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Abstract Submission Guidelines

Abstract Deadline: November 16, 2025 11:59pm USA Central Time (CT)

Platform/Poster Information

  • Platform presentations are to be a maximum of 12 minutes (presentation length of 12 minutes, plus 3 minutes for questions).

  • Maximum poster dimensions are 30" x 42" (landscape or portrait format).

Adherence to AMMP Ethics Guidelines

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 abstract can be up to 1000 words maximum (approximately 2 pages).

  • A required health and safety statement should be a separate section of up to 200 words maximum. 

  • Please use Calibri font at 12 points, at 1.15 line spacing. This will ensure that all abstracts are standardized to the same font style and size for publication in the Annual Meeting Abstract Program. Be sure to italicize taxon names. 

  • The abstract must describe completed work in detail (e.g. scope, purpose, methods, and results, and health and safety procedures, including hazards encountered and how they were handled).

  • 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.

Images (optional)

  • A maximum of two images for your abstract are welcome as long as they are in focus, cropped as needed, on topic and instructive. These can be either photos, graphs, diagrams, or tables. Please include a metric scale and specimen number if applicable. Please send only jpg’s and tif’s. 

  • Concise figure captions will need to be provided. Please note if the image needs a particular placement within the abstract, otherwise, it will be placed at the end of your abstract.

  • Please ensure the file name of submitted figures include your surname and figure number, i.e. G. Brown, fig. 1 or G. Brown et al., fig. 1), so that we can ensure that the images are attached to the correct abstract.

  • Images can be added within the abstract submission form.

2026 Host Committee

Clint Boyd, Chair

North Dakota Geological Survey 

Mindy Householder

Alex Gardner

Cathy Lash

Jeff Person

Abstract Guidelines

A well written abstract contains the following elements:

Project

  • What is the project? What is the problem you are trying to solve? 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.

Results

  • What is the impact of this work? Describe the results of your work and present your conclusions.

Health and Safety

  • All abstracts must include a section on the safety precautions utilized during the project. This is not just a list of PPE, but the reasoning behind such use.

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

Be specific about products and methods. For example, if a specimen was molded, include the molding method or type of mold created and products used; ‘the specimen was molded as a layered mold using Silicones, Inc., GI 1000, backed by a mother mold of FGR-95 and fiberglass’. This is important not only for abstract content, but also as a written record of specimen preparation or conservation history.

Mention of specific products used is encouraged, but this is not a forum for a sales pitch of your product. Be accurate about how a product was used. For example, ‘Paraloid B-72 at 50/50 in acetone was used as an adhesive’.

See an example of a well-written abstract here:

APPLICATION OF CARBOPOL SOLVENT GEL WITH NOVEC 73DE TO PREPARE ASPHALTIC  FOSSILS FROM RANCHO LA BREA

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 checks.

Italicize genus and species designations throughout your title and text.

Some Suggested Topics (but not limited to)

    • 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 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 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 (as above) to professional software (e.g. 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:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8JV3w4TOVw


How to use ZOOM to record your Powerpoint presentation: https://vimeo.com/456352405/e744a924e8

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 not 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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