Preparing and Submitting Abstracts

Aims and Interests

The Congress will provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of new research into the quality and credibility of peer review and scientific publication, to establish the evidence base on which scientists can improve the conduct, reporting, and dissemination of scientific research. Suitable abstracts will report studies into the processes used by researchers, authors, editors, peer reviewers, publishers, funders, universities, librarians, and other stakeholders to improve the conduct, reporting, quality, integrity, and dissemination of scientific research and scholarly commentary. Suitable topics include any aspect of editorial and funding peer review, scientific and scholarly publication, research and reporting practices, identification and management of biases, transparency, reproducibility, access, publication and dissemination metrics, identification and management of threats to the integrity of science, and advances in information exchange, covering all disciplines of science, including (but not limited to) biomedicine, health science, applied science, basic science, physical and chemical sciences, psychology, computer science, engineering, economics, social science, and humanities, will be considered.

Abstracts describing narrative reviews, personal experiences, recommendations, and opinion will not be considered.

Abstracts that report new research and findings, that build on previous knowledge and test or evaluate processes, policies, or interventions with generalizable results (eg, prospective multiyear trials and controlled studies from collaborations among researchers, journals, publishers, funders, and information disseminators) will be given priority. Observational studies, systematic reviews, modelling studies, bibliometric analyses, surveys, and other research designs are also eligible.

Criteria for Abstract Acceptance
Quality, Originality, Importance, Validity, Clarity, General Interest, and Reasonable Conclusions
Content and formatting requirements met (see below)

Abstracts must be submitted by March 8, 2022

The abstract submission site is available here.

Preparing and Submitting Abstracts

Please review the following guidance carefully as Abstracts that do not meet these requirements will not be considered.

Authorship

One author must be identified as the primary corresponding author and agree to represent all coauthors in communications with the Congress organizers. Up to 2 co-corresponding authors can be indicated on the title page (see below).
Provide a complete name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address for the corresponding author.
Submit complete names, affiliations, and e-mail addresses for all coauthors.
If a consortium or group author name is used, all individual author members of the group need to be identified in the title page and the abstract submission system.

Abstract: The abstract must be of sufficient quality and completeness to permit review.

File format: Word (.doc or .docx)
Word limit 400
No more than 1 small table or figure
Include a descriptive title that is not declarative, a question, and does not reveal study results or conclusions
Up to 3 references of prior related research may be listed below the abstract
The names of authors and other identifying information should not appear on the Abstract page to facilitate blinded review

Title Page: The title page will not be shown to reviewers. The title page should include the following:

Abstract title
Complete names and affiliations of all authors
Indicate a single primary corresponding author with no more than 2 co-corresponding authors
Each author’s potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures (including declarations of no conflicts of interest)
Disclosures of funding support and explanation of the role of the funder/sponsor in the work
Any relevant acknowledgment information

Cover Letter: The cover letter should briefly describe the importance and relevance of the abstract and should indicate that the work described in the abstract is original and has not been previously published. Please indicate if the work has been posted as a preprint, and if so provide a link to the preprint. Please also indicate if the work has been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Study Types

Abstracts should specify study design, such as randomized controlled trials; cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, comparative-effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and quality improvement studies; meta-analyses; systematic reviews without meta-analysis; modeling studies; surveys; and qualitative analysis. Authors will be asked to identify their study type in the abstract submission system. Studies should follow the basic reporting requirements of the EQUATOR Network. Case reports and nonresearch will not be considered.

Abstract Format and Content

Abstracts should be prepared in Word, limited to 400 words, and structured using the headings and sections for Objective, Design, Results, and Conclusions and should address the relevant items listed in each section below. The Objective and Conclusions sections should be very brief. The majority of the Abstract should be focused on Methods and Results. Abstracts that do not follow these recommendations will not be considered.

Objective:

Concise statement of the study question or hypothesis
Include recognition of prior related research

Design:

Description of how the hypothesis was tested or study question addressed
Study type (eg, cohort study, survey, randomized trial)
Dates of study/analysis
Sample or data source(s)
Sample or data selection procedures
Inclusion/exclusion criteria
Intervention or exposure
Main outcomes and measurements
Methods of analyses
Methods used to control for potential confounding/bias

Results:

Description of what was found, with specific data including sample size
Provide absolute numbers and percentages (do not provide percentages alone)
Provide numerators and denominators and response/participation rates, as appropriate
Present numerical results (eg, absolute numbers, proportions, rates, ratios, or differences) with appropriate indicators of uncertainty, such as 95% CIs
For baseline data and descriptive studies, use means and standard deviations (SDs) for normally distributed data and medians and ranges or interquartile ranges (IQRs) for data that are not normally distributed
Avoid reporting only P values, or basing conclusions exclusively on P values, which fail to convey important quantitative information
When presenting P values, they should be exact and expressed to 2 digits to the right of the decimal point, or to 3 digits if <.01
A single, small table or figure displaying the main results may be cited. This object should be placed after the abstract. See additional guidance below

Conclusions:

Brief statement of conclusions, limiting generalization to the study sample or data source

References:

Up to 3 references citing prior related research

Reference Style
Number references in the order they appear in the text; do not alphabetize. Identify references with superscript arabic numerals. List elements of references in this order: authors, article title and subtitle, journal title, publication year (or date if online first), volume, issue and page numbers or e-locator, and DOI. List all authors up to 6; if more than 6, list the first 3 followed by “et al.”

1. Ioannidis JPA, Berkwits M, Flanagin A, Godlee F, Bloom T. Ninth International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific Publication: call for abstracts. JAMA. Published online September 20, 2021. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.16596
2. Page MJ, Altman DG, McKenzie JE, et al. Flaws in the application and interpretation of statistical analyses in systematic reviews of therapeutic interventions: a cross-sectional analysis. J Clin Epidemiol. 2018;95:7-18. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.11.022
3. Fanelli D, Moher D. Summary effect sizes in meta-analyses after removal of retracted studies from the pool of primary studies. Abstract presented at: Eighth International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific Publication; September 10, 2017; Chicago, IL.

Guidance for Tables and Figures

Only 1 small Table or Figure is permitted per abstract.

Table:

Format: Word or Excel
Place the table after the abstract
Include a short descriptive title
When presenting percentages, include numbers (numerator and denominator)
Include statistical variability where applicable (eg, mean [SD], median [IQR], OR [95% CI])
Use superscript letters (a, b, c) to mark footnotes and be sure each footnote in the table has a corresponding note (and vice versa)
List abbreviations in the footnote section and explain any empty cells
Tables should be single-spaced and in a 10- or 12-point font (do not shrink the point size to fit the table onto the page)

Figure:

Avoid complex composite or multipart figures
Provide a short descriptive title and legend
Do not use pie charts, 3-D graphs, and stacked bar charts as these are not appropriate for accurate statistical presentation of data and should be revised to another figure type or converted to a table
For initial abstract review, the figure may be embedded at the end of the abstract file and must be of sufficient quality for editorial assessment and peer review
Acceptable figure file formats for initial submission: .ai, .bmp, .docx, .emf, .eps, .jpg, .pdf, .ppt, .psd, .tif, .wmf, .xls
If an abstract is requested to be revised or accepted, authors will be asked to provide figures that meet the following final requirements

Figure Requirements for Final Abstracts

All symbols, indicators (including error bars), line styles, colors, and abbreviations should be defined in a legend.
Each axis on a statistical graph must have a label and units of measure should be labeled.
Error bars should be included in both directions, unless only 1-sided variability was calculated.
Values for ratio data—odds ratios, relative risks, hazard ratios—should be plotted on a log scale. Values for ratio data should not be log transformed.
For footnotes, use letters (a, b, c, etc) not symbols.
Statistical Graphs: Provide a graph output directly from the software used to create it in an editable VECTOR file format, such as .wmf or .eps, or as an Excel graph, if created in Excel. If you provide .pdf files, be sure that these are in VECTOR file formal, not Raster file format. Raster (picture) files, such as .jpg or .tif, output directly or embedded in vector files, are not acceptable. All statistical graphs in accepted manuscripts are recreated in-house.
Acceptable figure file formats for revision and acceptance: .ai, .emf, .eps, .pdf, .wmf, .xls

Abstract Due Dates and Submission Link

Abstracts must be submitted by March 8, 2022

The abstract submission site is available here.

Corresponding authors will be notified of decisions by the end of April 2022.

International Congress on
Peer Review and Scientific Publication

Enhancing the quality and credibility of science