The Canadian Sociological Association welcomes you to attend and participate in our annual Conference. Please refer to our Conference Participation Policies for information on registration requirements.
The Conference would not be possible without the engagement of our members assuming the roles outlined below. We hope the guidelines and information provided is helpful but feel free to contact us for with any questions.
Session Organizers propose and coordinate paper presentation sessions, panels, workshops. Those organizing paper presentation sessions review abstract submissions and work with the CSA to plan the session details.
Session Organizers often assume the role of Session Chair (refer to the next role if this applies).
Policies
Conference Participation Policies apply if the Session Organizer will be attending the Virtual and/or In-person Conference.
Panels and Workshops
Organizers are asked to send invited panelist details (names, affiliations, and email addresses) to the CSA Office by February 15, 2024. They are also asked to support the Association office’s efforts to communicate conference information and registration policies with their panelists.
Paper Presentation Sessions
Abstracts submitted by a session organizer to his or her own paper presentation session must be submitted online by January 29, 2024 and reviewed by a co-organizer, a session organizer within the Research Cluster, or a member of the Conference Program Committee.
The requirement to submit a full paper or presentation prior to the Conference is at the discretion of the session organizer. It is strongly recommended that organizers request a completed paper and/or presentation by May 15, 2024 to ensure authors are prepared and committed to presenting at the Conference. Expectations regarding these items should be communicated to the presenters who will send them directly to the session organizers and chair.
Abstract Submission Review Instructions for Session Organizers
We utilize ‘My Conference Suite’, an online conference management system for the abstract submission and review process. This system integrates all session and participant information allowing for efficient communication and program coordination. Therefore, all abstracts must be submitted through this system by the January 29 deadline.*
*Exceptions (Sherry Fox will contact the applicable session organizers)
• Joint or co-sponsored sessions that are accepting submissions from more than one association
• Invited presenter or panelist information
Submitting an abstract to your own session
If you intend to submit an abstract to your own (or another) session, please note that you must do so through the online conference system by the January 29 deadline.
Your session co-organizer(s) or another member of the affiliated Research Cluster may review your abstract. If this is not applicable to your session, please send a copy of the abstract to us (office@csa-scs.ca) by January 29 so our Conference Committee may complete the review.
Accessing the System
As a session organizer, you will access abstracts submitted to your session through My Conference Suite. This system allows you to review submissions to your session(s) and submit abstracts as an author.
The system has sent a username and password from ‘Abstract Manager Mailer’ to all session organizers. Please contact me if you have not received it.
Reviewing Abstracts
A step-by-step userguide is availabe for all session organizers.
Download Session Organizer Instructions
The CSA will be contacting you on January 31 to advise on the final status of your session and will work with you to reorganize if required based on the following guidelines.
Sessions with less than 3 submitted/accepted abstracts will be cancelled or merged. This policy also applies if a presenter withdraws or fails to comply with the Conference registration requirements by April 15.
Sessions with 3 or 4 accepted abstracts may be asked to consider similarly themed abstracts from cancelled or merged sessions to create a full session of 5 presentations
Sessions with 7 or more accepted abstracts will be considered for one or more additional sub-sessions pending space and time availability in the program. Sub-session details must be sent to the CSA office by February 19; sub-session titles and description, presentations to be assigned to each sub-session, and order of presentations.
**Note that the abstract review process must be completed by February 15**
Communications
The system will automatically notify authors about your decision to approve or decline on February 16. We suggest that you email authors directly to request revisions to the abstract.
Declined abstracts
If you do not have room for an abstract or you feel that it is not a good fit for your session but worthy of presentation, please contact our office for a possible reassignment to another session.
Chairs
Applicable to Paper Presentation Sessions.
As a Canadian Sociological Association Conference participant, the chair must comply with the Conference Participation Policies.
A session organizer not presenting in a session may act as chair or discussant (although they should not assume both roles).
The chair should review the presentations and author information in advance of the Conference. The chair should ensure that the discussant (if applicable) has been able to review all presentations.
All sessions are 90 minutes. Chairs should organize their session to include time for a welcome message, Land Acknowledgement, presenter/panelist introductions, and Q & A from the audience in addition to a set time for presentations or panelist discussion.
Participants in the session should be contacted in mid April to advise them of their presentation length (between 10 – 15 minutes depending on the number of presentations in the session) and whether a full paper or presentation must be submitted in advance to the session chair.
In summary, the chair will;
- Consult with the session organizers regarding the session format and presentations in advance of the Conference
- Meet in the session room 15 minutes early to greet the presenters and alert the CSA team to any technical issues in the room if applicable
- Open the session
- Convey the Land Acknowledgement – to be provided by the CSA in May
- Introduce the presenters
- Presentations must be given in the order listed in the program
- Keep time for each presentation (between 10-15 minutes depending on the number of presentations in the session)
- Moderate the Q & A (final 15-20 minutes of the session)
- Note the number of attendees in the session and any issues that arise (e.g. no-show presenters) for the CSA team
Moderators
Applicable to panel and keynote lecture sessions
As a Canadian Sociological Association Conference participant, the moderator must comply with the Conference Participation Policies.
Panel moderators have the responsibilities of a chair in terms of introductions and time keeping as well as maintaining order in the discussion between panelists and the audience.
Discussant
As a Canadian Sociological Association Conference participant, the discussant must comply with the Conference Participation Policies.
The discussant must communicate with the session organizer and/or chair to obtain copies of the presentation papers in advance of the Conference.
The total time allotted to the discussant is limited to 10-15 minutes depending on the number of presentations in the session.
Presenters in Paper Presentation and Roundtable Sessions
As a Canadian Sociological Association Conference participant, all presenters have until April 15 to comply with the Conference Participation Policies.
- Paper co-authors neither presenting nor attending the Conference are exempt from these policies
- Exceptions may apply in the case of specific interdisciplinary sessions (participants will be advised if this applies to them)
Authors should check the review status of their abstract through the online submission system. Our office should be informed if the session organizer has not reviewed or communicated the results of the review by February 16, 2024.
The Canadian Sociological Association recognizes that there may be situations in which there are pedagogical and professional benefits to presenting the same research at multiple associations at Congress. The Association encourages its members, as a matter of good practice, to inform both associations of their submission in order to facilitate and foster future collaborative efforts.
Duplicate presentations within the Canadian Sociological Association Conference are not permitted and the author(s) will be required to withdraw one of the submissions.
The general CSA policy allows participants up to two different paper presentations and up to three presentations including panels and plenary (participation as session chair or discussant does not count in these limits).
Presenters must communicate directly with session organizers regarding their presentation time allotment and expectation for the submission of full papers or presentations (deadline is May 15). Failure to maintain communication with, or provide information requested by, the session organizer may result in the removal of the presentation from the Conference program.
The CSA must be notified immediately by the author if there are changes to a presentation title or abstract and in the event that the presentation has been withdrawn from the session to ensure accuracy of the Conference program.
Panelists
As a Canadian Sociological Association Conference participant, all panelists have until April 15 to comply with the Conference Participation Policies.
Panelists must communicate directly with session organizers regarding the panel details. Failure to maintain communication with, or provide information requested by, the session organizer may result in the removal of panelist’s participation in the Conference program.
Applicable to those attending the CSA Conference as observers only (i.e. not holding one or more of the roles above).
Membership in the Canadian Sociological Association is not required but members benefit from reduced in-person Congress delegate registration fees.
Everyone attending the in-person Conference at McGill University (June 17-21, 2024) must be a registered Congress delegate with the Canadian Sociological Association Conference fee included.
Audience attendance in the virtual session is open to the community.