Call for Papers Instructions & Guidelines
90th AOTA Annual Conference & Expo
Orlando, FL from April 29-May 2, 2010
Pre-Conference Institutes April 28, 2010
The AOTA Annual Conference & Expo is a time for practitioners, educators, scientists, and students to share their work - work that will further the profession of occupational therapy as it seeks to contribute its knowledge to improve the lives of those who can benefit from occupational therapy services. Both general and research-related proposals will be considered.
Instructions for Submission
- Proposals may be submitted anytime through midnight eastern time Thursday, June 18, 2009.
- Proposals will only be accepted via the Internet.
- All presenters, for each proposal submitted, must have a valid e-mail address.
- Complete required fields in all sections. You may exit and enter the proposal submission process as many times as needed to complete your proposal.
- We suggest that you first develop your proposal in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, and then copy and paste information in the appropriate sections. Since there is no spell or grammar check function with the online submission process, copying and pasting will ensure greater accuracy. Please make sure you are accurate with all spelling and credentials.
- Incomplete proposals will be deleted after June 19, 2009.
Session Formats
Within each format, proposals may be either general in nature or research-based, except as indicated below. Requirements differ for each.
- Pre-Conference Institute: 6-hour session held April 28, 2010
- Workshop: 3-hour session
- Short Course: 90-minute session
- Research Platform: 90-minute session with 4-20 minute papers with common themes presented together or a 60-minute session with 3-20 minute papers with common themes presented together. Four (4) papers or three (3) papers may be submitted together for consideration as a Research Platform or AOTA may create a Research Platform of individual paper submissions. NOTE: If there is someone else who is submitting a Paper that you want to be paired with, please indicate the number of their proposal by entering the Code number in the appropriate box provided.
- Paper: 15-minute session, with 5-minute discussion
- Poster: Displayed on a 4-ft x 8-ft cork bulletin board. Posters will be on display during a designated time period and presenters are asked to be with their poster for the duration of the session (usually a 2-hour block of time).
- Research Work in Progress: These posters will allow presenters to discuss their research that has not yet been completed. Posters should include preliminary data analysis
- Tech Day Session: 90-minute session that are a hands-on, interactive exploration of high- and low-technology products to enhance client participation across the lifespan. Will have access to one desktop computer (if needed) during a tech day session. Will be one of 10 presentations during the session.
Audiovisual Equipment
The standard room set for ALL sessions (except posters) is as follows:
- 1 laptop computer with DVD player
- All session rooms are equipped with sound system
- 1 podium and 1 head table
- 1 head table microphone and 1 wired lavaliere microphone at the podium
- 1 projection screen
- 1 LCD projector
Internet access is not an available option, EXCEPT for Tech Day presentations.
Proposal Selection Process
Proposals are reviewed online by your colleagues in a blind peer review that will begin Wednesday, June 24 and conclude on Thursday, August 13, 2009. A minimum of 4 blind reviews is given to each general submission and 2 blind reviews for each research submission. Only reviewers who have demonstrated competency in research will review research-related proposals.
You may submit as many completed proposals as you want; however, you may present no more than 3 accepted proposals.
Two types of proposals will be considered for the 2010 Annual Conference & Expo:
- General Presentations that advance practice, education, or program development.
- Research Presentations that advance the body of knowledge underlying the practice of occupational therapy.
General Presentations are presentations in the areas of occupational therapy practice, education, or program development. The learning objectives should be clearly stated, and should relate to improved understanding or application of knowledge relevant to practice and education. The plan of presentation and the synopsis of the content should indicate how the learning objectives will be fulfilled.
Criteria for General Presentations:
- Topic is timely
- Topic demonstrates relevance to occupation-based practice
- Topic demonstrates evidence-based practice
- Presentation method is appropriate for the topic
- 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
Research Presentations add to the body of knowledge underlying the practice of occupational therapy. These proposals are judged on the significance and need for the study, the soundness of the methodology, and the validity of the conclusion(s) based on appropriate data analysis.
Criteria for Research Proposals:
- There is a clear statement of the objective
- The rationale / background is appropriate
- The methods section is clearly defined (Design, setting, participants, measures, interventions, data analysis)
- The results, limitations, and conclusions are appropriate (if work in progress, how do findings potentially contribute to OT)
- The proposal is timely, professionally relevant and contributes to clinical practice and science.
NOTE: Only completed research will be considered for Research Platforms or Papers. Research work that is in progress may be submitted for consideration as a Poster.
Scoring of General and Research Proposals
All proposals are scored on a scale of 1 to 5 (with the exception of the Methods Section of the research submissions - this is scored on a scale of 1 to 25). Reviewer scores for each proposal are averaged, and all proposals that score 37 or higher are considered for scheduling in the conference program. High scoring proposals that are not scheduled due to limitations in the number of rooms available at the conference site will undergo a second level review. The review will be conducted by a committee comprised of occupational therapists on AOTA staff and specifically identified volunteers with expertise in the topic areas. Final selection and scheduling of conference proposals is done by the volunteer committee and is based on a number of factors that help to establish a diverse and balanced program.
Policies Governing Accepted Proposals
- Once a proposal is accepted, changes to the proposal cannot be made.
- AOTA reserves the right to assign the day and time that accepted proposals will be scheduled. In addition, AOTA reserves the right to publish any submission, in whole or in part, in any form by any printed, visual, or electronic means.
- All OT, OTA, and student speakers whose proposals are accepted for presentation must register for at least one day of conference.
- Notification will be sent by e-mail by late September 2009 regarding acceptance of proposals. Notifications not acknowledged by the due date, will result in a session being dropped from the final program.
- All speakers must ensure that they have received proper copyright permission for all materials used in their presentations.
The exclusive promotion or sale of goods, services, or products during educational sessions is prohibited. Speakers who are found to be engaging in such practices will have their sessions halted.
