Creating a User Account
Does my account from last year still exist?
No. Each year, we create a new website for submission. Therefore you need to create a new user account.
How do I fill in the user account form correctly?
Please note that the way you fill in your user account is exactly the way your name etc. will appear in all EERA documents, including the printed programme. Therefore we ask you to use the standard way of writing names, for example do not use capital letters, see below:
Correct: John Smith or Marie Durand
Not correct: JOHN SMITH or Marie DURAND
This also applies to your organisation and address etc.
Why do I need to validate my email address?
Please make sure that you validate your email addresses, including the second one if you listed two addresses. Otherwise the system will not be able to link your user account to the submissions you co-author. If this is not done, the system will not be able to create your confirmation of presentation correctly.
If you have not validated your email address yet, you can do this on the page “Show User Account Details” in your conftool user account. Simply click “Send email to validate this address” You will then receive an email containing a link. Click on the link and your email address is validated.
Submission
How do I select a network?
Please have a look at our List of Networks.
For more information on each network please click on the title of the respective network. You will then find information on the network objectives and on the thematic research field.
It is important to select the first and second choice network carefully. Your submission might be redirected from 1st to 2nd choice network by the reviewers of the 1st network if they find it unsuitable for their research field. If the reviewers of the second choice network also deem the submission irrelevant to their research area, the submission may be rejected.
If you want to present at the Emerging Researchers' Conference, please hand in to ERG, the Emerging Researchers' Group.
Is there a time limit for filling in the submission form?
Yes, there is a time limit of 2 hours for filling in the form, therefore we recommend that you first have a look at the example forms and then write a word file with the longer text passages respecting the given word limits. You can then copy and paste the text into the form without running the risk of exceeding the time limit.
Example forms and more details on Formats of Presentation.
Are there any formal requirements to consider when filling in the form?
Please be aware that you cannot save your submission if you don’t fill in the fields marked with asterisks or if you exceed the number of words. This word limit also applies to the title.
Please write the title of your submission in Title Case and not in complete Capital Letters.
Correct: The Way of Seeing Your ..
Not correct: THE WAY OF SEEING YOUR
For more details: Guidelines for Writing an Abstract
Can I submit the same abstract to two different networks?
No. EERA does not accept the submission of identical proposals to different networks. We therefore ask all authors to confirm that they only hand in a proposal once.
Can I submit the same abstract in two different formats?
No. No. EERA does not accept the submission of identical proposals in different formats. Only one format may be chosen per proposal.
Can I submit the same abstract to the Emerging Researchers' Conference and to ECER?
No. EERA does not accept the submission of identical proposals to the Emerging Researchers' Conference and to ECER. We therefore ask all authors to confirm that they only hand in a proposal once.
Why can’t I find my abstract in my user account?
It may be that you did not save your submission properly. After filling in the form, you are asked to proceed to step two, i.e. to check the details. It is only when you click “Safe Data” that your submission is finally saved. You can then find it in your user account under “Your Submissions”.
Reviewing
What happens during the review process?
All abstracts go through a first round of reviewing and the authors will be informed of the results by the beginning of April. Submissions that need to be redirected to the alternative network will then be reviewed again in a second round. If you have not been informed about the result of the first round by the end of April, please contact the EERA Office.
You may want to have a look at our Review Criteria.
What is the standard for the reviewing procedure?
As a standard, ECER proposals undergo a double blind peer reviewing process. Usually at least two reviewers will evaluate a submissions before the reviewing committee access the reviewing comments and decided on the reviewing results.
What does “Redirection” mean?
Redirection means that the reviewers of the First Choice Network you selected do not consider your topic suitable for their network. In this case, your submission will be automatically redirected to the alternative network you selected when filling in your submission form.
What might be the grounds for rejection?
Proposals are rejected for various reasons: often they are very short and simply do not give enough information - especially regarding the research methods - other times the language is not clear enough. We advise you take your time to make your case clear. Usually, reviewers and/or the programme committee will leave feedback within the reviewing process which should help explain the reasons for a potential rejection. In some cases proposals are rejected after they have been redirected to the second choice network. In these cases, the second network chosen by the author also did not feel that the submissions met the research focus of the network.
Under Review Criteria you will find a section "How to Avoid Rejection" giving you detailed recommendations.
