Guidelines for abstract submission
Abstracts submitted for consideration must adhere to the following guidelines:
The abstract should be a maximum of 250 words in length (not including references). Abstracts should adhere to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) for proper formatting and referencing. Files should use Microsoft word format to ensure compatibility.
Additionally, the abstracts should be:
- single spaced
- 12-point font
- margins of at least 1" on all sides
Authors need only send one copy of the abstract via email to the address listed below. The abstract should include a cover page (which will be removed before the abstract goes out for double-blind review) that contains the following information:
- Full title of the paper
- Name, institution, mailing address, email address, telephone number of the author(s)
- Name of author's academic supervisor
- Author's preference for presentation format. Indicate one of the following:
- poster only
- prefer poster but would do formal oral presentation
- prefer formal oral presentation but would do poster
- formal oral presentation only
- (please indicate if alternative presentation format is required)
Submit, as an attachment, by Monday, March 31, 2025 to: garls.symposium@uwaterloo.ca
Additional information
Faculty members can be co-authors; however, the main contributing author must be a graduate student. At least one student co-author must attend and present the accepted paper at the Symposium.
Notification of acceptance will be provided to authors by Friday, April 4, 2025.
Those abstracts accepted will be reproduced in the Symposium Proceedings, so authors will be expected to modify their abstracts, where needed, based on the reviewers' comments, and to re-submit them electronically by Friday, April 11, 2025. Failure to meet this deadline may mean the abstract will not appear in the Proceedings.
Guidelines for oral presentations
- Each virtual oral presentation will be limited to fifteen (15) minutes for the presentation and 5-10 minutes for discussion, unless other arrangements are approved in advance. The session chair will strictly enforce the time limits to afford everyone the opportunity to share his or her research
- Please pay particular attention to your visuals. They should add to, rather than detract from, your presentation. For those presenting virtually, you will be given privileges to screen share during your time slot to share your presentation.
- The oral presentation for empirical studies should be a concise review of objectives, purpose, methods, analyses, and findings. For works in progress, the oral presentation should be a concise review of objectives, purpose, proposed methodology and potential findings. Conceptual paper presentations should be an overview of the major ideas and concepts.
You will be required to submit your presentation by Thursday, April 24, 2025 in order to ensure compatibility and access.
Guidelines for poster presentations
The purpose of a poster session is to exhibit the highlights of your research and to encourage communication between the researcher and the Symposium attendees. Poster presentations generally integrate graphic and/or textual presentations and use displays to bring the specific features of the topic to life for the viewer. Attendees will be directed to view the poster presentations during the lunch break. If you are interested in a poster and need guidance on its creation phase, please reach out to the Symposium Committee.
