Submitting and reviewing abstracts: how to keep the review process organized

An abstract review module is an online environment where authors submit their summary for a scientific conference and the programme committee reviews those contributions, bringing submission, review and programme scheduling together in a single process.

At a scientific or medical conference, the programme does not start with the speakers but with the submitted contributions. Dozens or even hundreds of abstracts are submitted, distributed among reviewers, assessed and ultimately scheduled into sessions or poster presentations. Without a clear structure, this process can quickly get lost in email exchanges and spreadsheets.

Submitting according to one consistent format

Authors submit their abstract through an online form with a fixed structure: title, authors and affiliations, the subject or theme, and the summary within a maximum word count. Because everyone follows the same format, the contributions are easier for the committee to compare.

The author can immediately see whether the submission is complete and receives a confirmation. Until the submission deadline closes, they can still edit their contribution. The abstract and review module records when each abstract was submitted and modified.

Reviewing without email exchanges

After the submission deadline closes, the committee distributes the abstracts among the reviewers. Each reviewer only sees the contributions assigned to them and assesses them according to the criteria established by the committee, providing a score and comments.

• Assignment per reviewer or per thematic group
• Assessment with a score and comments based on fixed criteria
• Overview of which abstracts are still awaiting review
• Multiple reviewers per abstract when desired by the committee

Throughout the process, the committee can see where any backlog is occurring. This eliminates the need to send reminders based on guesswork and makes it easier to meet the deadline for finalizing the programme.

From review to programme

Once the reviews are in, the committee decides which contributions will be accepted and in what format: an oral presentation in a parallel session or a poster presentation. This scheduling feeds into the conference programme, after which participants can choose their sessions. You can read more about how this works when room capacity is limited in the article about session selection at a conference.

Authors are informed about the outcome and what is expected of them. This communication is handled within the same process, so there is no need to maintain a separate list.

Part of the conference, not a standalone tool

The abstract module does not operate in isolation. Submission, review, programme, registration and access control are brought together in the medical conference platform. Activo has been working for business events and conferences since 1997, including organizations such as Amsterdam UMC and the Dutch Judiciary, and is present on-site on the day of the conference.

For the committee, this means having one point of contact instead of separate suppliers for submission, registration and reception. The platform is designed with GDPR requirements in mind, which is a strict requirement for academic and medical organizations.

Frequently asked questions about submitting and reviewing abstracts