Criteria for Acceptance of Abstracts

Papers and posters presented at annual meetings of the ASP are to be based on high quality research that has generated interesting data relevant to current scientific issues in primatology. Abstracts of these presentations are published in the American Journal of Primatology. Because the goals of the Society and its journal are to promote excellent scientific research, the Program Committee will reject abstracts that do not meet high standards. Anecdotal reports of primate behavior and results of brief pilot work are usually not appropriate. Studies with serious flaws of design or execution should not be submitted. Likewise, poor grammar and poorly worded abstracts are unacceptable. Each abstract should include rationale, hypothesis or research question, research design, sample and data set size, data collection and sampling techniques, statistical strategy and alpha level, and a summary statement of results. Faculty advisors should carefully consider whether a particular student's work is appropriate for presentation at ASP and should guide their students accordingly. Students who are inexperienced in writing abstracts should seek assistance from faculty advisors before submitting abstracts, as all abstracts will be evaluated using the same rigorous criteria. Anyone who is uncertain that his or her research is suitable for a presentation at ASP is urged to contact a member of the Program Committee prior to submitting the abstract.

Overall requirements:

1. The maximum word count is 225 words for the body of the abstract, i.e., excluding title and author information. Check your word count before you enter your abstract. You will be cued for the sequence of authors. Use full mailing address of the first (or presenting) author and institutional affiliations of co-authors.
2. Write the abstract as a single block paragraph, and cut-and-paste it into place from your Word document.
3. The common and scientific name of the species should appear either in the title or the body of the abstract. You will be asked at the end of abstract submission process to list scientific or taxonomic names that should be italicized in your abstract. These words will be italicized automatically when the abstract is formatted for publication.
4. Use metric units of measurement.
5. Our experience suggests that most symbols are not modified from the Word document when cut and pasted into the abstract space, but if you find that the accurate representation of symbols is a problem, either make note of it in the space provided at the end of the abstract submission process or send your concern to the Program Committee chair.
6. When inferential statistics have been used to analyze the data being presented in the abstract, the results of those analyses should be presented in one of two ways:
   
   1. report the statistical test that was used and the alpha level associated with it. For example: "There was a significant difference between the means in the three conditions [ANOVA, alpha=0.01.]" or an even better example would include the direction of effect, “Animals in Conditions A and B were significantly faster than Condition C [ANOVA with a priori comparison, alpha=0.01.]"
   2. report the statistics in full, with observed value, degrees of freedom or sample size information, and the observed or criterion p value. For example: "An ANOVA showed that the means of these three conditions were significantly different [F(2,26)=11.64; p=0.003]. Again rewording to include the direction of the effect as part of the statement may often be an improvement (see instruction 6a).
7. Use lower-case "p" for probabilities, e.g., p < .05
8. FOR SYMPOSIUM ABSTRACTS ONLY: If the abstract is for a symposium presentation that will primarily be a review of the literature, authors are encouraged to include one or more citations (complete references not required) in the text of the abstract. These citations function in the place of data and will give the interested reader a chance to search further on the topic, beyond the primary author's name. All symposia abstracts must be reviewed by symposia organizers to ensure they fit with the rigor and the spirit of ASP and AJP. Because ASP abstracts are published in the journal AJP and therefore might be cited, it is the symposium organizer’s responsibility to ensure that each symposia participant’s abstract contains both necessary and sufficient rigor as to meet AJP standards.
9. You will have the opportunity to revise your abstract on-line until the abstract deadline.

Titles and Affiliations

Titles should be concise, with a clear statement of the variables (independent and dependent), species, housing/condition (corral-living, zoo living, free-ranging, etc.), and for field studies, location of the study. The design should be clear from the wording of the title; for nonexperimental research, avoid words that imply causation.

Body of the Abstract (225 Word Limit)

The body of the abstract should be a single paragraph and should include the following components, although there will be some cases where one or more elements do not apply. Please include all relevant and appropriate components.

1. The first 1-2 sentences of the abstract should indicate the theoretical rationale or practical purpose for the work. Hypotheses, research questions, or research problems should be stated clearly.
2. The methods should include:
   
   1. basic design of the study
   2. sample size
   3. data collection and/or sampling techniques
   4. size of the data set (number of hours of observation, duration of the study, number of observations, number of samples, etc.)
3. Results should include:
   
   1. explicit statements of results relevant to the stated purpose, including some indication of the statistical strategy used.
   2. level of significance (alpha level)
   3. direction of effect or relationship
4. End abstracts with conclusions or implications of the results, linking the interpretations with the purpose, whether theoretical or applied. Do not state that, "Results will be discussed." Acknowledgement of funding sources may be included if so desired and if space allows.

Because the abstracts will be published and may be cited, they should summarize your work in such a way that your study can be understood without any supporting or additional information. Please check spelling and grammar carefully and define all acronyms and nonstandard abbreviations. As stated above, poorly written abstracts will not be accepted.

The Program Committee may ask the author to make revisions in accordance with the stated instructions, above. Authors will be required to return the revised abstract within ten days.

Two complete abstracts are reprinted as examples. All have been reproduced with permission of the author(s). While these abstracts might not contain all the recommended elements mentioned above, most elements are included.

Note of Acknowledgment: Past and present ASP Program Committees developed the instructions provided on this page.