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The SRS Abstract Process: Tips, Tricks & Common Mistakes The following is a step-by-step guide to the electronic abstract submission process utilized by the Scoliosis Research Society for its Annual Meeting and International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST). Yes, this document is long – but it contains a lot of helpful information! Please review this guide prior to submission, as it provides key dates, details and tips for submission, and will guide you through a few of the common mistakes made by submitters that could cause confusion or, in the worst case, disqualification of your abstract. Please pay special attention to the steps marked with . These steps are either required items, worth special attention, or are common mistakes that could cause issues with your submission.

1. LOGGING IN a. User Account Information

i. SRS Members/ 2015 Authors and Submitters ii. Non-Members

b. COI Disclosure Requirement

2. ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS a. Before You Submit b. Creating a New Submission c. Submission Steps & Tips d. Reviewing and Revising Existing Submissions

3. KEY DATES a. Annual Meeting Deadlines & Key Dates b. IMAST Deadlines & Key Dates

4. ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS a. Annual Meeting Acceptance Requirements

i. Podium Presentations ii. E-Poster Presentations

b. IMAST Acceptance Requirements i. Podium Presentations (Two- and Four- Minute)

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LOGGING IN To log into the online abstract submission site for the 2016 SRS meetings, go to http://submissions.mirasmart.com/SRS2016.

a. User Account Information i. SRS Members/Returning Users – Abstract accounts have been set up for SRS members. Please use your SRS Member

ID # for your login name and your last name as your password. If you submitted an abstract or were an author of an abstract submitted in 2015, please use the same username and password to login.

1. DO NOT CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT! a. Click here to receive your account information via email.

b. If you have any issues, please contact the SRS Meetings Team at meetings@srs.org or +1-414-289-9107.

2. Update Contact Information a. Upon your first log in, the system will require you to review and confirm/update your contact information

and change your login name and password. b. You will see the following page:

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c. Review and complete all information. d. Click “Save and Continue” to move to the next screen. e. Please note the following important parts of your account record:

i. Step 1: Check that your name appears here EXACTLY as you wish it to appear in program materials.

1. Spelling 2. Middle initials 3. Designations (MD, PhD, FRCS, etc)

ii. Step 2: Check that your contact information is accurate - ESPECIALLY your email address. ALL correspondence regarding your abstract submissions are conducted via email.

ii. Non-Members/New Users - If you are not a member of SRS, you will need to create a new account by going to “New to

This Site?” on the homepage.

iii. If you are unsure if you have an existing user account, please contact the SRS Meetings Team at meetings@srs.org.

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b. COI Disclosure Requirement

i. A Conflict of Interest Disclosure is REQUIRED of ALL abstract authors. ii. ALL authors on an abstract MUST complete this step on their own user accounts before that abstract will be reviewed and

considered for either program. iii. Complete the Financial Relationships section noting any relationship with a commercial interest producing goods or

services. You can select the company from the drop down box and then click all relationships that apply to that company and click “Save Conflict.” If a company is not listed in the drop down list, type it in the box.

iv. Check the attestation boxes. v. Complete the electronic signature and date at the bottom of the page. This step must be completed in order for the

system to accept your disclosure. vi. Click “Save and Continue” at the bottom of the page to save your account information and move on to the submission

process.

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2. ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS

a. Before You Submit - Please read the submission instructions carefully and completely! Those instructions are also included here: i. DEADLINE

1. The deadline is February 1, 2016 at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST). 2. Allow ample time to enter your information, and for authors time to complete the COI disclosure in advance of

the deadline. 3. Expect high volume of users accessing the site on the deadline and for the site to function slowly. 4. Sorry, no exceptions to the deadline.

ii. ABSTRACT LIMIT 1. There are no restrictions on the number of abstracts you may submit. 2. SRS active, associate and emeritus members may present a maximum of two (2) podium presentations and

SRS candidate members and non-members may present a maximum of one (1) podium presentation at the Annual Meeting.

3. There is no limit on the number of E- Posters accepted to the Annual Meeting. 4. There are no restrictions for the IMAST meeting.

iii. AUTHORS

1. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ALL AUTHORS ON ALL ABSTRACTS. 2. If any author fails to comply, his/her abstract will NOT BE REVIEWED and will NOT BE CONSIDERED for

inclusion on either the Annual Meeting or IMAST program. 3. Contact authors are responsible for ensuring that ALL authors have completed the COI Disclosure Form prior to

the submission deadline. 4. If you are entering a new author (who does not have an existing account), make sure that their email address is

entered correctly. If addresses are misspelled, authors will not receive instructions to complete the COI form, and your abstract could be disqualified for incomplete COI forms.

5. Confirm that all institutional affiliations are added.

iv. CHARACTER LIMIT 1. 2250 characters for all submissions 2. The character count includes: titles, spaces, abstract body, and table or image, and captions. 3. The count does not include authors or institutions. 4. You can view your character count by clicking “View Character Count” on the bottom of the Submission Page.

v. TITLE:

1. The title should be entered in mixed title case. a. Correct title case = Scoliosis will be Discussed at the Annual Meeting b. Incorrect = SCOLIOSIS WILL BE DISCUSSED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING c. Incorrect = Scoliosis will be discussed at the annual meeting

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2. Do not use formatting tags in the title.

vi. HYPOTHESIS and DESIGN 1. All abstracts will require to complete Hypothesis and Design fields as part of the abstract text. Please be sure to

include a brief hypothesis and description of the study design used for the abstract on the Submission page (ie: prospective enrollment; consecutive enrollment; inclusion and exclusion criteria; number of eligible patients compared to the number enrolled; the minimum follow up period; percentage of patients with minimum follow up; and the primary outcome measures).

2. These will be included in the overall character count.

vii. SPECIAL CHARACTERS and FORMATTING 1. If you copy and paste the title and/or body from your word processor, special characters or formatting may not

transfer. You will have to replace special characters and/or insert formatting tags using the character palette. 2. Abstracts are published in the program materials EXACTLY as they are submitted.

viii. ATTACHMENTS 1. Only one attachment is allowed per abstract. 2. Attachments include table, images or supplemental data.

ix. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE REQUIRED

1. Abstracts without a Level of Evidence will not be considered. 2. A link has been created to assist you in determining the correct Level of Evidence for your study. The flowchart

will ask a series of yes/no questions and upon completion, will provide you with a proper level of evidence to enter in response to this particular question.

3. Completing the online flowchart does NOT automatically insert the answer into your submission.

x. ABSTRACT PROOF 1. You will NOT be allowed to edit the content of your abstract if it is accepted, and it will appear in program

materials exactly as it is submitted. 2. If you find errors, return to the appropriate page by clicking on the page name in the sidebar menu, and make

your corrections.

xi. SUBMITTING YOUR ABSTRACT 1. When all required information is entered, the "submit" button will appear at the bottom. 2. You will receive an automated email if your abstract was submitted successfully.

xii. TECHNICAL SUPPORT

1. If you have any difficulty with the submission process, please click the "Technical Support" link located in the upper left-hand corner of each page.

2. You may also contact the SRS Meetings Team at meetings@srs.org.

b. Creating a New Submission i. To begin a new abstract submission, click “Create a New Submission” on the My Submissions page.

c. Submission Steps & Tips

i. Read through the Instructions for Authors and check “I have read the Instructions.” Click “Create a New Submission.” ii. Step 1: Authors – this step is VERY IMPORTANT! Please follow all the instructions carefully.

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a. To add an author to your abstract, put in the author’s name and/or institution and click “Search for Author.”

i. DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT FOR YOUR AUTHOR. Try several

search parameters before creating a new account. ii. If your search yields multiple results, be certain to select the right person. Confirm by clicking

on the author’s name to view detailed contact information. IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHICH RESULT TO CHOOSE, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AUTHOR TO CONFIRM.

iii. If your search yields duplicate accounts for the same person, please contact the SRS Meetings Department at meetings@srs.org or+1-414-289-9107, as we can merge these accounts.

iv. If your search does not yield an existing account for your author, only then select “Add New Author.”

Search for Author Select Author Click “Add Author”

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1. When creating the new author account, enter at least the author’s first name, last

name, email address, institution, city/state and country. 2. The author will receive an email notification that an account has been created and to

log in with provided information to complete the contact and COI disclosure forms. 3. PLEASE BE SURE THAT YOU SPELL THE EMAIL ADDRESS CORRECTLY! 4. If you have multiple authors from the same institution, you can copy the institution

information from one author by clicking “Copy Institution” next to their name in the author box on the top of the page for other authors of the same institution.

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b. Repeat parts i-iv until all authors have been added to your abstract. c. Select the presenting author, if chosen for a podium presentation.

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i. The presenter may be changed after submission, up to a designated deadline for each meeting (see Section 3 on “Key Dates”).

ii. We recommend that you try to identify the presenter before submission. iii. In addition to the submitting or contact author, the designated presenter will receive all email

communications regarding the abstract. d. Confirm the author order, using the arrows in the left column on the top of the page. e. Authors may be added after submission, up to a designated deadline for each meeting (see Section 3

on “Key Dates”). i. ONLY authors with existing accounts and completed COI disclosure forms will be added to

abstracts after the submission deadline. Sorry, no exceptions.

iii. Step 2: Submission 1. The title should be entered in mixed title case. PLEASE DO NOT enter the title in all capital letters.

a. Correct title case = Scoliosis will be Discussed at the Annual Meeting b. Incorrect = SCOLIOSIS WILL BE DISCUSSED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING c. Incorrect = Scoliosis will be discussed at the annual meeting

2. New this year, all abstracts will require to complete Hypothesis and Design fields as part of the abstract text. Please be sure to include a brief hypothesis and description of the study design used for the abstract on the Submission page (ie: prospective enrollment; consecutive enrollment; inclusion and exclusion criteria; number of eligible patients compared to the number enrolled; the minimum follow up period; percentage of patients with minimum follow up; and the primary outcome measures).

3. Do not use formatting tags in the title. 4. If copying and pasting your text from a word processor, check that special characters have copied correctly. 5. The Summary section is used by reviewers when evaluating your abstract, and may also be printed as part of a

poster index. Note the 80-word limit for the summary. Characters in the summary does not count toward the 2250 character limit.

iv. Step 3: Image/Table a. Click “Select” to locate the image you wish to upload. b. When the appropriate filepath appears in the Image Name field, select “Open.” c. The file name cannot contain spaces or special characters; it must have standard alphanumeric

characters only. d. Accepted image file types are: .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png, .bmp.

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e. To include a caption, put your caption in the “Caption” text box.

i. Caption characters WILL count against your 2250 character limit. To view your character count, click “ View Character Count” at the bottom of the page.

f. Click “Upload” to add the image and caption. g. If you do not want to include an image, click “Upload No Files at this Time.”

v. Step 4: Submission Details

1. Category – select the category into which your abstract best fits. a. You may NOT submit the same abstract to multiple categories. b. Please note that some categories will be considered for the IMAST program only.

2. Meeting Type – select for which meetings you wish your abstract to be considered. a. You may submit to either the Annual Meeting or IMAST or to both at the same time. b. Please note that some categories will be considered for the IMAST program only. Be sure to select,”

“IMAST Only” if you have chosen one of those categories. 3. Session Type – select your presentation type preference.

a. You may NOT choose to only be considered for podium presentations. b. You may choose to only be considered for E-Posters by choosing “E-Poster Only- AM Only”

4. Presentation Type a. Information in this section will be used to complete a meta-analysis of the types of studies being

submitted to and presented at SRS meetings. 5. Study Design

a. Answers to these questions are mandatory. b. Your answers to these questions will be part of the review process and will be factored into your score

with the exception of the Primary Investigator.

vi. Step 5: FDA Disclosure 1. This disclosure will be noted in program materials, if your abstract is selected and you indicate that the

presentation will include discussion of non-FDA approved products or techniques. 2. Disclosing an intent to discuss non-FDA approved products will NOT preclude your abstract from acceptance.

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3. Presentations which utilize product names will receive additional scrutiny during the CME review process and presenters may be asked to remove the product name at the discretion of the CME Committee.

vii. Steps 6: Proof 1. If all required information is completed, you will be able to view and save a PDF version of your abstract on your

desktop by clicking “View My Submission” under Proof. 2. Please be sure to review the proof and summary check for any errors in the abstract.

a. Changes to abstract titles and authors will be allowed up to a designated deadline for each meeting (see Section 3 on “Key Dates”).

b. Revisions to the body of the abstract is NOT allowed after the submission deadline. 3. If you are missing information, you will not be able to view the Proof

viii. Step 7: Summary 1. You will once again be able to view all the information for the abstract and make any edits.

ix. Step 8: Submit

1. Click “Submit My Abstract” to officially submit the abstract.

d. Reviewing and Revising Existing Submissions i. To review those abstracts you have already submitted, as well as those in process, click “Author Home” ii. On the My Submissions page, you will be able to see:

1. The abstracts you have submitted. 2. The abstracts still incomplete or in process. 3. The abstracts you have been listed as an author on.

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iii. To REVISE a submitted abstract, click “Edit” to the left of the abstract’s title.

1. Be sure to resubmit the abstract by clicking “Submit” at the end of the submission process again. 2. Abstracts that are returned to draft MUST be resubmitted to be reviewed. Shortly before the submission

deadline, you will receive an email notification regarding each abstract that remain “Incomplete.”

iv. You may also choose to review the abstract proof by clicking “View Summary” or review all the email communication you’ve received regarding the abstract by clicking “My Account” in the upper right-hand corner and going to “Email History.”

3. KEY DATES

a. Annual Meeting key dates and deadlines – all the following deadlines are mandatory and no exceptions will be made. i. General

1. Abstract submission begins – November 1, 2015 12:00am EST 2. Abstract submission deadline – February 1, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. 3. Acceptance notification via email – April 15, 2016

b. IMAST key dates and deadlines – all the following deadlines are mandatory and no exceptions will be made. i. General

1. Abstract submission begins – November 1, 2015 at 12:00am EST 2. Abstract submission deadline – February 1, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. 3. Acceptance notification via email – April 1, 2016

4. ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS a. Annual Meeting acceptance requirements

i. General 1. All selected authors will be required to complete a formal acceptance process by June 1, 2016 for the Annual

Meeting to confirm the invitation to participate in the program. 2. Presenter registration deadline – June 15, 2016 The presenter of EVERY abstract accepted for the Annual Meeting MUST register by this deadline to confirm presentation of the abstract. If a presenter is not registered by this date, the abstract will be removed from the Annual Meeting program. 3. Deadline to withdraw without “no-show” penalties – June 15, 2016

If an abstract is withdrawn after this date, or the presenter does not appear at the Annual Meeting or the poster is not displayed, the presenting author on the abstract will be prohibited from presenting at the SRS Annual Meeting or IMAST for the next two years.

4. Deadline to make corrections to titles/authors – June 15, 2016 SRS allows revisions to the tiles and authors of abstracts accepted for the Annual Meeting program. The changes will be reflected in the Final Program materials distributed at the meeting. Sorry, revisions to the body of the abstract are not permitted. 5. Deadline to submit non-exclusive license and attestation forms – August 1, 2016

All presenters MUST submit a non-exclusive license form, attesting that the content of the abstract is their work and is not protected by copyright belonging to any other individual. Also, SRS the owns the rights to distribute the text of the abstract in Final Program materials, the video of podium presentations on the online Instant Archive, and to distribute E-Posters on USB drives to meeting delegates. The attestation form agreeing to the presenter guidelines set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

ii. Podium Presentations

1. Deadline to submit full manuscript – August 1, 2016 2. Deadline to submit PowerPoint Presentations if Required – August 1, 2016

All presentations must clear a CME review conducted by the SRS CME Committee. Presenters may be required to submit slides for review before the meeting and may be asked to make small or significant changes if a bias issue is found. All presentations must clear a CME review conducted by the SRS CME

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Committee. Presenters may be required to submit slides for review before the meeting and may be asked to make small or significant changes if a bias issue is found. Failure to address pertinent CME review issues will result in pulling the presentation from the program and in up to a one-year ban for abstract presentations and a three-year ban for invited presentations

iii. E-Poster Presentations

1. All accepted posters will presented as E-Posters at the 2016 Annual Meeting & Course. 2. E-Posters

a. Deadline to submit E-Posters for inclusion on the USB – August 1, 2016 b. Deadline to submit E-Posters for display onsite only – August 31, 2016

b. IMAST acceptance requirements

i. General 1. All selected authors will be required to complete a formal acceptance process by June 1, 2016 for the IMAST to

confirm the invitation to participate in the program. 2. Presenter registration deadline – May 1, 2016 The presenter of EVERY abstract accepted for IMAST MUST register by this deadline to confirm presentation of the abstract. If a presenter is not registered by this date, the abstract will be removed from the IMAST program. 3. Deadline to withdraw without “no-show” penalties – May 1, 2016

If an abstract is withdrawn after this date, or the presenter does not appear at the Annual Meeting or the poster is not displayed, the presenting author on the abstract will be prohibited from presenting at the SRS Annual Meeting or IMAST for the next two years.

4. Deadline to make corrections to titles/authors – May 1, 2016 SRS allows revisions to the tiles and author strings of abstracts accepted for the IMAST program. The changes will be reflected in the Final Program materials distributed at the meeting. Sorry, revisions to the body of the abstract are not permitted. 5. Deadline to submit non-exclusive license and attestation forms – June 15, 2016

All presenters MUST submit a non-exclusive license form, attesting that the content of the abstract is their work and is not protected by copyright belonging to any other individual. Also, the form grants SRS the rights to distribute the text of the abstract in Final Program materials, the video of podium presentations on the online Instant Archive, and to distribute two-minute point presentations on USB drives to meeting delegates. The attestation form agreeing to the presenter guidelines set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

ii. Podium Presentations 1. Deadline to submit full manuscript – June 15, 2016 2. Deadline to submit PowerPoint Presentations if Required – July 1, 2016

All presentations must clear a CME review conducted by the SRS CME Committee. Presenters may be required to submit slides for review before the meeting and may be asked to make small or significant changes if a bias issue is found. Failure to address pertinent CME review issues will result in pulling the presentation from the program and in up to a one-year ban for abstract presentations and a three-year ban for invited presentations

iii. Two-Minute Point Presentations

1. Deadline to submit Two-Minute Point Presentation Slides for inclusion on the USB drive – June 1, 2016 2. Deadline to submit slides for display onsite only – July 1, 2016