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Abstract Submission Guidelines

Regular Abstract Deadline: November 17, 2024 11:59pm CT


  • Platform/Poster Information

    • Platform presentations are to be a maximum of 12 minutes.
    • Maximum poster dimensions are 30" x 42" (landscape or portrait).

Adherence to AMMP Ethics Guidelines

  • By submitting your abstract, you are agreeing to abide by AMMP Ethics Guidelines as set forth in the Charter.

Author submission policy

  • The first listed author of the abstract is automatically the presenting author. If there are more than five authors, please email abstracts@paleomethods.org.
  • One author must be present during their appropriate session to present and/or answer questions.
  • Two (2) first-authored abstracts can be submitted for consideration: one in each category (poster and oral).
  • If you have questions about your abstract, please email abstracts@paleomethods.org.

Title and Content

  • Title and text must be in English, and in formal writing style.
  • The title is limited to 255 characters including spaces and punctuation.
  • The expanded body of the abstract is limited to 2,500 words maximum (approximately 4 pages) including spaces and punctuation.
  • The abstract must describe completed work in detail (e.g. scope, purpose, methods, and results, and health and safety procedures).
  • If you are describing work that is completed, write in the past tense. If you are describing principles and procedures in general (e.g. Conservation of Waterlogged Wood or Proper Use of Consolidants, etc.) then present tense is appropriate.
  • Abstracts stating, "results will be discussed" are not acceptable. Standard abstract content includes results.
  • An abstract is not meant to be an advertisement, notification, or lure with cliffhangers.
  • Please use a passive voice/third person when writing your abstract as it is more concise and professional. Abstracts written in the first person will need to be revised.

Photos/Tables

  • Maximum of two relevant photos/tables with captions can be used to supplement each abstract.
  • Photos/tables can be emailed to abstracts@paleomethods.org after abstract submission. Please include your name and abstract title.

2025 Host Committee

Shawn Haugrud, Chair

East Tennessee State University

Gray Fossil Site and Museum

Dr. Blaine Schubert (Museum Director)

Matthew Inabinett (Curator)

Laura Emmert (Museum Specialist)

Keila Bredehoft (Museum Specialist)

Raymond Mann

Extended Abstract Guidelines

We are accepting extended abstracts and short papers. If you only want to submit an abstract as before, then that is fine, but there is no tight space requirements for them as in previous years. The extended format is less worried about numbers of characters and spaces as per prior conferences; roughly up to 2500 words, which can result in a short, citable, paper of up to 4 pages long, single-spaced. Please send the manuscript in Word only, Times New Roman, 12 font for main text, double-spaced; no pdf formats please. The editors of the final abstract/extended abstract/short paper volume will worry about the final formatting of your manuscript.  

Below is an example of an AMMP extended abstract/short paper. This version is entirely fictitious. No longer the need to cram information into an abstract with tight space limitations. Be free! Here you can write freely in standard, casual prose as if you are speaking to someone face-to-face.

Extended Abstract_Short paper example 1.pdf  

The format has three main parts. The first, “The project” is where you outline what the basic project entails. The where, when, why, and who. The second section “Health and Safety (H&S)” details what you did to do the project safely. What H&S items or protocols were used? The third and final section “Procedures/results” is where you describe what you did to conduct or complete the project.  

Two images for your extended abstract/short paper are welcome as long as they are in focus, cropped as needed, on topic and instructive. Please include a metric scale and specimen number if possible. Concise figure captions will need to be provided. Jpeg’s and tiffs only please. Please ensure the filename of submitted figures include your surname and figure number, i.e. G. Brown, fig. 1. Or, G. Brown et al., fig. 1). You can add a short acknowledgements section.  

Citations are welcome too. They would be cited in the text like the following examples: (Smith, 1990) or (Jones, 1934; Smith, 1990) following this format: 

Smith, A.S. 1990. Digging up dinosaur bones. Parker Press: Trenton, ON. 211 pp. 

Jones, B. 1934. A new dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Montana. Jour. Paleo., 6(5): 112-127.  

____ and Johnson, D.C. 1937. Latest discoveries of dinosaurs in Montana. pp. 89-137. In: Dinosaurs of Montana. Edited by T.M. Darby. University of Montana Press: Bozeman, MT. 213 pp. 

Brown, F.G.J. and White, I.K. 2017. Novel new technique to prepare dinosaur bones using hydrofluoric acid. p. 17. In: Assoc. Mater. Meth. Paleo. (AMMP) abstract volume. Annual conference, April 14-18, 2017. Boise, Idaho. Edited by C. Green and R. Moore. 39 pp. 

Green, G. 2019. Health and safety recommendations for paleontology preparation labs. www.paleolabsafety.com/attention_reader_this_is_a_phony_website  

Extended Abstract_Short paper example 1.pdf

Additional Guidelines and Recommendations

Have colleagues read your abstract; if it is not clear to them it will not be clear to a wider audience.

Use spelling and grammar check.

Italicize genus and species designations throughout your title and text.

Font style and size formatting is not important. All abstracts will be standardized to the same font style and size for publication in the Annual Meeting Abstract Booklet.

A good abstract contains the following elements:

  • What is the problem you are trying to solve, what is the project?
  • Why is it important?
  • Clearly explain the project, or the question you are attempting to answer.
  • Describe the experiments, methods and materials that you used to solve the problem or complete the project.
  • All abstracts must include a section on the safety precautions utilized during the project.
  • Describe the results of your work, and then present your conclusions.
  • What is the impact of this work?

The abstract should contain as much information as possible. Unless you publish elsewhere (and you should), the published abstract is all that may be available about your work.

Be specific about products and methods. For example, you could say that the specimen was molded, but you should say that the specimen was molded with a layered mold using Silicones, Inc., GI 1000, backed by a mother mold of FGR-95 and fiberglass. This is not just important in terms of the abstract but as a written record of what has happened to particular specimens.

You can mention products in your abstract and in the presentation, but the AMMP meeting is not a forum for a sales pitch of your product. Be accurate as to how a product was used. For example: Paraloid B-72 at 50/50 w/w in acetone was used as an adhesive.

Suggested Topics

  • New techniques
  • New materials
  • Testing of materials and techniques
  • Basics of…
  • Historical review of…
  • Field methods
  • Conservation
  • Collection management
  • Exhibits
  • Case studies: following a specimen through the complete process of preparation, explaining which decisions were made and why.

Abstracts outside of these topics and/or outside the goals and objectives of AMMP may be rejected.

Resources

Never written an abstract?

There are resources to assist you in writing your abstract.

Pre-recording Guidance

There are tons of resources online for how to make videos. Here are a few starter links for creating videos:

Basic do's and don'ts for shooting video with your phone:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/22/how-to-shoot-great-video-with-your-iphone-or-android-smartphone.html

https://vimeo.com/blog/post/creating-video-on-your-phone/

To edit video on your desktop, Macs come equipped with iMovie. Windows 10 also has video editing capabilities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6yQwLuoO3w&feature=emb_rel_pause

There are many other applications for editing video, from simpler apps like above, all the way to professional software like Adobe Premiere.

YouTube's Creator Academy has many tutorials on making video under the "Production" heading: https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/learning-toolkits

How to turn Powerpoint presentations into video:

Abstract Review Process

The Abstract Review Committee consists of AMMP members who are experienced in all aspects of fossil preparation and conservation, fieldwork, and collection management. Every abstract is reviewed blindly; the reviewers do not know the author of the abstract. In this way, each abstract is judged solely on its own merits, whether or not it conforms to AMMP standards and meets the Abstract Guidelines.

Authors will be notified by email of acceptance or rejection. If there are any suggested or required edits, authors will be given time to submit updated abstracts.

Please note: The Abstract Subcommittee and AMMP Board reserve the right to reject any submission that does not meet AMMP standards of best practices in preparation and conservation and/or does depict and utilize correct health and safety materials and practices. For more information on best practices, please see the Preparator Core Competencies. 

Disclaimer

The information presented during the annual meeting of the Association for Materials & Methods in Paleontology (AMMP) or on the AMMP website (www.paleomethods.org) is presented for informational purposes only and is solely the opinion of the authors. AMMP makes no warranties or representations of any kind whatsoever, either express or implied, concerning the accuracy or suitability of the information contained herein for any purpose. Use of the information is at your sole risk. AMMP does not endorse the advice, opinions, results, statements, or other information displayed, uploaded, or distributed by any user, person, or entity. AMMP will not be held responsible for the use of information, or as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of any content, information, material, or any links to other sites made available on the AMMP website.

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