Hi there,

I had two questions about submitting abstract to academic conferences.

1. Can you submit the same abstract to more than one conference (the idea being that if not accepted at one it might be accepted at the other - and if accepted at both you could withdraw from one)?

2. Can you submit an abstract stating background, method, etc but not with any actual results (and say that you intend to have the results by the time of the conference and what your predictions are about what the results will be?)

When I say "can you", I mean is it advisable and/or is something people do...

Thanks so much!

Tudor

Hi. For submitting to more than a conference, I have not tried it. Most people will submit and if rejected, submit in another conference. If the time between the conferences is not too long, you can submit in one and wait. nevertheless it is theoretically possible and there should be no hard in submitting in two conferences. You may read the conditions while submitting if something prevents this.
I knew some who submitted the abstract without the results. It really depends much on the conference and the chances of getting accepted depends on what the reviewers expect in the abstract. Some conferences expect a full manuscript and if accepted, suggest modifications. Others need an abstract then if accepted the full paper. If your results are not ready anyway at the abstract deadline, submit what you have.

1. Check the conditions of abstract submission - I've seen conferences that specifically state that abstracts won't be accepted if they are based on work already submitted for publication, or proposed in the same form to other conferences (i.e. presentation/poster etc.). Some won't have this caveat however.

2. Peers of mine have submitted abstracts with 'results so far' sections. If you have no results to state in the abstract, they may provisionally accept you until you can update them on your findings. I suppose they may be concerned that you won't get them by the conference date, in which case they may think it safer to decline.

Thanks for the info and advice, Eng77. The conference deadlines are at similar times, so it seems like a good idea to submit to both, but I'll see. And yes, I guess I can only try re the second thing. :)

Hi There,

Good Day!

Most conferences specifically forbid this practice. There will be a notation in the Call for Papers about work not having appeared previously and not being submitted simultaneously elsewhere.

If you are thinking of submitting two places, then withdrawing the submission from one if the paper is accepted at the other -- don't. When people realize you've done this, they will be reluctant in the future about spending time reviewing or championing your paper, because it might get withdrawn after they've put in the work.

So it is advisable to avoid such practice.

Thanks!!!

You can submit the same abstract to two conferences as long as there is no associated conference paper. There are some professors who present the same work for several years and get away with it. I think it is different if you have to submit a paper alongside it. In which case you can submit an abstract to both and choose between them later.

I have submitted several abstracts without results where I just talk about the potential and methodology. I don't specifically say that there are no results and have been accepted several times with this method. However it can get a bit messy if you don't get the results on time and you have to wing it.

Thank Pheonix Fortune and Skareem! The guidance on their websites doesn't say anything about this unfortunately. I know it's not allowed for journal publications. But it's just that if two conference deadlines are nearby and you want to increase your chances of getting accepted at one, it seems wise. Then again don't wanna break any rules. It's a poster abstract I'm talking about by the way, not a talk.

Thank you Rewt - that is also really helpful. I think I could have some results so far to show.

Thanks all... but I feel like I am getting a really mixed picture here on whether or not to submit to 2 confs... maybe it matters less since it is just a poster?

Cheers

There is a difference between a call for abstracts and a call for papers. You should not submit two conference papers as it wastes peoples time. However if it is just an abstract to decide who should presents, there should be no double submission issues. As it is very common to present a preliminary work at a conference to get feedback before submitting to a prestigious journal. Or for someone presents work which was recently published in journal.

I have results now but 6 months ago it was bit hairy. My project has two distinct parts in different field and I was massively behind in one. I am ahead in the other part but I submitted a couple of abstracts assuming that both parts would go according to plan. Fortunately it was only a flash presentation (2 mins) and a poster.

Ok! I'm talking about abstracts for posters. So it sounds like I can submit the same one to both conferences... Cool!