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Presenter Participation Policy
In order to encourage broad participation, individuals may participate on no more than two panels and/or poster sessions. If three or more of your proposals are accepted, for example, two papers and one poster, you must choose which two you will agree to present. The MPSA office may make exceptions to this policy for participation on roundtables, but this must be approved in advance by contacting the Conference Director at conf@mpsanet.org.
If your proposal is accepted and you agree to present it, you must register for the conference no later than January 15, 2012, to guarantee a place on the program. (For paper submissions with more than one author, at least one author must register and present the paper. If additional co-authors plan to present, they must register.)
Submitters will be notified by email of the committee's decision beginning October 26, 2011. The conference program schedule will be available on the MPSA website in January. Please do not contact the national office regarding the date and time of your presentation.
The MPSA reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal. Reasons for rejection include, but are not limited to: topics not aligned with the focus of a panel; insufficient space on the program; failure to meet professional obligations in prior conferences (e.g., not completing a paper, not delivering a paper on time, failure to appear for a scheduled slot); failure to register for the conference; indebtedness to the association; and unprofessional conduct.
The 2012 conference takes place over four days, from Thursday through Sunday. Sessions will take place starting at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday and run through 2:25 p.m. on Sunday.
Poster sessions will take place from Thursday through Saturday at these times:
10:25 a.m. — 12:05 a.m.
12:45 p.m. — 2:25 p.m.
2:40 p.m. — 4:20 p.m.
Panels and roundtables will take place from Thursday through Saturday at these times:
8:30 a.m. — 10:10 a.m.
10:25 a.m. — 12:05 a.m.
12:45 p.m. — 2:25 p.m.
2:40 p.m. — 4:20 p.m.
4:35 p.m. — 6:15 p.m.
Panels and roundtables will take place Sunday at these times:
8:30 a.m. — 10:10 a.m.
10:25 a.m. — 12:05 p.m.
12:45 p.m. — 2:25 p.m.
Each paper will be scheduled for a specific time slot within the session, and these times will appear in the printed program.
Any communication regarding acceptance prior to printing the official program should not be construed as conferring a right to participate in the national conference. The association, through its executive director, reserves the right to change any aspect of the program (e.g., schedule, panel title) following printing and dissemination. The executive director, in consultation with the program chair(s) and committee, reserves the right to make all final decisions regarding participation in the national conference.
Special Scheduling Requests. The MPSA tries to distribute panels of the sections somewhat equally throughout the time slots. We do not consider requests for specific days or times for participation, except for reasons related to religious observances or unusual family circumstances. We will make every effort to accommodate these requests, but there is no guarantee that such requests will be honored. Though MPSA values teaching, approximately 80% of attendees teach, so we cannot accommodate teaching schedules. Special scheduling requests must be submitted to conf@mpsanet.org no later than November 19, 2011. The exact day and time of your presentation will not be determined until after this date, so please do not contact the office requesting this information. The full conference program will be made available on the MPSA website in January.
Paper Citation Policy. By presenting a paper at the MPSA National Conference, the author(s) agree to provide a copy of the paper in advance to the discussants and chairs of the panel as well as upload the paper to the MPSA website. By doing so, the author(s) grant the MPSA a limited license to publish the paper on the website.
Posting Papers to the MPSA Website. Presenters must post their paper(s) to the MPSA website once the program is finalized. The deadline for posting papers is March 10, 2012; if you miss the deadline, you should still post your paper. Panel chairs and discussants are instructed that they may not include papers that are not posted to the website. Instructions for posting papers will be emailed to participants and published on the website after the first of the year.
Recording Sessions. Certain roundtables may be selected to be digitally recorded for future podcasting on the MPSA website. If a roundtable is selected, all participants are notified and asked for permission to podcast their session. No session will be recorded without written permission from all participants.
Audiovisual Accommodations. The MPSA provides LCD projectors and laptop computers with software that can run PowerPoint presentations. Participants who plan to use a PowerPoint presentation should save it to an inexpensive thumb/flash drive that can be discarded after the presentation. While the laptop computers are protected with antivirus software, thumb drives may carry viruses that can be transmitted to other thumb drives. Do not reuse the thumb drive after you have inserted it in the USB port of the laptop, because someone else may have inserted a thumb drive with a virus that can be transmitted to your thumb drive.
Unlike the past, overhead projectors will not be provided in meeting rooms but can be requested prior to the conference by sending an email to conf@mpsanet.org. There is no additional charge for this service.
Cancellation Policy. When you accept an offer to present your paper or offer to serve as a discussant or a chair, you are making a commitment to register and attend the conference. The MPSA assumes that you will not accept an offer if you are not certain that you can and will meet your professional obligations. However, we understand that there may be extenuating circumstances on RARE occasions that preclude participation. If you find that unexpectedly you are unable to fulfill your professional obligation to attend the conference, please email the Conference Director, Tamara Speelmon, at conf@mpsanet.org as soon as possible. In the message, include your name, the submission ID, role, the session number, and the reason you are canceling. DO NOT CONTACT THE CHAIR, DISCUSSANT, OR SECTION HEAD. Remember that if you cancel after February 3, it is considered a late cancellation, which may result in not being allowed to present the following year.
Compensation. Travel, lodging, and conference registration are the presenter's responsibility.
Session Formats
Session formats include (1) panel, (2) poster, and (3) roundtable. Each format is described in detail below.
Panel. Four to five papers are represented on a panel, which also includes a chair and one or two discussants. The chair introduces the panel, each author, and the discussant(s), manages the time for each presentation, and insures that the discussion is polite and productive. Each author presents an abbreviated version of his or her paper. Feedback and comments are provided by the discussant, followed by comments, questions, and discussion including the audience.
Poster. One paper is presented as a poster session, which may include a discussant. Poster sessions are held in the exhibit hall. Each presenter is assigned to an 8' wide by 4' high numbered display panel. Attendees have the opportunity to walk through and view the poster displays throughout the day. Click here for guidelines for presenting a poster. Posters are particularly useful as a way to present quantitative research.
Roundtable. Roundtables provide in-depth examinations of specific topics, projects, or books (e.g., author meets critics or book reviews). Four to eight panelists participate in a roundtable, which may include a chair who introduces the panelists and provides a substantive introduction to the topic. The focus is on the discussion and interaction among panelists. Participants do not prepare papers. They make brief introductory remarks before engaging in ad hoc discussions. Two examples of roundtable formats are "PBS format" and "town meeting."
Working Group. A working group is a conference within a conference. Participants commit to attend a small group of related or organized sessions. A volunteer coordinator for each working group proposes a theme, selects and/or organizes sessions for the group to attend, promotes the working group, and facilitates communication among participants. A working group consists of 10-25 participants. The MPSA assigns meeting space, maintains a roster of participants, and provides a certificate of participation upon completion, if requested. A working group may meet before and after a session(s) or during lunch for additional discussion and interaction.
Role Descriptions
Panel Presenters. Each author presents an abbreviated version of his or her paper at the specific time in the printed program. Feedback and comments are provided by the discussant, followed by comments, questions, and discussion including the audience. Papers should be posted to the MPSA website by March 10, 2011. Instructions about how to post a paper will be emailed to presenters in January.
Panel Chairs. The chair introduces the panel, each author and his or her paper, and the discussant(s). In addition, the chair monitors the time for each presentation, making sure that no author exceeds his or her assigned time slot on the program, and insures that the discussion is polite and productive. If four or five papers are assigned to a 100-minute session, there is approximately five minutes for the chair to introduce the session, 10-15 minutes for each author to present, 20 minutes for feedback from the discussant(s), and 20 minutes of discussion with the audience.
The chair records attendance and recommends papers for MPSA conference paper awards on a white card that is provided with his or her registration materials. Award nominations also can be emailed to the MPSA office. The MPSA strongly encourages panel chairs to make nominations as soon as possible while the paper presentations are still fresh in their minds.
The chair ensures that all presenters upload their papers to the MPSA website prior to the conference so that the discussants can access the papers to prepare their remarks before the panel presentation.
Panel/Poster Discussants. Discussants provide feedback regarding research papers that are presented in a panel or poster session, pointing out both the strengths and areas in need of improvement. Discussants also may place the research in a broader context and discuss trends and themes. Discussants record attendance and recommend papers/posters for MPSA conference paperand poster awards on a white card that is provided with their registration materials. Award nominations also can be emailed to the MPSA office. The MPSA strongly encourages discussants to make nominations as soon as possible while the paper or poster presentations are still fresh in their minds. Discussants can download papers from the preliminary online program prior to the conference.
For poster sessions, the discussants examine each poster to which they are assigned and provide feedback to the author. It is much more casual than serving as a discussant on a panel, where they provide feedback in front of an audience. However, it also allows for much more specific and individual feedback.
Poster Presenters. Presenters arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled session and remain throughout the session to answer questions. Each paper is presented on an 8' wide by 4' high display panel. Push pins are provided to attach materials to the panel. Presenters should remove their materials at the end of their session to make the display panel available for the next presenter. If a discussant is assigned to a poster session, the paper should be posted to the conference website by March 10, 2011. (Authors should refer to the preliminary conference program to see if a discussant has been assigned to their session.) Instructions about how to post a paper will be emailed to presenters in January.
Roundtable Presenters and Chairs. Four to eight panelists participate in a roundtable, which may include a chair who introduces the panelists and provides a substantive introduction to the topic. Participants do not prepare papers. They make brief introductory remarks before engaging in ad hoc discussions.