ISIR Program Committee – Purpose and Procedures DRAFT 2/13/13
ISIR Program Committee
Purpose and Procedures
DRAFT 2/4/13 LG’s queries and comments in red
Members (2013): Yulia Dodonova (chair), Tom Coyle, Yulia Kovas (board member), Paul Irwing,
Harrison Kell
Procedures common to all committees
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The Board selects committee members and the chair. It does so in consultation with the previous
chair.
The committee has at least 3 members. All must be members of ISIR and one must be a Board
member.
Term of membership is generally 3 years and is staggered so that there is overlap in committee
composition from year to year.
Chairs are generally selected from among first- or second-year members.
The committee makes recommendations to the Board. Per ISIR’s Code of Regulations, the
committee does not take action unless specifically authorized by the board to do so.
The committee chair keeps a record of its activities (per ISIR’s Code), to be included in an endof-year report to the ISIR President.
The Committee chair is responsible for reporting activities, recommendations, and questions to
the President.
Committee members keep sensitive information confidential (e.g., names of potential awardees).
Committee members have read and are familiar with ISIR’s constitution. That Code of
Regulations is available at: http://www.isironline.org/structure/governance.html
Committee membership
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Usually 4-5 members
Major purposes
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Solicit abstracts and reviewers of abstracts for annual conference (February-August)
Review and select abstracts for conference program (September-October)
Draft conference program & upload it to website (October-November)
Arrange for printing and delivery of program to conference site (November-December)
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Specific procedures
I. Solicit abstracts and reviewers of abstracts for annual conference
A. Arrange for solicitation of abstracts
1. Revise the previous year’s call for abstracts (the conference announcement), available at
http://www.isironline.org/meeting/archive.html.
 ___ Confirm with President the abstract deadline, format, and where to submit
abstracts
2. Recommend draft conference announcement to President by March 1. Note. It will have to
be modified if workshops are added the day before.
 ___ Email draft to President
3. President consults with Board and distributes revised conference announcement:
o To ISIR membership by March 15, via a 123signup “event” announcement to
membership-type “all.”
o (Perhaps) also submits it for publication in Intelligence and Personality and
Individual Differences. Note: Need to know required lead-time.
4. Collect & record abstracts as they arrive (see Appendix A for template). Asterisk those that
will be presented by pre-doctoral students, because the printed program will show an asterisk
next to their name and because the Student Awards Committee will need a list. Would be
simpler to add a column, which would allow sorting to produce a short list for the Student
Awards Committee.
5. Stop accepting abstracts for oral presentation, for real, one week after the deadline
(September 1). Perhaps offer latecomers the opportunity to present a poster.
B. Solicit abstract reviewers
1. Revise template letters to solicit external reviewers and to give volunteers instructions (see
Appendices B & D for templates).
 ___ Email both draft letters to President by June 1
2. President reviews and sends the reviewer solicitation letter from 123signup.com, addressed
to ISIR membership-type “all,” by June 15. True? Committee may send the solicitation to
other researchers as well. Reviewers need not be ISIR members. Committee can also ask
President for a list of ISIR members, current and lapsed.
3. Acknowledge replies as received, and say they will receive abstracts and instructions after
the submissions deadline of September 1.
4. Create spread sheet of individuals volunteering to review (Appendix C).
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II. Review and select abstracts for Program
A. Coordinate review of abstracts
1. Assign abstracts to reviewers, using whatever information on expertise reviewers provide.
Normally, each reviewer gets 3 abstracts or one symposium to review, and each abstract is
sent to at least 3 reviewers. Record assignments in the spread sheet of reviewers (Appendix
C).
2. Email assigned abstracts to reviewers together with letter of instructions (Appendix D).
Request that reviews be returned by October 1.
3. Collect reviewers’ rankings and enter into spread sheet of abstracts (Appendix A).
C. Rank and select abstracts for conference
1. Email spread sheet of reviewers’ ratings (Appendix C) to committee members.
2. Recommend abstracts for the program slots after weighing (a) rated quality, (b) number of
speaking slots available for unsolicited papers, and (c) the importance of a good poster
session. In 2012, the program had the equivalent of 64 20-minute speaking slots, of which
47 were open slots. One-third of abstracts submissions (23) were scheduled in the poster
session, only some of which had been submitted as posters. This is guidance only, not a rule.
Symposia
Oral
presentations
Total oral
Posters
Invited speakers
Presenters (N)
20-minute
slots (N)
8 (2 President’s
8
Symposia)
3 (Keynote,
9
Science writer,
Interviewee
11
17
0
Submitted abstracts
Presenters (N) 20-minute
slots (N)
19
19
(4 symposia)
28
28
47
23
47
Symposia submissions: Generally up to 4 accepted. All the abstracts in a symposium must be
acceptable and form a coherent set.
Oral paper submissions: Generally not all can be accommodated. While the very highest
quality abstracts may be preferred, general interest value is also important.
Poster presentations: The poster session is more suitable for highly specialized
presentations. It is not a dumping ground for low quality submissions, nor should attendees
perceive it as such. When accepting paper submissions as posters, seek a variety of topics
and speakers. Try to recruit some of ISIR’s more illustrious members to present a poster,
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which would also give students more informal time with them. Maybe it should be practice
for a board member to do so.
 ___ Consult with President on the distribution of presentations across symposia,
talks, and posters. Do not send acceptances before doing so.
D. Notify submitters of decisions by October 1.
 ___ Email individual acceptance letters for oral presentations (Appendix E).
 ___ Email individual acceptance letters and instructions for posters (Appendix F).
E. Create spread sheet of pre-doctoral students presenting a talk or poster. Include name, contact
email, and abstract title. (NOTE: the conference announcement should clarify eligibility—postdocs are not currently eligible but many classify themselves as students)
 ___ Email spread sheet to chair of Student Awards Committee.
III.
Draft the conference program & upload to website
A. Schedule the presenters
1. Oral presentations accepted for presentation: generally 20 minutes each (15 for presentation
and 5 for questions). Group into sessions by topic. Avoid scheduling students during the last
session on Day 3 because the Student Awards Committee needs to announce its decision
immediately after. Ask President who will chair each session. Chairs’ names go into the
program.
 ___ Consult with President on who should chair sessions.
2. Symposia accepted for presentation: generally 90 minutes, but perhaps more if more than 4
papers. Spread them out over the conference.
3. Poster session: Group posters by topic and specify location. Schedule during the Elsevier
reception on Day 1.
 ___ Confirm with the President.
Also investigate having poster up longer or other days for additional viewing.
 ___ Confirm with the President, who contracts for the meeting rooms.
4. President’s Symposium: up to 10 speakers in two sessions invited by the President.
 ___ Contact President for list of speakers and their abstracts.
5. Interview with Distinguished Contributor: generally on Day 1, just after the business meeting
and just before the Elsevier reception.
 ___ Contact chair of Distinguished Contributions Interview & Keynote Speaker
Committee for name of interviewee.
6. Holden Memorial Address on Science Writing: Generally one hour just before or after lunch
on Day 2.
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 ___ Contact chair of Media and Holden Science Writer Committee for
information and abstract.
7. Keynote speaker: Generally one hour on Day 2, before the banquet.
 ___ Contact chair of Distinguished Contributions Interview & Keynote Speaker
Committee for information and abstract.
B. Schedule the other events (specify their location if not in the main meeting room)
1. Conference opening. Short, usually when major announcements given, including Lifetime
Achievement Award and memorials.
2. Conference closing. Short, usually when student awards given.
3. ISIR business meeting. Generally an hour on Day 1, just before the Distinguished Contributor
Interview.
 ___ Confirm with the President.
4. Elsevier Reception. Generally two hours on Day 1 right after Distinguished Contributor
Interview.
 ___Confirm with the President, who contracts for the videotaping and catering.
5. Student breakfast with Lifetime Achievement Awardee. Generally for 80-90 minutes before the
conference on Day 2.
 ___ Confirm with President, who contracts for the catering.
6. Luncheon for awardees, officers, and invited speakers. Generally on Day 2.
 ___ Confirm with President, who contracts for the catering.
7. Banquet. Usually two hours the evening of Day 2.
 ___ Confirm with President, who contracts for the banquet.
8. Lunch breaks. Generally 90 minutes. Need not be at same time every day.
9. Coffee breaks. Both morning and afternoon. Generally 30 minutes each.
10. End-of-conference board meeting. This doesn’t go into the program, but you want to make
sure that there is no conflict.
 ___ Check with the President.
11. Workshops the day before the conference.
 ___ Check with the President.
C. Assemble the draft conference program
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1. Use the 2012 program as a template. There are Word versions for both American and
European style (8x11 pages vs. A4). Note. It will have to be modified if workshops are added
the day before.
2. Recommend a photo for the program cover, perhaps with a theme related to the location.
 ___ Send recommendation to President.
3. Revise the acknowledgements page, as necessary. Updated lists of ISIR Officers and
Committees should be available on the ISIR website.
 ___ Double-check list with President
4. Ask President whether there will be a memorial page, and reformat photos as required.
Rendering color photos in black and white works best. ??
 ___ Confirm memorials with President
5. Insert asterisks in both the short and long schedules beside the names of students who will be
delivering presentations or posters. This identifies candidates for student awards.
6. Include an index with the names of all presenters, with student names asterisked.
7. Send the draft program to the President for review by November 1.
 ___ Email draft to President
8. After President’s review, revision, and approval, ask the chair of the Media and Holden
Science Writing Committee to have the finalized conference program uploaded to ISIR’s
website. Some participants need it to plan their travel.
 ___ Email final conference program to chair of Media Committee with request to
upload.
9. Use handy hint below when editing the template!!
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IV.
Arrange for printing and delivery of program to conference site
A. Ask local host to obtain several estimates for printing the program. Make this request by
November 1, and request that they submit their estimates to the President by November 10.
 ___ Request printing estimates from local host
B. Send the local host these instructions for the printer. Very important.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
MARGINS - Print with ZERO margins. Otherwise the right-side tags on odd pages will not show properly.
COLORS - The front and back covers should be RED COVER STOCK. The internal pages should the usual
20 lb. WHITE paper.
TWO-SIDED
PDF PAGES FOR FRONT COVER - The first two pages in the pdf file are for the FRONT cover (front and
back of that sheet, the latter a blank placeholder in the file). The BACK cover, also in red, will be entirely
blank, so the pdf file contains no pages for it. (CONFIRM THAT TRUE FOR YOUR YEAR)
PDF PAGES FOR BODY OF PROGRAM - there are 105 internal pages in the file, several of which are
intentionally blank. The last page in the file shows the page number 101; its reverse side will remain blank
(MAY DIFFER FOR YOUR YEAR)
BINDING – Specify COMB binding
NUMBER - 120 copies (NUMBER FROM 2012—ABOUT 10 MORE THAN NUMBER REGISTERED)
Resolution - no less than 300 dpi
 ___ Email printing instructions to local host
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C. The President will use the estimates to select a printer and work with the local host to arrange
payment for the printing. Leave at least 7-10 days to get the printing done, and it should be
completed at least one week before the conference (to cover contingencies).
D. Local host inspects the printed program before taking delivery—and, better yet, also inspects
a sample before the programs are printed.
E. Local host or designee delivers the printed programs to the conference site in time for
registration the first morning of the conference.
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List of Appendices
The latest version of all templates can be downloaded from the ISIR website:
http://www.isironline.org/templates
Text shown in red in templates means it may need updating.
A. Template Excel spread sheet of abstracts submitted, reviewers’ ratings of them, and
committee’s decisions
B. Template letter soliciting abstract reviewers
C. Template Excel spread sheet of reviewers and abstracts assigned to them
D. Template letter sending abstracts and instructions to volunteer reviewers
E. Template letter of acceptance for symposia (to the chair only) and other oral presentations
F. Template letter of acceptance and instructions for posters
G. Template conference program in US format (8x11 pages)
H. Template conference program in non-US format (A4)
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Appendix A: Template Excel spread sheet of abstracts submitted, reviewers’ ratings of them, and
committee’s decisions
This PDF image is for illustration only. Need to download Excel file from the ISIR website. Formulas
have been inserted in the spread sheet to automatically calculate averages.Add student designation
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Appendix B: Template letter for soliciting abstract reviewers
Dear fellow intelligence researcher,
ISIR’s annual conference will be held on December 12-14, 2012, in Melbourne. Details will be on the
ISIR website in late Spring.
I'm chairing ISIR’s Program Committee this year, and we could use your help reviewing abstract
submissions. We generally assign 3-4 one-page abstracts to each reviewer. Reviewers are asked to rate
submissions from 1 to 5 on two criteria, scientific rigor and interest value to ISIR attendees.
ISIR’s deadline for abstract submissions is September 1, and we try to send submissions out for review
by September 10. Reviewers should return their ratings by October 1, because we aim to send letters of
acceptance by October 15.
Please let me know by return email if you would like to volunteer. Feel free to indicate a specialty area
(e.g. neuroscience, psychometrics, group differences, genetics) you would most like—or not like—to
review.
Thank you very much, and we hope to see you at the conference!
Regards,
_______, Chair
ISIR Program Committee
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Appendix C: Template Excel spread sheet of reviewers and abstracts assigned to them
This PDF image is for illustration only. Need to download Excel file from the ISIR website.
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Appendix D: Template letter sending abstracts and instructions to volunteer reviewers
Dear ____,
Thank you for volunteering to review abstracts for the ISIR conference. I am asking each volunteer to
review 3-4 abstracts. I attach the 3 I’ve assigned to you. Two other individuals will review them as well.
Please evaluate each abstract [and the symposium as a whole*] according to two criteria: scientific rigor
and interest value to ISIR attendees.
1. Scientific rigor. Please assign a rating from 5 to 1 for overall scientific merit, where 5 =
Excellent science, 4 = Good science, 3 = OK science, 2 = Marginal science, and 1 = Too
Low.
2. Interest value. Please assign a rating from 5 to 1 for how many ISIR attendees will likely be
interested in the subject, where 5 = Of general interest, 4 = Of interest to the majority, 3 = Of
interest to a substantial minority, 2 = Of interest to a specialized group, and 1 = Not of
interest.
Please return your ratings to me by October 1. I require only these two ratings for each abstract, but feel
free to add any comments you think might be useful.
Thanks for your help!
Best regards,
_____, Chair
Enc: 3 abstracts
*Add this phrase if you have assigned them a symposium.
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Appendix E: Template letter of acceptance letter for symposia (to the chair only) and other oral
presentations Note. We may need to draft a letter for rejections too.
Dear ____________,
We are pleased to inform you that your abstract has been accepted for an oral presentation at the annual
conference of the International Society for Intelligence Research, to be held December 12-14, 2013, in
Melbourne.
The date and time of your presentation will be listed in the draft ISIR conference program. The draft
program will be available on the ISIR website (http://www.isironline.org) by November 1. Occasionally
we have to shuffle time slots a bit, so please reconfirm your date and time when the final program is
posted.
If you are the convener of a symposium, please let your speakers know that the symposium has been
accepted.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference!
Best regards,
The Program Committee
Yulia Dodonova (chair)
Wendy Johnson
Paul Irwing
Yulia Kovas
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Appendix F: Template letter of acceptance and instructions for posters
Dear ____,
We are pleased to inform you that your abstract has been accepted for a poster presentation at the annual
conference of the International Society for Intelligence Research, to be held December 12-14, 2013 in
Melbourne.
The poster session is a large and important component of ISIR’s conference. Its aim is to provide more
opportunities for discussion and, especially, more in-depth discussion of specialized topics.
The poster session will be held during the reception, immediately following the Distinguished
Contributor Interview on December 13. As before, we are planning good food and drink to draw and
keep our audience.
Instructions for posters:
 Maximum size: 8 feet wide by 4 feet high. NOTE to Committee—permissible size will depend on
the boards we have available. Ask the President for this information. If not available at time of
this letter, say that this information is forthcoming.
 Tacks will be available to affix posters to the display boards
 The room will be open for several hours before the session, so please mount your poster well
beforehand.
 The display boards are numbered to match the poster numbers listed in the program. Please use
the display board with your poster number.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference!
Best regards,
The Program Committee
Yulia Dodonova (chair)
Wendy Johnson
Paul Irwing
Yulia Kovas
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Appendix G: Template conference program in US format (8x11 pages)
Large Word file—must be downloaded from ISIR website
Appendix H: Template conference program in non-US format (A4)
Large Word file—must be downloaded from ISIR website
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