SABR 44: Call for research presentations
UPDATE 2/13/2014: The due date for research abstract submissions to SABR 44 has been revised. The new deadline is: 12 a.m. PST on SUNDAY, MARCH 2. In addition, we are issuing a Call for Reviewers. These volunteers will read and evaluate approximately 10 de-identified abstracts during March. Members who submit abstracts may also act as reviewers (you won’t review your own submissions). To volunteer as a reviewer, send a note to either of the email addresses below.
SABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 44, the 2014 annual convention in Houston, Texas. Oral presentations are expected to last 20 minutes, followed by a five minute question-and-answer period. Posters will be presented, with the author on-hand to discuss the work, during a poster session of 90 or so minutes, and will probably remain on display throughout the convention.
Through on-site judging, the most highly-regarded presentations will receive the Doug Pappas Award for best oral presentation and the USA Today Sports Weekly Award for best poster presentation.
SABR 44 will be held at the Royal Sonesta in Houston, Texas, from July 30-August 3, 2014. (Registration and hotel information will be available soon at SABR.org/convention.)
2014 represents an anniversary of local Houston baseball-related events that could provide inspiration for topics. For example, it has been:
- 5 years since Aaron Boone returned from heart surgery to play in the major leagues, Ivan Rodriguez set the all-time record for games caught, and original Colt .45 Hal Woodeshick died in Houston
- 10 years since Roger Clemens won the last of his 7 Cy Young Awards as an Astro
- 15 years since the Astros featured two 20-game winners, Craig Biggio’s last 50-double season, Nolan Ryan was elected to the HOF, manager Larry Dierker suffered an on-field seizure, and the Astrodome hosted its last game
- 20 years since Jeff Bagwell’s MVP Award, Biggio’s first Gold Glove, and the trade of Steve Finley and Ken Caminiti
- 25 years since Mike Scott’s only 20-win season
- 35 years since J.R. Richard’s last full season and ERA championship, Dierker’s first season as a broadcaster, and the disappearance of the rainbow uniform
- 40 years since Doug Rader’s 5th consecutive Gold Glove, Cesar Cedeno’s 3rd of five Gold Gloves, the acquisition of Jose Cruz, and Mike Schmidt’s “single” off the loudspeaker
- 45 years since Rusty Staub was dealt to Montreal, Dierker recorded the club’s first 20-win season, and the Astros first reached .500.
- 50 years since Ken Johnson lost his no-hitter, and the final season of both Colt Stadium and the Colt .45s
In general, we will follow the procedures used in recent years for reviewing and selecting research abstracts.
- Oral presentations will be limited to one presentation slot (20 minutes, plus five minutes for Q&A) in length.
- While submitters may express preference for one format or the other, all abstracts will be evaluated as both oral and poster presentations. Reviewers will not be informed of the submitters preference if one is expressed.
- At most two abstracts — one oral and one poster — will be accepted from each submitter. Researchers are encouraged to submit multiple abstracts, but no more than two of them will be accepted for presentation. In addition to the reviewers’ scores, the submitters preferred medium will be taken into consideration in the selection process. If more than one of a submitters abstracts scores well enough to be accepted in one medium (but neither scores well enough in the other medium for acceptance), the researcher will choose which one to present in its medium at SABR 44.
Abstracts of proposed research presentations should be no more than 500 words in length, and must include the abstract’s title, review of previous work on the subject, a summary of the research methodology and anticipated results, and the expected contribution to the field of baseball research offered by this work.
Please note: If your abstract is accepted and you intend to make a research presentation, you must register to attend the SABR 44 convention. Registration details will be available soon at SABR.org/convention.
When submitting an abstract, the author should describe anticipated audio-visual needs if the abstract is accepted as an oral presentation. For oral presentations at the convention site, SABR will provide laptops and computer-connected projection systems. If your work will need another type of AV equipment, please let us know.
As noted above, authors may submit multiple abstracts. SABR membership is not required in order to submit an abstract.
All research submissions will be evaluated by blind review. While it is not absolutely mandatory, we very strongly encourage researchers to submit their abstracts electronically, either in a standard word processor format (Microsoft Word preferred) or as plain-text email.
The submission deadline for SABR 44 abstracts is midnight PST, Sunday, MARCH 2, 2014.
Submit abstracts to sabr2014-presentations@comcast.net, the research presentations address for SABR 44.
You may also use the alternate address sabr44-presentations@comcast.net.
Questions regarding the submission, review, and evaluation procedures should also be sent to the sabr2014-presentations@comcast.net address.
- Related link: To view or listen to past SABR convention presentations, visit our SABR Convention History page
Originally published: December 20, 2013. Last Updated: December 20, 2013.