Conference Management System
What system is used for submission of proposals and registration for ECER?
All submissions, the participant registration and so on need to be done via the current year's Conftool system. Please find more information here.
Creating a User Account in Conftool
Does my Conftool account from last year still exist?
No. Except for Network Link Convenors, user accounts are not transferred from one year's Conftool to the following year's Conftool. Therefore you need to create a new user account each year in the current year's Conftool.
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 ECER documents, including the badge and participant list. Therefore we ask you to use the international 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, meaning the system will not include those submissions on your acceptance letter or certificate of participation.
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 the "EERA Network" and why do I need to select an "Alternative EERA 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 "EERA Nework" (your first choice network) and "Alternative EERA Network" (your 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 choose "99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)" as your EERA Network.
Is there a time limit for filling in the submission form?
Yes, there is a time limit of 4 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 and Length 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.
The title must not have more than 20 words.
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 an abstract in a language other than English?
No, the ECER language is English, and all ECER abstracts need to be handed in in English. Presentations also need to be done in English.
Can I submit the same abstract to two different networks?
No. ECER does not accept the submission of identical proposals to different networks. We therefore ask all authors to confirm that each proposal is only submitted once.
Can I submit the same abstract in two different formats?
No. ECER 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. ECER does not accept the submission of identical proposals to the Emerging Researchers' Conference and to ECER. We therefore ask all authors to confirm that each proposal is only submitted 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 “Save Data” that your submission is finally saved. You can then find it in your user account under “Your Submissions”.
Please contact the EERA Office if you cannot find the abstract after the submission deadline.
Can I edit my abstract once I finalised the submission?
You can edit your submission until the end of the submission deadline on 31 January. You will not have access to the submission form during the reviewing phase. However, there will be an editing phase in May when all accepted submissions can be edited.
What we will ask you to do:
- Please check with all presenting authors whether they are still able to attend the conference and present. If not, please update the list of authors accordingly.
- If you have received an email from us regarding an incorrect email address of one of the presenting authors, please make sure you correct it during the editing phase.
What you can do during the editing phase, if necessary:
- You can correct typos, add co-authors and make other small changes.
- Please do not make any significant changes to the abstract. Reviewers’ feedback or new developments in the research should only be considered for the presentation at ECER.
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 submission before the reviewing committee access the reviewing comments and decide on the reviewing results.
What does "Redirection" mean?
Redirection means that the reviewers of the EERA Network you selected as your first choice netework 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.
