New Feature: Grouped Checkboxes

Our drag-and-drop form builder now allows multiple checkbox items in a single form element.

Why is this important? Let's say you want to collect A/V requirements from your speakers. Before, you had to create a separate question on the form for each requirement:

Now, you can include all of those checkboxes in one element:

We've also added new requirement options for grouped checkboxes: You can make the checkboxes optional, you can require that at least one box be checked, or you can require all the boxes to be checked.

Usability Enhancements

We've just released two enhancements that make the site a little easier to use...

For call administrators: We've made it easier—and faster—to view submission details from the Submissions page. Previously, when you clicked on a submission's title, you were taken to a new page. Now, the same information is displayed in an overlay.

For authors: We've added a tab to the top of the proposal screens that links to the call's submission instructions. Now you have access to that information throughout the entire submission process. (Previously, the instructions were only displayed when you first created the proposal.)

Let us know what you think!

New Feature: Late Submissions

ProposalSpace now allows you to accept late submissions for a call without having to change the call's official submission deadline. The new setting (named "Late Submissions") is on the Submission Settings page right below the Submission Deadline field.

If you enter anything other than zero in the field, ProposalSpace will continue to allow submissions for that number of days without altering the official submission deadline. We'll also display a notice to users letting them know that although the submission deadline has passed, late submissions are still being accepted.

Introductory Pricing Extended

We've extended our introductory pricing another month!

Just start a call in ProposalSpace before April 1, 2010 and you'll lock in the special pricing of $49.95 to activate the call and $4.50 for every submission. You don't have to activate the call before April 1, you just have to create it by then.

So hurry up and start your calls before this offer ends!

Standardized Guidelines

We recently came across an article by Dr. Stuart J. Salasche in the June, 1997 issue of Dermatologic Surgery in which he suggested eight steps reviewers should take when reviewing journal manuscripts. We've modified them slightly to come up with what we think are valuable guidelines that should be at the core of any review process:

1. Read the material once through to gain a general familiarity with it.
2. Identify the author's main objective or hypothesis.
3. Reread the material as many times as necessary to gain a full understanding of it.
4. Determine if the main objective was satisfied or the hypothesis proven.
5. Determine if new or valid information was provided or if older material was successfully assimilated and clarified.
6. Decide whether the material should be accepted or rejected.
7. Suggest ways the material could be improved.

Are these guidelines sufficient? Are they too specific? Are they just right? Let us know your thoughts.

The Reviewer's Golden Rule

Here at ProposalSpace we not only want to make peer review easier, we also want to provide a venue where best practices for peer review can be developed and promoted. As a first step, we want to pass along Dr. Stanley S. Siegelman's "Golden Rule" for reviewers from the February 1988 issue of Radiology:

"Most reviewers are also active authors. Referee the manuscript as you would like to have your own papers treated. Be thoughtful and helpful. Offer fair, thorough, and constructive criticism. The reviewer's tone should be friendly and supportive, never harsh or adversarial. Avoid derogatory, potentially offensive, or demeaning comments. We don't want to dampen the enthusiasm of budding young academicians. Test your critique for fairness and objectivity by asking yourself if you would be willing to sign it and send it to the author."

Reviewers in ProposalSpace are not only able to score proposals, they can also attach comments to them. The call administrator determines whether those comments are restricted (made available only to review chairs and administrators) or revealed to the proposal's authors. Regardless of how comments are handled, Dr. Siegelman's advice provides valuable guidance for making the most of every reviewer's effort.

New Pricing Announced

ProposalSpace has always been the more affordable way to manage abstracts. We've worked hard to create a site that gives conferences all the tools they need to collect, review and select proposals for a fraction of the cost of traditional abstract management systems. But some of our users thought our pricing was a little too complicated and the base price for smaller conferences a bit too high. So we decided to do something about it. Starting today, you can manage a call in ProposalSpace for just $49.95 plus $4.50 per submission. That's it. No customization fees, account maintenance fees, upgrades or hidden charges to worry about. Just $49.95 plus $4.50 per submission. Compare that to the $10,000+ other abstract management systems charge. Our new pricing means the total cost for a conference with 20 submissions is under $140! Fifty submissions cost less than $275. Even a conference with 500 submissions can manage their entire collection, review and selection process for under $2,300. Pricing that's easy and fits any budget. That's the ProposalSpace difference.