Abstract management: how to deal with late breaking abstracts

Choosing the right abstract management software is a crucial element in the early stages of planning your conference. Being confident that the system you choose will handle the myriad tasks required, as well as having absolute trust in its capacity to deliver and perform, means that you can then concentrate on your own day to day tasks.

Each conference’s abstract requirements can differ immensely. Oxford Abstract’s software is highly flexible, with a range of packages and bolt-ons that can provide the system for just about any conference, no matter how complex, or how big.

In fast-paced research fields, it’s not uncommon for new findings to surface after the main call for abstracts has finished. Conference organisers and administrators might have closed the call for submissions and be on to the review, or even decision making, process and to re-open submissions would disrupt processes and cause a huge amount of confusion. But what if highly significant findings have come to light after submissions have closed, and it would be imprudent not to include them in your academic conference?So, what happens when you want to open up submission again for late breaking abstracts? How do you create a separate stream for managing this? And have you chosen a system with the flexibility to allow for it?

Late-breaking abstracts (LBA) are increasingly being sought, so it’s important that you allow for the management of these when planning your event. Having the facility to accept these at a late stage, often weeks before the conference, is a crucial part of best practice and a means of publishing new research findings that can have important implications in clinical practice and research.

Flexible abstract management software to handle last minute changes

Oxford Abstracts Multi Stage module can manage this process efficiently and simply. You can simply slot on a separate stage, and modify the submission form’s questions to allow for any further requirements – eg add questions, hide others and make some read-only. You can also modify the review and decision questions to accommodate. The separate stages can have differing deadlines and can be integrated with the main abstract submission stage as much or as little as you require, along with any of Oxford Abstracts additional modules, such as Online Conference Program, or Delegate Registration.

Multi stage is also the perfect tool for two stage submission processes – such as abstract, followed by full paper submission – or concurrent – for instance, open abstract submission and invited submitters. Have a look at Multi Stage’s features here, or contact us for a free trial or demo.