Guide to a Successful Paper Submission
Paper submissions have closed. A list of all accepted papers is available here.
Like most conferences, womENcourage relies on a panel of reviewers to assist on the selection of papers. Two or more reviewers will assess your submission. Reviewers will assess submissions in terms of the contributions to computing and the benefit to be gained by the womENcourage attendees.
The Review Form
Here is a brief overview of the online form reviewers will use. Familiarity with the questions on the review form may help you to decide what to include or emphasise in your submission. The questions on the review form ask the reviewer for the following:
- An evaluation based on the significance of the contribution
- A rating of the reviewer’s confidence in their evaluation based on their own expertise in the topic area of the submission, from 5 (expert) to 1 (no knowledge)
- A review of the submission that should include a statement of the submission’s contribution to computing. It should also indicate any aspects of the submission’s written presentation that need improvement.
The main concerns to keep in mind are to offer the reviewers a strong, well-presented contribution to computing. As womENcourage addresses a general audience, keep in mind that the contributions should be understandable to a general audience and to reviewers who may not be experts in your field.
Making a Significant Contribution
Your submission’s reviewers will be asked to consider the significance of the submission’s contribution and the benefit others can gain from it. Your contribution should offer womENcourage attendees something that adds to what they could have learned from existing publications. Your contribution should be made clear in the abstract as well as the submission itself.
Remember that if you have collected data for analysis, appropriate methods should have been selected and correctly applied to support the work. You should provide sufficient data or well-supported arguments, explain what analyses were made and why, cite relevant work, and cover the important issues at the appropriate level of detail.
Originality
To demonstrate the originality of your contribution you should make sure to cite prior work (including your own) in the relevant area. If possible, explain the limitations in this work that your contribution has overcome. Make sure also to cite publications that have had a major influence on your own work. Lack of references to prior work is a frequent cause for complaint – and low rating – by reviewers. Allow adequate time for this part of your submission’s preparation.
Describing the Work Clearly and Concisely
You might be surprised at the large number of reviewer complaints about written presentation. Describing your work involves not only writing good prose, but also providing a good structure that helps the reader follow the explanation. The text should be supported with figures and tables; these should be clear and easy to understand. In summary, try to write clearly and concisely, avoid jargon, organise the submission to flow logically and smoothly, provide the right level of detail, and make good use of figures to support the text.
Although all presentations at womENcourage are made in English, womENcourage is a event with an international audience – and an international panel of reviewers. Submissions must be written in a language that effectively communicates across national and cultural boundaries. When authors are not native speakers of English, reviewers try to assess the quality of the work independent of language issues, but good English always helps. If you are not a native English speaker but have access to people who are, it is a good idea to ask them to proof-read your submission before you submit it.
Even if your first language is English, keep in mind that non-native English speakers will be reading and reviewing the submission. Avoid long, complex sentences as well as regional colloquialisms, jokes, or puns that could be difficult for someone outside your culture to understand.