Frequently Asked Questions about Conferences

FAQ - Papers:

 1  If I choose to submit for "full paper refereeing," can I change to "refereeing on abstract alone" later?

Nomination by authors at the abstract submission stage as to whether their abstract relates to a paper for full paper refereeing or not, is helpful.

AARE Executive has ruled that if an author submits a paper for full paper refereeing and it fails in that process. [That is, the paper attracts two NO assessments out of 3 referee] then that paper may not be presented at the conference.

An author who nominates at abstract stage to submit a paper for full paper refereeing but then fails to do so in time for the full paper refereeing process, may present the paper if it is acceptable on the basis of abstract in the abstract only refereeing process. [In the abstract only reviewing process, two YES assessments from a group of 3 reviewers is required for admission.]

There are two points at which authors can withdraw their papers without damaging the conference or their reputation. Before publication of the abstracts on the WWW or before preparation of pages for publication in the printed Abstract Book.

We have to print the Program at about the same time so all names and paper titles are fixed from September onwards. For each conference a schedule of dates is published.

If you are intending to submit a full paper for refereeing do not wait for abstract acceptance before writing the full paper. AARE will endeavour to notify any rejections on the basis of abstract as soon as possible.

 2  How long should a "paper" be?

Deciding the length of a paper is an academic maturity test for intending presenters and is related inextricably with the topic being treated. The issue is how many words does it take to write "a" manageable chunk or piece of work. Precedence could be taken from the discipline imposed by journal articles, shorter rather than longer. A good rule of thumb is about 15 pages maybe 20 pages limit, including references, in 11 point type on A4 paper. THAT'S ABOUT 7000 WORDS. We can expect some longer or shorter papers because some research studies are larger than others and some people are "tight" writers and others rather more verbose. It is necessary for us to consider our readers as well as our subject and the media of presentation and documentation.

We have no word limit because basically the Internet publishing method we use requires none. We also let individuals decide how much actual printed or photocopied paper they want to carry to the conference to hand out. Photocopying is not provided by the conference.

When AARE publishes in "fixed" electronic format [CDRom] as well as the Internet this also imposes little space constraint.

 3  Can I use other than English language in my paper?

We have had full papers including Cyrillic Script for example. The author kindly sent the fonts to us but we have to send any special tools out to each of the 3 referees. The referees must alter their machines so that they can review the work. These papers and any similar "unusual" papers would be better sent to us as web compliant html documents that the reviewers can read with a browser.

 4  Can I change details in my papers?

Changes to abstracts and papers can be processed by the Secretariat within the dates published each year for each conference, but please quote the paper code.

 5  What are arrangements for media liaison and embargos?

It is important that presenters be aware that media representatives may be in the audience for a presentation. These people may not be easily distinguished from academic colleagues. Any presentation at a conference is public unless it has been specifically arranged for attendance by invitation only. Do not make remarks at presentations which are not for public dissemination.

A press and media liaison team for each conference will approach the media. The media will respond usually wanting all the abstracts relevant to [name a topic] and then they want the full papers for their short list and to know what day the presentations are on! We try to oblige. It is important to notify the secretariat if there is any EMBARGO on a piece of work. This is an author responsibility!

 6   What is the full paper refereeing process?

We send out full papers to sets of 3 members of the association or other academics for refereeing. Recipients will get:

1. an e-mail message asking them to do the refereeing task,
2. an attached file containing the full text of the paper for reviewing and
3. an attached file which is the referee response form.

Referees are asked to:

1. respond immediately to the e-mail message saying whether they can do the task within 10 working days, [if not we will have to find another person],
2. open the attached full text paper, and
3. open and print off a copy of the attached referees' response form for faxing back to AARE- Conference secretariat on +61 3 5964 9586.

It is optional whether a referee wishes to print the full paper and read it on paper or whether it is read "on screen".

We would prefer that in e-mail replies to our request to perform the review, the full document and form NOT be attached back to us again! AARE Office has a copy in two places of all abstracts and all full papers and an elaborate back-up system, so we do not want the paper back.

We don't want any comments other than in the space on the referee response form [which can be used in the case of an appeal or adjudication by a panel], and which is faxed to the author.

There is more information on the refereeing process here.

 7  Who is the Chairperson of the session in which my paper is located?

The suggested method of arranging for chairing of the sessions is that the two, three or four presenters in a block of time meet together at the beginning of that block of time and decide who will chair. It has been suggested that the person who is going to present last in each block of presentations will have a vested interest in keeping everyone prior to them on time, and all things being equal, this person might be a good volunteer.

 8  Who owns the copyright on the papers?

All papers remain the copyright property of the authors.

 9  How long do I get to present my paper?

Time for an individual presentation is usually 20 min plus 10 min for discussion. Sessions are in blocks with several persons per block. Last presenter chairs the session to keep everyone honest on times. People are free to enter and leave so everyone must keep to time and not start early [in the case of a no-show]. If a group of authors is nominated for one paper title, then it counts as one session.

10  Who gets the CD?

All paid registrants at the conference will receive the CD free of charge by post. AARE members will be able to purchase the CD at cost and we will sell copies to others at a reasonable price.

FAQ - Registrations:

11  Am I Registered?

This information is not listed on the web. Call +61 3 5964 9031 during BH Melbourne Time or fax to +61 3 5964 9586 or e-mail to aare@aare.edu.au if you think you or your university has not paid.

WAIT FOR THE E-MAIL LETTERS TO PRESENTERS [check sent date on the web conference notices]. These are sent by e-mail. Keep your e-mail address with AARE up to date.

12  Who is invited to attend the AARE President's Reception?

All conferees in attendance on the Sunday evening prior to conference are invited to the President's Reception. We need catering numbers for this so if you intend to come to the reception at please send an e-mail headed RECEPTION and tell us you are coming.

13  I need to get a message to a conferee. How can I do that?

EMERGENCY MESSAGES ONLY AT AARE CONFERENCE
It is nearly impossible to find a single delegate in a conference of 500 - 1000 persons spread across many rooms all day [assuming that the person being sought is actually on site]. Messages phoned or e-mailed to the registration desk will be posted on a notice board near the registration desk. Most delegates staying in hotels have message systems operating there as well.

It is best to use a mobile< phone to contact delegates, if they have one.

Please remember AARE is a large multi-strand conference and we cannot run all over a set of buildings bursting into presentations asking if anyone has seen a particular person. In cases of genuine emergency special efforts will be made at the discretion of the Convenor.

14  What arrangements are being made concerning people on special diets?

If you have special dietary requirement. Send an e-mail with heading Diet and tell the conference organizers your needs well in advance. We can't cater for you otherwise. The conference needs more than usual preparation time for special meals for people who need them.

15  Why have I received a parcel of publications?

WELCOME TO MEMBERSHIP PACKS:
AARE Office has been sending "welcome to membership" packs of past publications to joining members. All existing members have already had these publications at the time of joining or during the past year.

16  What do I have to hand in at the desk?

Presenters are expected to hand 1 copy of their paper in hard-copy to the registration desk on arrival together with a disk containing the same paper as a PDF file. We suggest the disk and the 1 copy of the paper be contained in a plastic "slip sleeve" or an envelope so they can be marked off the check sheet. AARE Office takes all these papers and disks back to AARE Office for processing.

17  How late after the conference can I hand in my paper?

This applies to disk copies also. All papers on disk must be handed in at the conference along with the hardcopies. The diigital version in PDF will be converted by AARE to PDF and published on the website and on CD.

To be included in the WWW collection of full text papers on WWW - post a disk marked with paper code, by 31 December to Box 71 Coldstream 3770, Vic. Australia. Fully refereed papers that were presented will be marked as such in the conference Program Book and on the AARE website index pages.

Make sure the file name on disk is easy for us to relate to the paper copy. We prefer PDF on PC disks. Do not have accompanying graphics files not in the text.

Please do not make the file "Read Only", or protect it with a password.

18  What happens to the disks and hard-copies of papers handed in?

AARE papers that are handed in at Conference are checked against the Abstract Book and the code is checked. The papers are then sent to ACER library.

AARE papers that are handed in on computer disk are loaded onto a server computer. These are then made accessible on the Internet. For details see the AARE WWW site. Paper Link

AARE disk and internet papers collections have ISSN numbers ( CD version ISSN 1324-9320 -- WWW version ISSN 1324-9339) so that they are able to be traced through international bibliographic services. Electronically published papers are lodged according to law in the National Library of Australia and the Victoria State Library.

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE:

The publication date is the year of the conference with the CD available towards the end of February in the year after the conference. AARE will publish all papers received on disk on the AARE web site and then publish all the web site on CDRom. ACER Library will receive the hard copies about the same time for indexing.

19  What credit cards does AARE accept?

Bankcard, Mastercard and Visa. No AMEX or DINERS cards please.

20  Who pays to go to AARE Conference?

Everybody pays at AARE Conferences. There is no free list because those people would have to be paid for by a levy on all others. AARE Conference Committee Members also pay full registrations. At AARE conferences everyone pays the low registrations and fees so we all don't have to pay higher fees to pay for various dignitaries.

FAQ Audio -Visuals:

21  Can I bring my own laptop computer and project my presentation?

Do not bring your computer- bring a CD or USB memory stick.If you bring your own equipment without prior advice to the organizers and you need assistance with it, AARE Conference will charge YOU $200 per call-out. This will be a personal expense. Conferences provide rooms with technical help for data projection. DO NOT ALTER THE DATA PROJECTOR MENU SETTINGS - ONLY ADJUST YOUR EQUIPMENT.

22  What audio-visual equipment can I use?

Members of Conference Committees are trying to ensure that all audiovisual equipment that is requested is available for presentations. But intending presenters are advised that all equipment has to be hired and brought in to the venue.

A wise presenter will bring a set of overhead projector transparencies and handouts to be used in the unfortunate event of equipment non-availability or malfunction.

If you want to show your web page, bring it cached on a CD to project via a data projector.

23  What should I tell the organisers about my Audio/visual needs?

Fill in the proposal form accurately, and the organisers will know what you need.

FAQ - Communications:

24  How do I contact AARE?

AARE Office operates every day and relays messages to Conference Office by fax or phone:

Voice-mail left on +61 3 5964 9031 will be cleared remotely at night. Fax only at the AARE Office +61 3 5964 9586 is cleared next day or fax auto- redirected to Conference Registration Desk.

Use aare@aare.edu.au at any time. This will be down loaded at least twice a day from where ever we are.

25  To what extent is AARE using Internet Technology for Conference Organization?

AARE has converted to full E-commerce. All aspects of our operations are by e-mail.

All conference abstracts are by e-mail and registration by credit cards is by e-commerce. Registration by cheque is by post of course, but for both fax and postal details the Registration Form is on the AARE WWW site for you to print off. Secure Payment Link

Ruth Jeffery looks after the AARE Membership database and other office services and also is Conference Secretariat at the AARE Office e-mail - aare@aare.edu.au Ruth can check your membership status and inform you by e-mail.

FAQ - Time Tables:

26  How do I find my paper in the Program on the web?

You need to know the paper code for your paper. It comprises the first 3 letters of the family name of the first presenter, two numerals for the year (00, 01, 02 etc.) and a three numeral running number assigned by the secretariat as in JEF07009.

If you go to the Abstracts (for the year) then "find in file" your name or papercode it will jump to your abstract with the code showing. Write down the code. The site http://www.aare.edu.au has the conference on its index, and that leads to a conference index. Load the time-table file and search for your code. It could be off the screen because the multi- column table is big.

27  When and where is my paper?

The details are on the web site. Look on the AARE website.

AARE Office sends an e-mail letter to every presenter giving their time slot and location room. This letter will arrive at the e-mail address you have given on your registration form. The full time-table will be going to the printer two weeks after you are asked to check the time-table so that copies of it will be able to be included in satchels.

28  Can you tell me when and where my paper is in the Time-table?

Please look up your time-table details on the AARE website. When a time table is available it will be accessible through the specific conference index.

29  What if a person I want to see and hear withdraws?

Unfortunately we have withdrawals. The details of these are also listed on the web so you can print it off to correct your printed Abstract Book and printed Program Book which you will get in your satchel. At conference we will issue withdrawals lists so that you can mark your program. No substitutions will be made.

30  Are all AARE Conference Papers on the Web?

There is a bit of slippage in the papers submission system. All papers are supposed to be handed in at Conference by the presenters. Nearly all do. All papers are supposed to be accompanied with a disk. Nearly all are submitted on both paper and disk. There is a miss match both ways. It is a voluntary system. The system includes lodging by AARE of all hard-copies of papers handed in at the Cunningham Library at the Australian Council for Educational Research. The hard copies are kept by ACER and Indexed in the Australian Education Index. Through EdResearch Online ACER sends out papers requested/purchased. BUT, If the author did not hand in a hard-copy then ACER will not have it. AARE Office will assist you to get in contact with the author so that you can try to get the information from the researcher.