damage from the plain english movement’ [unpublished conference presentation],  3rd iped conference , hobart..

• If the thesis is online, hyperlink the title and include an accessed date. If you’re citing a PDF, avoid linking directly to the PDF. Instead link to the page that hosts the PDF.

Published thesis

Author a (year)  title of thesis: subtitle of thesis  [type of thesis], name of university, accessed day month year., (rahman 2013) or rahman (2013), rahman m (2013)  using authentic materials in the writing classes: tertiary level scenario  [master’s thesis], brac university, accessed 5 may 2017., unpublished thesis, author a (year)  title of thesis: subtitle of thesis  [unpublished type of thesis], name of university, accessed day month year., rahman m (2013)  using authentic materials in the writing classes: tertiary level scenario  [unpublished master’s thesis], brac university, accessed 5 may 2017..

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Finding Conference Papers in Education

Not all subject databases index conference papers/proceedings. ERIC and PsycINFO are useful if looking for conference proceedings in Education.

• PsycINFO You can limit a search in PsycINFO to conference proceedings by using the Advance Search and scrolling down to the section called "Book Type" and choosing "Conference Proceedings"

Additional Resources for Conference Proceedings

Here are some other useful databases when searching specifically for conference papers or proceedings.

• COS Conference Papers Index Provides citations to papers and poster sessions presented at major scientific meetings around the world. Subject emphasis since 1995 has been in the life sciences, environmental sciences and the aquatic sciences, while older material also covers physics, engineering and materials science. Information is derived from final programs, abstracts booklets and published proceedings, as well as from questionnaire responses. Records include complete ordering information to obtain preprints, abstracts, proceedings and other publications derived from the conference, together with title and author information needed to track the specific papers.

Dissertations

The Purdue University Libraries collects, preserves, and provides access to dissertations as original works of scholarship in conjunction with doctorates awarded by the University. Other pertinent student works such as master's and honors theses may also be collected.

What is the difference between a thesis and a dissertation?

At Purdue, “thesis” typically refers to a Master’s program and “dissertation” refers to the Ph.D program. In the early years a thesis was written in many undergraduate programs (i.e B.S. in Engineering).

How can I find dissertations that were written at Purdue?

The Purdue Libraries holds one copy of each title from 1882 to present. In some cases these have been marked confidential or have restrictions in place for a limited period of time. The original paper copies do not circulate and must be viewed in Archives and Special Collections. These can be requested through the Libraries catalog . Please log in to request your item. When the request is received, it is pulled from the storage Repository and delivered to be viewed in the Archives and Special Collections Research Center on the 4 th floor of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library (HSSE). This is located in Stewart Center, 504 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907. You will receive a confirmation email when the item is ready along with directions to the Archives.

More information:

The first Thesis is available to be viewed in Archives and Special Collections . Early Purdue University Theses and Dissertations (starting in 1882 and scanned up to 1906 so far) have been scanned and are available online. Open access copies are available online through the Theses and Dissertations, Purdue e-Puds (including some copies from ProQuest). Copies available for loan: Some of the theses and dissertations have been microfilmed and can be requested for off campus use through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) . Also, some paper duplicates will show up in the catalog, please request the copy that does not say “Only viewable in the Archives.” Alumni can request an electronic copy of their theses or dissertation from the past by contacting [email protected].  If you have questions about depositing your thesis or dissertation, please contact the graduate school Thesis and Dissertation Office . 

How can I find theses or dissertations from U.S. institutions?

Go to Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) . It offers a comprehensive listing of bibliographic entries for theses and dissertations in the Dissertation Abstracts database. Theses and dissertations listed since 1997 are available in PDF digital format for users affiliated with Purdue University with access to theses and dissertations from CIC institutions. For those entries not full-text, 24-page previews are available. For non full-text entries and possible borrowing of non-Purdue titles, consult Interlibrary Loan .

How can I find dissertations that are free?

• From Center for Research Libraries (CRL) search for available paper-bound titles. CRL has more than 750,000 uncataloged foreign [non-U.S. or Canadian] doctoral dissertations, of which approximately 20,000 are presently in this database. Please consult with CRL if you are unable to find a dissertation that you may require.
• Cybertheses permits access to selected French dissertations from 1972 to the present. This database can provide access to another index where full-text provision for selected dissertations [theses in French] may be provided.
• NDLTD - Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations . NDLTD provides access to thousands of digitally available dissertations and theses. Both U.S. and foreign dissertations and theses can be accessed through this site for those institutions participating within this association.

Searching for Dissertations and Theses in Education

• Dissertations and Theses (Native ProQuest interface) Central resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Dissertations and theses published by Purdue Graduate Students from Fall 2018 onward can be found in the Hammer Research Repository

• Purdue e-Pubs - Theses and Dissertations Link to Theses and Dissertations that Purdue students have wished to make openly available

What is the difference?

• Dissertations & Theses is not limited by any subject area and has more than 2 million entries.
• ERIC is limited to the field of education and has over 25,000 dissertations: those authors submit and those from ProQuest Dissertations &Theses database.
• Purdue e-pubs is limited to the Purdue students that have chosen to make their dissertation or thesis openly available.
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Journal vs conference papers: Key differences & advice

Journal and conference papers are not the same, and both formats have advantages and disadvantages. A good understanding of the key differences between journal and conference papers avoid s pitfalls, such as copyright issues when wanting to turn a conference into a journal paper at a later stage.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase using the links below at no additional cost to you . I only recommend products or services that I truly believe can benefit my audience. As always, my opinions are my own.

What is a journal paper?

What is a conference paper, advantages of journal papers, disadvantages of journal papers, advantages of conference papers, disadvantages of conference papers, differences between journal and conference papers, questions to ask yourself before submitting a conference paper, is conference paper better than journal paper, can you use a conference paper in a journal, are all conference papers automatically published in conference proceedings, do conference papers count as publications.

A journal paper is a written piece of academic work – presenting empirical research, a theoretical discussion, or both – published in an academic journal. Most journal papers or articles are peer-reviewed , meaning they undergo a rigorous review process involving several stages and rounds of revisions before they are published.

Most academic journals have an impact factor, which is an index calculated based on the number of citations of articles published within a specific journal. The higher the impact factor of a journal, the wider the (potential) reach of journal papers that it publishes. And the better the reputation of the journal.

Therefore, authors of journal papers tend to target journals with a high impact factor to publish their work. There are other criteria that play a role when selecting a journal to publish research . However, the impact factor remains a crucial one, as publications in high-impact factor journals strongly influence academic promotions.

A conference paper is a piece of academic work that is specifically written for an academic conference, and mostly accompanies a conference presentation. While there are some exceptions, most conference papers are not peer-reviewed.

Conference papers are usually submitted several weeks before the actual conference, and circulated among conference participants in preparation for the actual presentations. However, not all conferences require conference papers. And some conferences make the submission of a conference paper optional.

Many conferences that require or allow the submission of a conference paper have ‘best conference paper’ awards, rewarding outstanding submissions. Furthermore, some conferences publish a collection of conference papers after the event, in the so-called conference proceedings. Many conference proceedings do not have an impact factor.

If you are looking to elevate your writing and editing skills, I highly recommend enrolling in the course “ Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization “, which is a 4 course series offered by the University of Michigan. This comprehensive program is conveniently available as an online course on Coursera, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Plus, upon successful completion, you’ll have the opportunity to earn a valuable certificate to showcase your newfound expertise!

Advantages and disadvantages of journal and conference papers

The choice between a journal or a conference paper should be a careful one. Both formats fulfill important but different roles in academia. Therefore, a good understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of both formats can help to make an informed decision.

Please notice that the following points are developed from a social sciences perspective. Other fields and specific disciplines may have different standards.

• Journal papers are more prestigious in academia. Especially if you strive for an academic career , publishing peer-reviewed journal papers in high-impact journals should be your priority.
• Journal papers are more frequently cited than conference papers. Journal impact factors are not the only metric that strongly influences academic promotions: The so-called h-index is a metric that measures your ‘impact’ in terms of how often your publications have been cited. And journal papers are cited more often than conference papers, as they are considered more reputable.
• Journal papers undergo revisions, which often means they are of higher quality. Due to the rigorous peer-review process that most journal papers are subjected to, the quality of journal papers tends to be better than that of conference papers. During peer review, experts on a topic point out flaws in the draft paper, challenge your thinking and provide suggestions for improvement. While dealing with peer review comments can be a tedious process, the final result is often a much better paper compared to the initial manuscript.
• Publishing a journal paper takes time. The whole process from manuscript to published paper can be lengthy, and take from anywhere between several months to several years.
• Most journals do not publish preliminary results. Even if you make a groundbreaking discovery in your preliminary analysis, most journals will not consider it worthy of a publication before more final conclusions can be drawn.
• There is a risk of outdated data in journal papers. For instance, if you want to publish your academic work to contribute to a current societal discussion, a journal paper may not be the best option. In the worst case, the publishing process takes more than a year and by the time of publication, your data may be outdated. Furthermore, your conclusions may be irrelevant for practice as a lot can change in a year.
• Journal papers have to follow strict rules set by journals. Journals set, for example, rules in terms of length, structure, or reference style that have to be followed. Conference papers, on the other hand, are often more flexible.
• Conference papers tend to have a lower threshold of acceptance than journal papers. It is much easier to publish a conference paper in conference proceedings than publish academic work in a high-impact journal. Therefore, conference papers can be a valuable option to learn about paper writing and publishing, and an easier way for early career researchers to get their name on a publication.
• Conference papers are published relatively fast. Some conference papers undergo peer review before being published in conference proceedings, but many don’t. In general, conference proceedings are published relatively soon after the actual conference takes places. Thus, a conference paper can be a good way to publish fast.
• Conference papers can discuss ongoing research and preliminary results. Contrary to journal papers, conference papers often address ongoing research and tentative conclusions. Furthermore, the format tends to be more open than in journal papers, providing authors of conference papers more freedom in terms of content and structure.
• Conference papers can often compete for ‘best conference paper’ aw ards . And having such an award to your name certainly looks good on your academic CV !
• Conference papers do not count as much as journal publications for career advancement. This is because many conference papers are not peer-reviewed and because many conference proceedings do not have an impact factor. Thus, in terms of career promotion or trajectories, conference papers are less relevant than journal papers.
• Conference papers can create copyright issues. It is a very common scenario: an author writes a conference paper first, then makes some edits and submits it to an academic journal for publication. If the conference paper has been published in conference proceedings, it will likely be flagged as plagiarised by the journal. Journals do not like to publish articles which have been published elsewhere in a similar fashion, and some use any indication of plagiarism (even if it is self-plagiarism) as a reason to desk-reject a manuscript.
• Sharing great ideas prematurely in a conference paper can make you vulnerable. Unfortunately, there is a lot of competition in academia, and not everyone plays by the rules. Therefore, you should always carefully consider how much of your work you share, without linking it to a publication of your own. Sharing an excellent idea that is sent around to hundreds of conference participants creates a risk that someone copies or steals your idea or approach, and tries to publish it faster in a journal article than you do.

Based on the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of journal and conference papers above, the following key differences come to light:

• Content and requirements : Conference papers are more open to include preliminary results and are more flexible in terms of requirements than journal papers. The target audience of conference papers are conference participants, while journal papers target the wider academic community.
• Submission and peer review process : Journal papers tend to be submitted via an online system and undergo a structured peer review process. Conference papers are often simply sent to the conference organisers by email and are not peer-reviewed.
• Time to publication: Conference papers are often published more quickly in conference proceedings than journal papers are published in academic journals.
• Career relevance: Journal papers are much more relevant for academic careers than conference papers. Most journals have impact factors, while most conference proceedings do not have impact factors.

Even though journal papers are more important for academic promotions, submitting a conference paper is not per se the wrong choice. A ‘best conference paper’ award, for instance, can make you stand out when applying for academic jobs.

When embarking on writing a conference paper, it is better to be safe than sorry: At times, it may require reaching out to conference organisers or target journals to make sure that you will not run into copyright or plagiarism issues at a later point.

Oftentimes, conferences still allow you to present even without submitting a conference paper. Or you can ask the conference organisers not to include your paper in the conference proceedings. Furthermore, some journals are okay with publishing a paper that has been published in a conference proceeding earlier. Just make sure to ask in advance to prevent bad surprises!

Thus, when considering a conference paper, first answer the following questions:

• What are the benefits of submitting a conference paper to the specific conference, and do they outweigh the drawbacks?
• How can I mitigate the drawbacks? (Would my conference paper be published in the conference proceedings and can I opt out? Can I participate in the conference without a conference paper?)
• Do I share too many original ideas in my conference paper, which someone could copy without referring to my work as I haven’t published on the topic yet?
• Could I face copyright issues if I want to turn my conference paper into a journal paper at a later point?

Frequently Asked Questions

In academia, journal papers are considered ‘better’ than conference papers because they have a stronger positive impact on academic careers. Reasons for this are the more rigorous peer-review process that journal papers tend to undergo before publication, the higher standards of journals compared to conference proceedings, and the impact factor of journals.

You should never simply submit a conference paper to a journal without making substantial edits beforehand. That said, it is okay to use similar data or arguments. If your conference paper has been published in conference proceedings, it is best to inform the journal about it in your letter to the editor , which accompanies your journal paper submission. Otherwise, it may be flagged as plagiarised and immediately desk-rejected by the journal editors before it even has the chance to enter the peer-review process.

Not all conference papers are automatically published in conference proceedings. Different conferences have different rules when it comes to publishing papers in conference proceedings. Therefore, you should check the rules and procedures of a specific conference in advance. If you cannot find the information online, you can send an email to the conference organisers. You can also always ask if it is possible to present without submitting a conference paper or to not have your conference paper published in the conference proceedings.

Conference papers often do not count as academic publications. Therefore, on academic CVs, conference papers tend to be listed under ‘Conferences’ instead of ‘Publications’. Alternatively, they are listed as a separate sub-category under ‘Publications’, but in a way that they are clearly differentiated from other (peer-reviewed) publications.

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How to Create a Research Poster

• Poster Basics
• Design Tips
• Logos & Images

What is a Research Poster?

Posters are widely used in the academic community, and most conferences include poster presentations in their program.  Research posters summarize information or research concisely and attractively to help publicize it and generate discussion. 

The poster is usually a mixture of a brief text mixed with tables, graphs, pictures, and other presentation formats. At a conference, the researcher stands by the poster display while other participants can come and view the presentation and interact with the author.

What Makes a Good Poster?

• Important information should be readable from about 10 feet away
• Title is short and draws interest
• Word count of about 300 to 800 words
• Text is clear and to the point
• Use of bullets, numbering, and headlines make it easy to read
• Effective use of graphics, color and fonts
• Consistent and clean layout
• Includes acknowledgments, your name and institutional affiliation

A Sample of a Well Designed Poster

View this poster example in a web browser .  

Image credit: Poster Session Tips by [email protected], via Penn State

Where do I begin?

Answer these three questions:.

• What is the most important/interesting/astounding finding from my research project?
• How can I visually share my research with conference attendees? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, images?
• What kind of information can I convey during my talk that will complement my poster?

What software can I use to make a poster?

A popular, easy-to-use option. It is part of Microsoft Office package and is available on the library computers in rooms LC337 and LC336. ( Advice for creating a poster with PowerPoint ).

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign

Feature-rich professional software that is good for posters including lots of high-resolution images, but they are more complex and expensive.  NYU Faculty, Staff, and Students can access and download the Adobe Creative Suite .

Open Source Alternatives 

• OpenOffice is the free alternative to MS Office (Impress is its PowerPoint alternative).
• Inkscape and Gimp are alternatives to Adobe products.
• For charts and diagrams try Gliffy or Lovely Charts .
• A complete list of free graphics software .

A Sample of a Poorly Designed Poster

View this bad poster example in a browser.

Image Credit: Critique by Better Posters

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• Last Updated: Jul 11, 2023 5:09 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/posters

Haverford College

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• Senior Conference & Thesis

Department of English

Senior conference & thesis.

In their critical senior theses, students mark out an area of interest focused on an author, text, genre, theme, or formal feature, familiarize themselves with the major critical voices and debates pertaining to this field, and identify a set of issues that they investigate and analyze in their essays. We look for well-written, persuasive essays that advance interesting and original arguments about texts and interpretations that are based on insightful close readings and smart engagement with relevant critical and background material.

Creative Writing concentrators produce, instead of the critical essay, a portfolio of poems or short stories, a novella, or a screenplay accompanied by a foreword or afterword that reflects on their artistic choices and offers an analytic framework within which the work may be understood.

We are thinking about you during this stressful but important moment at the outset of your senior years. The information below, revised to incorporate the new format for 399f and your various learning spaces, will be a helpful resource as you turn to senior thesis work. Please note that the information and dates for the spring semester may evolve rapidly, depending on how the on-campus situation changes. We look forward to working with each of you and hope you will be in touch with any questions.

Thesis Topic and Faculty Consultant

Submit essay topic/preference for Faculty Consultant.

Thesis Topic Description

Submit one-paragraph description of project, approved by Faculty Consultant

2023-2024 English Faculty Consultants

Kim Benston

• Renaissance Literature (including Shakespeare)
• Drama/Performance/film
• African-American Literature
• Literature & Philosophy
• Selected Topics in Poetry and Narrative
• Critical Animal Studies

Elizabeth Kim

• Asian American Literature
• Creative Writing
• Contemporary Poetry
• Visual Studies

Laura McGrane

• British Literature and Culture, Pre-1900
• Theories of the Novel/Historiography
• Aesthetics/Visual Culture
• Digital and Media Studies
• 18th C Literature and Culture
• South African Literature and Politics

Asali Solomon

• Contemporary Fiction
• African-American Fiction & Poetry
• Caribbean Literature

Lindsay Reckson

• American and African-American Literature
• Performance Studies
• Visual & Media Studies
• Archival Theory & Methods

Gustavus Stadler

• U.S. Literatures
• Queer Theory and History of Sexuality
• Cultural Production and the U.S. Left
• Music in Literature

You have just a few weeks to settle on a topic for your Senior Essay and to choose your Faculty Consultant for the project. We will hold a mandatory meeting for seniors on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 4:15 P.M. in the Meditation Room , where you can exchange tips, clarify doubts, meet faculty consultants, and begin the multiple tasks of Senior Conference.

Consulting with Faculty

On this website, you will find a list of Faculty Consultants with a general indication of the fields in which we specialize. Of course, you are welcome informally to consult any faculty member about your project

In the next few weeks, please talk to at least three of us about your topic for the Senior Essay. Do not hesitate to gather ideas from those whose fields seem outside your chosen topic. After you have consulted with all your faculty choices please fill in the online form expressing your area of interest and your first, second, and third choice of Faculty Consultant. Submit the completed form online no later than October 6 . Remember, you must talk to the faculty members with whom you wish to work before you complete the form.

We assign a roughly equivalent number of students to each faculty member. Those assignments will be made in late September and posted on the English Department office door. As soon as you have been assigned to a Faculty Consultant, you must arrange a meeting to discuss your project and begin the work of refining your topic. By Friday, October 27 , you need to turn in a one-paragraph description of your topic that your Faculty Consultant has approved. Use the submission form on the website.

Choosing your Topic

The department tries to be flexible in the range of topics undertaken. You should begin by thinking through your own interests and desires; afterwards, in consultation with the professors with whom you discuss your interests, you can identify productive lines of inquiry. Please note that your primary text may not be a text in translation. Also, you may do a “creative writing” project only if you already have been admitted to the creative writing concentration. The choice of a central text that you choose is generally limited to genres that you have formally studied. (For example, if you have not taken a film class, we would ask that you not write about a film since you will not have the background in that area.)

In indicating your topic and paragraph on the form, be as specific as possible. If you have a very definite idea already, include that (e.g. “Who (or What) Speaks?: Discerning the Subject in Three Stories from La Frontera (Anaya, Anzaldua, Cisneros).” Or you can say something less formal: “I’m interested in looking very closely at images of windows in at least one of Virginia Woolf’s novels, maybe Mrs. Dalloway , and I’d also like to talk about her essays.” If you only have a vague notion, you may indicate a general area of interest (“I want to work on technology in contemporary American poetry” or “I’d like to write on themes of loss in fiction about refugee journeys”), but you should use this opportunity to focus your thinking as sharply as you can.

Using the Library / Meeting with the Librarian

Each senior will attend a meeting with Semyon Khokhlov, the Humanities librarian. You should contact him to schedule this ( skhokhlov [at] haverford.edu ); he will be available to meet with you between October 27 and November 17 . To take full advantage of that meeting, you will want to come with well-formed questions about your topic. Note, this meeting is required.

We encourage you to read widely at this stage of your thesis preparation so that you develop a sense of the issues and approaches being addressed by the larger critical community about your text, author, or topic. You might also take a look at essays previous generations of seniors have written and sign up for extended borrowing privileges using the Senior Thesis Resources page .

Project Proposal and Bibliography

By November 17 , you will complete a detailed annotated bibliography of relevant critical and theoretical sources for your project and submit this document to your faculty consultant. Your annotations should take the form of working notes shaping the purpose and direction of your own essay. You may point out how certain sources will help you to

locate and to advance your own argument, and you may also define positions that are unlike your own, which your work will effectively challenge. You might find it helpful to divide the bibliography into two parts-- "likely to be used"/"unlikely to be used," or "important to my argument"/"unimportant to my argument." What's critical here is to make this stage a genuinely helpful one rather than stalling before you get to the real work. The annotations should be engaged and productive. We will expect you to keep working on your senior project over the winter break.

By December 15 , you will complete a detailed annotated bibliography of relevant critical and theoretical sources for your project and submit this document to your faculty consultant. Your annotations should take the form of working notes shaping the purpose and direction of your own essay. You may point out how certain sources will help you to locate and to advance your own argument, and you may also define positions that are unlike your own, which your work will effectively challenge. You might find it helpful to divide the bibliography into two parts-- "likely to be used"/"unlikely to be used," or "important to my argument"/"unimportant to my argument." What's critical here is to make this stage a genuinely helpful one rather than stalling before you get to the real work. The annotations should be engaged and productive. We will expect you to keep working on your senior project over the winter break.

Your final essay should be 25-30 pages in length. Your readers are not absolute about such matters; however, this length is normative, and any essay that is significantly shorter or longer ought to be exceptional (in every sense). Please note these other important deadlines: February 2, 2024 for an outline of your entire essay and 4-5 pages of draft, and March 8 for the completed rough draft. The final draft of your senior essay, along with the “Library Authorization Form” is due at 4 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2024 . No extensions to this final deadline will be given. Any late submission will be marked down a full grade for each day of tardiness.

In your essay, we expect evidence of some serious engagement with secondary materials, whether critical or theoretical. You will begin to develop a bibliography of appropriate critical readings with your faculty consultant early on. While you needn’t overtly fashion your essay as a response to this material, it is expected that you will be writing with an awareness of your relationship to a critical community that both predates and parallels your own interpretive performance. You are entering into a conversation with critical readers who have gone before you.

Those of you doing a creative writing project will be asked to produce a critical introduction to your work of around 10-12 pages, for which a bibliography will also be required. The English department has on file a packet of materials related to this requirement (contemporary writers on writing, etc.). Contact Trish Griffith in Woodside Cottage for the material.

Both your faculty consultant and a second departmental faculty member will read your thesis. These assignments will be made in April (see “Oral comprehensive Exam”). They will agree on a grade for the essay. Your final grade for senior conference is based on the essay grade and the grade for the oral examination.

The Writing Center

The faculty and students affiliated with the Writing Center are available to help seniors with every phase of their project. You might consider setting up a regular appointment with one of the fellows or faculty affiliates early in the year.

In May, you will take a one-hour oral exam covering both major coursework and your thesis. The first half hour of the exam will concern your essay; the second half hour will concern your course work in the major. To refine the latter part of the exam, we will ask you to produce a list of works for which you will be responsible, divided into three groups of your own devising. This task will happen toward the close of the second semester, but it might be useful to begin thinking about this now.

The following criteria apply: choose two works from each of seven courses taken for credit in the major ( and these courses should be those fulfilling major requirements—that is, you should include work from at least two 300-level courses and two pre-1800 courses and two post-1800 courses ) and two literary works and two critical works from each term of Junior Seminar. This amounts to 22 works, at least four of which will be critical texts. Sounds like a lot at first, but you will discover as you begin to look over your coursework how many more works you might be able to choose.

What is a ‘work’?

By “works” we mean a novel, play or long poem (e.g. Montage of a Dream Deferred or ‘Angels in America’); or, if you are assembling material of a small scale, we suggest you include at least three short stories or four reasonably complex lyric poems as the equivalent of one “work.” A film course might be represented by two films, each paired with a relevant piece of film theory or criticism.

Preparing your orals examination groupings

This task should be (reasonably) fun. Remember to ask yourself why you have selected the particular works in question (or better yet, why have they chosen you?). What themes run across them? What questions recurred for you in your journey through the major? Thinking along these lines, come up with three rubrics, and place each work on your list in one of them. The way you frame these groupings gives you some control over the exam in advance, and helps us start up the conversation with some momentum.

The list you turn in will contain three groupings (about a paragraph each) with texts divided among them. It will also include a separate full list of texts categorized by course. Thus, you will include seven courses (with two texts each) plus the two semesters of Junior Seminar (with two texts under each one). Remember to include title and author for each work. The list is to be typed and 3 copies turned into Trish Griffith by Friday, April 19, 2024.

Orals Examination Format

Three departmental faculty members will examine you: your faculty consultant, your second reader, and one other member of the department (colloquially referred to as a ‘third examiner). These exams are not designed to trick or to intimidate you, but to help you to realize how much you have learned. Often the most exciting exams are really conversations that help you to see the creative power you can generate through the knowledge you already have. A second letter will lay out more specific information about exam preparation in the Spring Semester.

Abstract and Reflective Statement

In addition to your exam list you are required to produce an abstract of your essay (250 words) and a reflective statement (350 words) about your experience working your way through the process to finish your essay. Your faculty consultant and the Writing Center will be able to give you pointers on what goes into an abstract.

The reflective statement can be freer in form, and you can choose to focus on any aspect of the essay or the thesis process that is significant for you. As starting points, we offer the following questions: How or why did you choose your topic? What did you bring to the essay by way of previous reading, exposure to the topic or author, or knowledge of the period? Now that you’ve finished the essay, what new questions fall into focus for you about your topic? Beyond the argument and analysis you presented in the essay, what did you learn about conducting research, crafting an argument, and managing an independent project?

Above all, we hope that the reflective statement gives you an opportunity to convey your honest self-assessment and candid thoughts about the process in general. You will submit the abstract and reflective statement to your thesis consultant on Friday, April 12 . A revised version of the abstract and statement will eventually be required of you by the College Publications office during the exam period.

English 399: 2023-24 Calendar

September 21 :

Senior Thesis meeting (4:15 Mediation Room)

October 6 :

Deadline for submission of essay topic/preference for Faculty Consultant ( Online submission )

October 27 :

One-paragraph description of project, approved by Faculty Consultant ( Online submission )

By November 17 :

Required individual meetings with Semyon Khokhlov, reference librarian; schedule an appointment via email at skhokhlov [at] haverford.edu .

November 17 :

Description (1-2 pages) of topic and thesis statement due along with short bibliography (10 titles) of relevant primary and critical sources; Note: This bibliography goes directly to your Faculty Consultant .

December 15 :

Detailed annotated bibliography due ( directly to your Faculty Consultant )

February 2 :

Full outline and 4-5 draft pages of essay due ( Faculty Consultant )

Completed rough draft due ( Faculty Consultant )

Final draft of essay due at 4:00 p.m. (Woodside Cottage Office #100). You must also submit your title (for the Commencement program) and Library archive forms at haverford.edu/graduation Note: this date is an absolute deadline.

Abstract/reflective statement due ( Faculty Consultant )

Topics and lists of texts for oral exams due

April 24-25 :

Senior Presentations (Meditation Room)

May 8, 9, 10 :

Oral Comprehensive Examinations ( Faculty Consultant offices )

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Dissertation & Thesis Conference

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• Virtual Poster Session
• How to Create a Virtual Poster
• 2023 Conference Session Recordings

Save the date ! The 2024 Chicago School Annual Dissertation and Theses Conference will be held Thursday October 24 through Saturday October 26. Registration will

The Chicago School Annual Dissertation and Theses Conference aims to provide students in different places in their research with tools, skills, and expert knowledge on how to manage the dissertation and thesis process.

The Conference is Coordinated by The University Library, The Online Writing Learning Center, the National Centers for Teaching and Learning and faculty volunteers from different campuses.

The Dissertation and Thesis Conference is sponsored by:

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• Last Updated: May 1, 2024 11:04 AM
• URL: https://library.thechicagoschool.edu/dissertation-conference/home

How to Cite in APA Style (7th Edition)

• About APA 7th ed.
• In-text Citations
• Webpages, Reports
• Media Works
• Conference, Theses, Data Sets, etc.

Conference Papers & Presentations

Doctoral dissertation & master's thesis, online maps, oral history interview.

• Sample Reference List
• Cite Tables & Figures
• Help You Cite Tools
• Test Your Knowledge
• Online Tutorials & Videos

Conference Proceedings

• Conference paper published in a proceeding which is also a journal → cite as  a journal article

Zhang, J., & Letaief, K. B. (2020). Mobile Edge Intelligence and Computing for the Internet of Vehicles. Proceedings of the IEEE, 108 (2), 246–261. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2019.2947490

• Conference paper published in a proceeding as a book chapter → cite as  an edited book chapter

Lhuillier, M., & Quan, L. (2002). Quasi-dense reconstruction from image sequence. In A. Heyden, G. Sparr, M. Nielsen, & P. Johansen (Eds.), Computer Vision - ECCV 2002, PT II (Vol. 2351, Issue 7th European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV 2002), pp. 125–139).

• Conference proceeding published as a whole book → cite as  a whole edited book

Voros, N., Huebner, M., Keramidas, G., Goehringer, D., Antonopoulos, C., & Diniz, P. C. (2018). Applied Reconfigurable Computing. Architectures, Tools, and Applications . Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78890-6

More details: Section 10.5

Conference Presentations & Poster Presentations

Presenter, A. A. (Year, Month). Title of conference presentation or poster  [Type of contribution]. Conference Name, Location. DOI / URL (if available)

Zhao, S. (2014, June). Beyond information literacy: Supporting science & scholarly communications [Poster presentation]. SLA 2014 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Hsieh, C. C., & Hui, K. W. (2011, December). Analyst report readability in high-technology firms  [Paper presentation]. 15th Finance and Accounting Seminar, Xiamen, Fujian, China. https://hdl.handle.net/1783.1/7936

• If the presented paper is available online, give the URL. 

Dissertation or thesis from a database

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis [Doctorial dissertation or Master's thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database Name.

Lin, Y. (2005). Three essays on international trade   [Doctoral dissertation, Vanderbilt University Graduate School] . ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I.

Unpublished dissertation or thesis

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis  [Unpublished doctorial dissertation or Unpublished master's thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.

More details: Section 10.6

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of data set [Data set]. Publisher Name. URL

Buildings Department (2014, April). New buildings - Occupation permits issued by the Building Authority [Data file] .   http://www.gov.hk/en/theme/psi/datasets/bd/stats/2014/04/Md13.xls

• Provide the URL that directly link to the data set file rather than to a download site.  (Section 10.9)
• If the author and publisher name are the same, the name appears in the author element only to avoid repetition (Section 9.24, para 2) . 

More details:  Data set reference

Inventor, A. A. (Year the patent was issued). Title of patent (Patent Number). Patent office. URL

• Give the year the patent was issued, not the year the patent was applied for.

Bochereau, S., Browder, S., Beek, F. V., & King, R. (2020). T actile simulation of initial contact with virtual objects (U.S. Patent No. 10,852,827 B1). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/79/64/80/5925843816841f/US10852827.pdf

Fry, A. L. (1993).  Repositionable pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet material  (U.S. Patent No. 5,194,299). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  https://patents.google.com/patent/US5194299

More details: Section 11.8

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of map [Map]. Publisher Name. URL

Media Technology & Publishing Center, HKUST (2022, August). Campus Map [Map] . Retrieved August 30, 2022, from http://publish.ust.hk/univ/maps/Campus_Map_Color.pdf

More examples: Chapter 10 - Example 100

Interviewee, A. A. (Date of interview). Title of interview [Interview]. Publisher Name. URL

Russell, B. (2013, May 12). Bill Russell oral history interview conducted by Taylor Branch in Seattle, Washington [Interview]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669187/

More details: Section 8.7

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• Last Updated: Jan 2, 2024 9:23 AM
• URL: https://libguides.hkust.edu.hk/apa

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Undergraduate Thesis Conference February 1–2, 2024

About the conference.

The Weatherhead Center Undergraduate Thesis Conference features the thesis research findings of the Center’s Undergraduate Associates. The conference entails a series of two-hour panels chaired by Weatherhead Center affiliates. Clustered by regional or disciplinary themes, each presentation is followed by questions, commentary, and feedback for the enhancement of thesis work in its final stages.

Weatherhead Center Faculty Associates, graduate students, fellows, visiting scholars, and staff are encouraged to attend the conference and give feedback to the presenters.

The 2024 Undergraduate Thesis Conference will be held in Room K262 (Bowie Vernon Room) on the second floor of the Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS) Knafel Building, located at 1737 Cambridge Street. View Map . 

Clare Putnam Program Coordinator, Student Programs and Fellowships.

Christoph Mikulaschek Director, Undergraduate Student Programs; Faculty Associate. Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University.

Valuing Accessibility

Turning Dissertations Into Conference Presentations

In this column I will share some advice for turning your dissertation into a conference presentation, starting with the question of why present at a conference in the first place.

Why Should You Present Your Dissertation at a Conference?

If you are a final-year undergraduate or graduate student, you may be looking forward to submitting your dissertation and not having to read it again. However, after all you have poured into your work, you may also want to take your academic journey further, especially if you are proud of your final product.

Researchers often disseminate their work through conference presentations, conference proceedings, and publications in journals and books. Giving conference presentations is a great opportunity for novice researchers to consider. Presenting at a conference has numerous benefits, including opportunities to “contribute to and learn about the most recent advances in your field,” “learn how to talk about your data,” “contribute to your overall research profile,” and “meet other researchers in your field and potential contacts for future positions” (Dunn, 2007, n.p.; see also Moore, 2017). These are some of the reasons why even established scholars regularly join conferences but for someone newer in the field participating in them contributes to resume building and can be essential to growing as an educator and researcher. Through interacting with attendees from all over the world, you can share ideas and learn the latest trends, which could inspire your next research project.

In this article, I offer two pieces of advice to help you think about how to turn your dissertation into a conference presentation.

Select a Suitable Conference

It does not really matter whether you join a regional, national, or international conference. Some universities offer opportunities for students to present their research work and share their developments with fellow teachers and students through internal university-run conferences. If you want to get the most out of a conference, it is important to know how to find a suitable conference to present your dissertation work.

Conferences which invite leading scholars in the field are vital, as their ideas can help improve and strengthen your research. They should also provide networking opportunities, or a platform for people to discuss their work and to develop possible future collaborations. Some conferences publish a post-conference proceedings – a published record of a conference – which would be an additional benefit if you want to publish part of your dissertation (the topic of my next column). Publishing your work in a proceedings is an excellent opportunity to begin your academic writing career. Annual conferences like the JALT International Conference and the JALT PanSIG Conference (both held in Japan) are examples of conferences that fit the criteria listed above. They could present a nice first step for students who have (almost) finished their dissertations on topics related to language teaching and learning to get further involved in the academic community. In particular, the JALT International Conference includes a Graduate Student Showcase where students from various universities can present their work. Ask your university teachers if this might be an option for you.

It is also worth cautioning that there are ‘predatory’ conferences that are largely money-making ventures for the organizations that hold them. How can you tell if a conference is predatory? One red flag is receiving an unsolicited email inviting you to submit an abstract. Another is an overly broad conference theme, such as “educational research.”  If you’re not sure about a conference, please ask a faculty member about it. The conferences run by national language teachers’ associations such as JALT, JACET, KOTESOL, and CamTESOL are generally safe to submit your work to.

Select the Best Examples and Data from Your Dissertation

After deciding which conference suits you, the next challenge to consider is how to present your complicated dissertation at a conference. The most popular type of conference presentation, oral presentation, usually lasts less than half an hour. You can also submit a poster presentation proposal, but it is still impossible to squeeze every piece of information from your dissertation into a single A1- or A0-sized poster.

These two principles should help: First, a conference abstract is not the same as your dissertation abstract. Second, a conference paper and a dissertation are two different genres of communication. This means that your conference abstract should at most be based on one or two of your dissertation chapters. A good 20- to 25-minute presentation is focused, concise, and (most important of all) understandable to your audience. You may have documented all primary and secondary sources of research that you conducted in your dissertation, on top of detailed literature reviews, methodology, and data analysis. But you do not need to do the same for your conference presentation. It is enough to simply choose a few interesting, original, and coherent ideas from your dissertation, setting aside much of the background and context to the arguments you make. This is especially the case for a conference abstract, which is typically used to let conference attendees choose which presentations to attend. A lengthy and complicated abstract is therefore generally undesirable.

Many people worry about not mentioning enough background information to demonstrate their scholarship. You can do this strategically by giving a verbal or written summary of the necessary background information in your conference presentation. After all, if you were in an audience, you would likely want to hear much more about the presenter’s examples and data rather than getting a lecture on the literature. If your audience finds the ideas in your paper or presentation compelling, they can always go on to read more of your research from your completed dissertation or upcoming journal articles.

Presenting at conferences is sometimes undervalued by the wider community. One reason is that not everyone can gain access to what is disseminated at a conference, unlike published books and journal articles, which are generally more widely available. Another reason is that the credibility of the information presented in presentations can be preliminary or tentative, with conference presenters’ fuller findings published in manuscripts that undergo a peer-review process.

In turning your dissertation into a conference presentation, you can share your findings, receive direct feedback from attendees working in a similar field, and get ideas for further improving your research. It can especially provide an experiential foundation for students aspiring to continue their academic research journeys through future peer-reviewed publications.

Finally, if you would like more advice on writing a conference abstract proposal, you’ll be pleased to know there is a lot of good literature on this topic. The references below are a great place to start, as are previous editions of this column.

Dunn, K. (2007, November). Why it’s important for you to present your data at scientific conferences. Psychological Science Agenda . Retrieved from < http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2007/11/student-council-1.aspx>

Moore, C. (2017). Publishing conference presentations. The Language Teacher, 41 (3), 42-43.

Tiffany Ip teaches at universities in Hong Kong. She gained a PhD in neurolinguistics and strives to utilize her knowledge to translate brain research findings into practical classroom instructions.

CAMS & Elements 2024 User Conference

Join us for the CAMS & Elements 2024 User Conference, an exclusive gathering designed to empower users, system administrators and institutional leaders to maximize your Thesis SIS.  Whether you're using Elements and looking to implement best practices, a seasoned CAMS user looking to optimize your current system, or exploring the transition to Elements, this conference is your opportunity to gain valuable insights, network with peers, and shape the future of education technology.

June 10 - 12th

Dallas, Texas

What you can look forward to:

Knowledge Sharing: Dive deep into the capabilities of CAMS and Elements with workshops and expert-led sessions. Learn best practices, tips, and tricks to maximize the potential of these systems at your institution.

Networking Opportunities: Connect with peers, industry experts, and Thesis & 3D Technologies team members to exchange ideas, experiences, and strategies. Build valuable connections with professionals in similar roles, fostering a community of support and collaboration.

Impact Roadmap: Interact directly with our product team to help drive the solution forward. Gain insight into upcoming releases, see previews of new features, and participate in feedback sessions. 

Sessions to include...

• Elements Deep Dives
• Data Clean Up in CAMS
• PowerBI Workshop
• SQL Workshop

Check back on April 1st for an updated schedule

Stay at the Marriott Hotel & Golf Club at Champions Circle

We have a block of rooms reserved for you.

What's included in my registration?

In addition to all the sessions and learning opportunities, your registration includes lunches/snacks and a ticket to our client appreciation party on tuesday night., conference schedule at a glance.

Interested in speaking?

Session topics to include:, sessions will be presented by thesis and 3d technologies team members along with some of our users., interested in sponsoring at the conference.

Thesis Conference

Thesis Conference is held annually for senior teams to present and defend their research in front of an audience, which includes a panel of experts. The event is coordinated by the Gemstone staff. Teams are responsible for inviting and confirming 4-5 discussants (see below) that will provide feedback on the team thesis and presentation. Each team presents for 25-30 minutes with 20 minutes for questions from the discussants and the audience. Following the formal presentation, each team will have one hour of private feedback time with their discussants.  All team members must participate in the Thesis Conference in order to earn the Gemstone Citation.  If students graduate early, they are required to return and present with the team in order to fulfill the requirement for the Gemstone Citation award.

The 2024 Thesis Conference is April 12, 2024

A Thesis Conference rehearsal occurs 1-2 weeks prior to the conference. Teams should present at the rehearsal in order to be best prepared for the conference.

Thesis Guidelines

The thesis is the culmination of the three years of work in a Gemstone team. See the thesis guidelines to demonstrate the team’s knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the field, a critical analysis of related work, and the importance and relevance of the team’s contribution to the field.

Discussants/Thesis Reviewers

At Thesis Conference, a panel of team selected experts in the field of study related to the team’s thesis attends the team’s presentation and asks questions following the presentation both publicly and privately. These experts are called discussants and are invited to take on this role by the team during the fall semester of the team members’ senior year. Discussants cannot include the mentor for that team (but may include a mentor from other Gemstone teams, if appropriate). Senior teams must have invited and received positive confirmation from at least four experts that are willing to accept this role and can attend the Thesis Conference that spring. This task must be completed by the date determined by the Gemstone Program Staff for that year. This date is generally around February 1, though can vary depending upon the circumstances. The Gemstone Program will then send official invitations to these discussants and will also send a final draft of the team’s thesis approximately two weeks before Thesis Conference for the discussants to review. It is encouraged that the discussants be experts that the team has consulted during their research. Please see additional information about what is expected of discussants as well as a template for inviting discussants to serve on your panel. (Also available as a PDF .)

Thesis Presentation

Each team presents for 25-30 minutes with 20 minutes for questions from the discussants and the audience. Discussants receive a copy of the team’s thesis two weeks prior to the conference so they have time to read it and prepare questions to ask following the presentation. Following the formal presentation, each team will have one hour of private discussion and feedback time with their discussants and mentor for feedback on the presentation and thesis. Feedback from the discussants, mentors and librarians are used to determine the James M. Wallace Outstanding Thesis Award Winner.

ANDA ROŽUKALNE, Dr.sc.soc.