Sundeep Dhillon, University of Warwick, UK
Our previous blog posts on this site have focused on conference attendance and presenting. How we can select which conferences to apply to present at and some of the steps involved were discussed in our January meeting. Here are some of the key points we came up with in our group sharing and discussion session on this topic:
How to select which conference to apply for or attend
Ask your supervisor(s) for recommendations as they can signpost you to relevant ones.
Look at who the keynote speakers are and the titles of their talks to see if they are linked to your research interests.
Some conferences offer unique workshops like EuroSLA’s doctoral workshops, IATEFL and AAAL have a mentoring system for first-time presenters.
Consider the time it will take to travel there and present as well as the potential costs of travel and accommodation.
Attend free online conferences to observe how a range of speakers present their work.
Conference abstracts
When it comes to writing up a conference abstract, it’s important to match your research topic to the theme of the conference. Rather than applying for multiple conferences in the hope of being accepted, hone in on those which are closely connected to your research area.
Look at previous iterations of the conference on the website, many will have the conference booklets available and these are a useful source to model your abstract on. What has been accepted previously and how the abstracts are written will guide you as to whether that conference is interesting or appropriate for you topic wise.
For PhD students, it may be difficult to write an abstract so early in advance of the conference date as the research is likely to change by the time the actual conference comes around, especially if the research is still very much in progress. Make this clear in your abstract, stating what elements of the research will you be able to present about and which areas may be addressed at the time.
Conferences are often more lenient than publishers re sample sizes and don’t necessarily expect a completed piece of research to be presented. Applying for a poster presentation is a good way of presenting emerging findings and getting feedback from the audience.
Think about applying for student conferences if you are early on in your studies and don’t know if your data (or lack of data) is ready to be presented. PGR conferences are supportive environments and ideal for getting peer feedback. The University of Warwick has annual conferences organised by students in Applied Linguistics (WICAL) and the Education department. York St John University also holds a PG Forum in Applied Linguistics yearly.
Attending conferences
It can be useful to attend a range of conferences – if you have the time and funds, even if you are not presenting. You can broaden your horizons on what current research is being undertaken, discover more about methodologies, observe presentation styles and network with others.
Network, network, network! This is often easier in a face-to-face situation and attending sessions focused on your topic or research interests can encourage personal interaction with others in the field. Break times can also be a great opportunity to discuss in a less formal setting.
Present preliminary findings to get feedback on your work to date and build up your confidence in presenting.
The big-name presenters often have a wide focus and a large audience so attend some smaller talks. These might be more relevant to you and provide the opportunity to network more easily.
Where to publish, in a journal or conference proceedings?
How confident are you with your data? Conference proceedings can be a good option if you can't make it into a journal.
Perhaps more complicated or experimental data that may not fit so well in a journal can get published in conference proceedings and it should be a quicker process.
These are some of the main ideas the group came up with, hopefully the details we discussed will be of use to other PGR students out there. Let us know if you have any more advice by posting a comment.
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