Reviewer's Scoring Criteria

• AOTA volunteers who are practitioners and educators (no students)
• AOTA volunteers who have demonstrated competency in research will review research-related proposals (earned research doctorate)

Instructions to Reviewers

• Each proposal is considered based on its own merit, not in comparison to other submissions
•  If a reviewer does not feel qualified to score a submission, they do not complete the review and no score is recorded. The proposal is then assigned to another reviewer

General Submissions

• Each submission is blind reviewed by 4 different reviewers
• Proposals are scored using a 1-5 grading scale for 9 rated items

Scoring Criteria for General Submissions

• Topic is timely
•  Topic demonstrates relevance to occupation-based practice
• Topic demonstrates evidence-based practice
• Topic relates to Conference theme of OT in High Definition
• Learning objectives are appropriate and clearly stated
• Abstract synopsis articulates purpose and content of presentation
• Level of material is appropriate for the identified target audience
• References are current and relevant
• Proposal is coherent
• Each proposal is considered based on its own merit, not in comparison to other submissions

Research Submissions

• Each submission is blind reviewed by 2 different individuals
• Proposals are scored using a 1-25 grading scale for 5 rated items

Scoring Criteria for Research Submissions

·     1-5 points:

• There is a clear statement of the objective
• The rationale / background is appropriate
• The results, limitations, and conclusions are appropriate (if work in progress, how do findings potentially contribute to OT)
• Topic is part of the OT Research Agenda

·     1-25 points:

• The methods section is clearly defined. Design, Setting, Participants, Measures, Interventions, Data Analysis (1-25)

Any General or Research proposal that receives a score of 37 out of a possible 45 points is considered for scheduling at Annual Conference.