Submission Guidelines for Oxford Abstracts

Last updated 4 April 2024

About the Program

The program for SPNHC-TDWG 2024 will be composed of keynote presentations, symposia, lightning talks, panel discussions, demo camp, workshops, general sessions and (virtual) posters. There will be up to five sessions running concurrently each day. See the detailed session list https://www.tdwg.org/conferences/2024/sessions/. Submissions from virtual attendees and poster presenters must be pre-recorded and uploaded before the conference. Details regarding presentations will be distributed separately.

Call for Abstracts

We are pleased to welcome abstracts for the following presentation types: Oral Presentations and Posters. Oral presentations include 15-minute presentations in symposia and general sessions, 5-minute lightning talks, demo, and invited keynotes. Deadline 19 April 2024

Online Submission Portal

We welcome your submissions for abstracts via the SPNHC-TDWG 2024 conference platform on Oxford Abstracts.

Sign in or create an account with Oxford Abstracts. Use the link to access the submission form https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/8623/submitter (NEW). Note that event organizers will use this email to communicate with you about the conference and your abstract submission.

Access the submission form https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/8623/submitter after signing in. As the submitter, you will be asked to fill out the following form fields. Responses to nearly all questions are required (*), although some fields within those questions may be optional. Where there are word limits, you are responsible for remaining within the guidelines. Please proofread your abstract carefully as reviewers cannot edit your abstract.

• Title*
  • Enter the FULL TITLE of your submission.
  • There is a 20-word limit.
  • Please italicize taxonomic names as appropriate.
  • Do not use all upper case or use terminal punctuation.
  • This will be used for printing in the final program.
• Presentation type*
  • Choose either Oral or Poster.
  • Oral presentations include submissions to symposia, general, contributed, lightning talk, and keynote sessions.
  • Abstracts are not required for workshops or panel discussions or demo camp.
• Session* NEW question added 24 March
  • Choose the session to which you will be submitting this abstract.
  • Find the session list https://www.tdwg.org/conferences/2024/sessions/
  • Sessions listed as [CLOSED] require an invitation from the session organizers to submit an abstract and have it considered for presentation during that session. All other sessions are open for abstract submissions. Restrictions apply only to abstract submission, not attendance.
  • Make sure that you choose the same session that you later append after pressing the submit button.
• Authors and affiliations*
  • Enter the names of all authors in the order in which they should appear in the program.
  • Do not use all uppercase lettering on names.
  • The system only allows one author to be designated as the presenter.
  • Optional fields within this category include ORCID ID, Institution, City, and State.
  • You may include multiple affiliations for any author. Please make sure that affiliations from the same institution for multiple authors are entered in an identical manner.
  • Affirmation that the presenter will register for the conference
• Abstract*
  • There is a 300-word limit on abstracts.
  • Please italicize taxonomic names as appropriate.
• Use of Generative AI
  • This field may be left blank if no generative AI technologies were used to create this abstract.
  • Examples of such technologies include ChatGPT and Google Translate.
  • There are no penalties for such assists but they should be acknowledged.
  • The use of corrective technologies such as Grammarly or a spelling checker do not have to be listed (and are in fact, appreciated by the reviewers)
• Funding program
  • This field is not required
  • If applicable, a short statement (30 word limit), may be entered about how your project was funded.
  • This will appear in the abstract book
• All author approval*
  • This required affirmation confirms that the submitting author has provided the contents of the submission to all listed authors and that they approve of its submission for presentation at SPNHC-TDWG 2024.
• Permission to publish*
  • This required affirmation gives permission to the organizers of SPNHC-TDWG 2024 to publish this abstract on electronic media and in hardcopy (i.e., in the abstract book, program, and poster gallery) if it is accepted for presentation.

Press SUBMIT You may pause in the completion of this form at any time but MUST press the submit button to save and be able to return to it before the deadline. Pressing submit will do two things:

• Generate an email about the status of your abstract submission, including a link to access it for revisions.
• Provide a list of sessions (see https://www.tdwg.org/conferences/2024/sessions/) for you to ATTACH your presentation (after which you must press AMEND)
  • Although the system allows you to submit your abstract without choosing to amend your abstract by attaching your presentation to a session, this is in fact a choice that we require that you make.
  • Submission confirmation emails from the system about your abstract not only do not flag that this choice has not been made, but they will tell you your submission is complete.
  • Please confirm that you have chosen to amend your abstract by attaching it to a session.

Modification of submission. You will be able to modify your abstract after submission up until the deadline of 19 April 2024 11:59 HST. Review of submissions will begin after that date.

Multiple submissions. If you wish to submit more than one abstract, please complete a separate form for each. Presenters may be limited in the number of oral presentations that may be accommodated due to scheduling.

Submission withdrawal. If you wish to withdraw your abstract, please contact editor@tdwg.org.

Review Process and Notification

Each submission will be reviewed by a panel selected by the Program Committee, including at least one organizer from the session to which you attached your submission. Abstracts that are incomplete (i.e., not all * questions have been answered) at the time of assignment to reviewers will not be considered for presentation at the conference.

Reviews will take place between 22 April and 10 May 2024. Reviewers are not editors, but may elect to suggest minor changes to abstracts as required. They are unable to make any changes to your abstract, so please proofread your abstract carefully. The submitter will be notified by email regarding the outcome of their submission by Wednesday 15 May 2024.

If your abstract is accepted, the presenter will need to register for the conference (deadline to be announced). Instructions for presentation and uploading of slides, posters, and pre-recorded videos will be announced before after the deadline for submission of abstracts.

Publishing in BISS. Authors of OA abstracts accepted for presentation at the conference will have the additional opportunity to publish an extended abstract in TDWG’s Pensoft publication, Biodiversity Information Science and Standards (BISS). Details of this opportunity will be provided in May. Meanwhile, past proceedings may be viewed https://biss.pensoft.net/collections, along with links to slides and videos under the media tab of individual abstracts.

Contact

Please direct questions about abstract submission to editor@tdwg.org.
To contribute an abstract to a closed session without a prior invitation, first contact the session organizer for permission.
Direct questions about the conference to okinawa2024@spnhc.org.
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