What to expect with the 18th EFORT Congress abstract review process

Issue: November 2016

Here is what to expect next if you are among those who submitted an abstract for the 18th EFORT Congress in Vienna.

Abstract submission is a 2-month period that began on 15 September, during which about 4,000 pieces of work are received from all over the world. After the submission closure, EFORT reviews the abstracts and selects the best work to be presented during the abstract-based sessions of the congress. This process, which is handled with extreme care and professionalism, guarantees the presentations that are ultimately selected are high-quality.

Moreover, with the volume of submissions received, there is extra need for peer review. Therefore, to guarantee accurate and fair handling of each abstract, it receives at least three scorings. This is the minimum requirement to obtain an appropriate average score and a standard deviation that allows for correct assessment variability of the scores. It also increases the number of reviewers who need to be involved.

Review committee objectives

Therefore, reviewers in each category are carefully selected by EFORT Science Committee members through individual appointment, according to their areas of expertise and educational experience. In this way, EFORT compiles a list each year of dedicated reviewers in whom they place their entire scientific trust concerning abstract review.

Abstracts are analyzed for quality based on scientific and clinical value, relevance to the EFORT activities, suitability of methods to aims, confirmation of conclusions by results, objectivity of statements, originality of the work and overall added value for the orthopaedic community. In addition to these general principles considered for each piece of work reviewed, specific review criteria are then graded on point scales.

Main scoring criteria

For abstracts submitted for presentation either as Free Papers or Posters, three main criteria are scored from extremely unsatisfying to extremely satisfying on a scale of 1 point to 10 points. Those criteria are the relevance of the study (pertinence of the hypothesis and accomplishment of a scientific goal), scientific content of the abstract (quantity and quality of data) and pertinence of the analysis (statistical data/interpretation of evidence). In addition, the choice of methodology and the statement of conclusions — justified by content/exhaustive/extended results — are evaluated from inappropriate to most appropriate on a scale of 1 point to 5 points. Scores can thus range from 5 to 40, and the cut-off for accepted abstracts is set at a mean average of 25.

Other important guidelines for this process, which are worth mentioning, are as follows:

Abstracts are evaluated with regards to the scientific content only; quality of language is not considered for the evaluation;
Abstracts recognized as cross-submissions are not allocated for review. Each study is therefore evaluated only once;
Clinical cases are evaluated with a slightly modified list of criteria, based on the accuracy of the clinical observations and the quality of the report;
The review is performed as a blind process. Authors’ names are not indicated in the abstract overview that is available to reviewers. If any specific detail mentioned in the core text of the abstract drives the reviewer to recognize the study or the research group responsible for the piece of work, the reviewer is asked to dismiss the abstract and indicate there is a conflict of interest;
Because one of the requirements for submission is the novelty of the work, EFORT reviewers are requested to report abstracts that contain results presented or published elsewhere; and
Each criterion is evaluated independently. For a single abstract, scores can greatly vary from one criterion to another depending how well the abstract satisfies each criterion.

For the upcoming EFORT Congress in Vienna, the review process will take place from mid-November 2016 to mid-December 2016. This allows the scientific committee to meet in January 2017 for allocation of the best scored abstracts within sessions. All authors and co-authors will be notified by email about the acceptance status of their submitted abstract(s) on Friday, 27 January 2017.

The presenting author of a selected abstract must then undertake to attend the congress and present the abstract in the session at the time designated by the scientific committee. EFORT therefore requires all presenting authors to register for the congress by Monday, 27 February 2017 at the latest.

For more information:
Consult our dedicated space for abstract information.