Anyone may submit a paper for consideration by the Program Committee. Papers may be clinical, experimental, historical, methodological, philosophical or theoretical, or may report field work or case studies of any relevant kind. The Program Committee will not consider proposals for research which has not yet been carried out, nor will the Committee consider papers published in English prior to the Convention. Recent papers that have been previously published in a language OTHER than English are acceptable for submissions. All submissions must be in English, however.
Papers should be the equivalent of full-length journal articles and should adhere to the style of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (4th edition), or the format used by the British Journal of Psychology. If submitted on paper, the first sheet must contain a centred title, author(s) and affiliations(s) followed by an abstract of no more than 200 words. A running head that does NOT contain the name of the authors, but only a short title of the paper, should be printed at the top left hand corner of every page. The paper must be double-spaced, printed on one side only of 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper with minimal margins of one inch on all sides, or on A4 paper with one inch top, left and right margins, and a two inch bottom margin. The text may not exceed 13 single-spaced pages with no more than 4 additional pages for figures, tables, and references. Four copies of each submission are required.
If submitted on disk or by electronic mail, the first page must contain a centred title, author(s) and affiliation(s) followed by an abstract of no more than 200 words. Running heads should NOT contain author names but only a short title of the paper. The text of the paper, and the text included in figures, tables and references, should not exceed 7000 words in total. All disk and/or electronically-submitted text must be in DOS-compatible formats, with preferred text formats being ASCII, Microsoft Word and Word Perfect. Preferred figures formats include pcx and tiff. (Inquire about the acceptability of all other formats before submission.). One paper copy of all electronic submissions must be supplied as a double-check on the electronic submission and for the use of Program Committee members who are not on-line.
After review and acceptance all author(s) will be strongly encouraged to submit the final version in electronic form. All submissions should contain information about any audio-visual aids that will be needed. If there are multiple authors, indicate which author will make the presentation. In absentia presentations will be allowed only in exceptional circumstances.
Posters are papers or other materials presented on poster board in an installation separate from the convention floor. Poster sessions are especially appropriate for short papers, that are particularly amenable to visual displays (e.g., demonstration of equipment or techniques) and highly technical papers that cannot be communicated effectively in a brief lecture format to a general scientific audience. Authors who want their papers presented in a poster session should indicate this at the time of submission, with particular attention paid to a description of the visual materials that will make up the content of the presentation. In addition, the Program Committee may, at its discretion, designate other accepted papers for presentation on a poster session. Poster session papers will be included in the Proceedings of Presented Papers and in Research in Parapsychology, the published proceedings of the Convention. Proposals for posters should be prepared according to the instructions for full papers listed above. Photocopies of photographs to be in visual presentations are acceptable with the submission.
Only Members and Associates of the Parapsychological Association may propose a symposium, panel discussion, or workshop.
Symposia are formal presentations by participants on related topics. Proposals for symposia must include a summary sheet indicating title, chairperson, participants, order of presentation, and proposed time allotments, up to a total of 90 minutes, including discussion periods. Symposia submissions must include full papers from each of the participants included in the symposia and prepared per the instructions listed above, with the stipulation that one method (either print of electronic) should be used for all papers included in a single symposium submission.
Panel discussions are informal roundtable discussions intended to maximise spontaneous interactions of panellists and the audience. A total of 90 minutes, including discussion period, is allocated for panel discussions. A minimum of four participants should be proposed, with time apportioned among them and a substantial discussion period. Proposals for panel discussions should include a summary sheet that lists the panel title, chairperson, panellists, order of presentation, and time allotments as well as abstracts of 500 words from each panellist. Panel discussion proposals may be submitted in print or by electronic means, prepared according to the instructions listed above, with the stipulation that one method should be used for all materials included in a single panel submission.
Workshops are informal discussions of specific topics. Proposals for workshops should include a summary sheet listing the title, chairperson, other presenting participants, type of activity and a description of the intended content of the workshop, not exceeding 500 words. Workshop proposals may be submitted in print or by electronic means, prepared according to the instructions listed above.
The deadline for the receipt of all submissions is Monday 24th March 1997. The early deadline is necessary to allow for the preparation of the Proceedings of Presented Papers. Submissions received after this date will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances. Authors should be aware that any papers received after the deadline, even if accepted, may not be included in the printed Proceedings.
All submissions and other correspondence related to the program should be sent to: Dr Richard Wiseman, Program Chair, Psychology Department, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts., AL10 9AB, UK. E-mail: psyqrw@herts.ac.uk.