Abstract Guidelines

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE STARTING THE ONLINE ABSTRACT SUBMISSION PROCESS

Submission: All abstracts must be submitted using the AOS online abstract form.

  • At least one AOS member must be an author on the abstract.
  • PLEASE NOTE: Your abstract submission must be completed in one sitting. You cannot start the online process, stop for a lengthy interval, and then return to complete it; the information will not be saved and you will have to start again. Please prepare your abstract and other requested information in advance of starting the online form submission process.
  • Upon completion of the online form, you must click “Submit” in order for your abstract to be saved and submitted to the AOS office. You will be redirected to a Financial Disclosure form at this time.
  • If you find that you need to withdraw or replace your abstract after selecting “Submit,” please email admin@aosonline.org to request deletion or replacement. Please note that staff cannot edit or make detailed changes to your submitted abstract. If you find that you need to make substantial changes to your submitted abstract, you must resubmit it.

Abstract: The abstract of 300 words or less must be structured in the following format:

  • Title
  • Author(s) listed in the exact order that they will be on the printed abstract.
    • Please note that the author listing should adhere to proper authorship criteria for peer- reviewed journals. Neither the AOS member nor the presenter has to be listed first. For each author, check whether the individual is an AOS member, and indicate one individual as the presenter.
    • Completion of the online abstract form requires listing the email address, in addition to the name(s) of each author. Degrees are no longer published. Please have this information available as you complete the form.
  • Purpose (or background): State the major purpose of the study.
  • Methods: Describe the design of the study, noting randomization, masking, criteria standards, and temporal study design (retrospective or prospective) as applicable. Indicate the study setting (e.g. institutional, multicenter, primary care, referral practice). Identify the patients or other participants by noting selection procedures, entry criteria, and numbers. Specify the intervention procedures and the main outcome measures.
  • Results: Briefly summarize the principal results obtained. Results should be accompanied by data with confidence intervals and the exact level of statistical significance. Results should also identify any significant limitations or qualifications of the data and give suitable emphasis to positive and negative findings.
  • Conclusion(s): State the conclusions directly supported by the data, describe the clinical or research applications, compare to the prior literature, and indicate limitations of the study.

Required fields for Continuing Medical Education (CME):

The following information will be used by the Committee on Programs to evaluate submitted abstracts. This information will not appear in the final, printed abstract, but is crucial to the review process. In order to be considered for a paper presentation, you must satisfactorily complete the CME question requirements.

  • Topic/Category: The submitting author will be required to choose at least one topic from a predetermined list. All applicable topics should be checked.
  • Current Outcomes: The submitting author must identify current outcomes and preferred practice in relation to their chosen topic when submitting an abstract. (What is the problem in practice/subject matter that you see?)
  • Preferred Practice: The submitting author must identify the preferred practice in relation to their chosen topic when submitting an abstract. Help identify the practice gap and how this presentation will impact change. What should physicians be doing differently? How will this presentation improve ophthalmic practice and/or patient care?
  • Learning Objective: The submitting author must identify something measurable that participants will take away from this presentation.
  • Summary: The submitting author must provide a three sentence summary of the presentation.
  • References: The submitting author must list primary references used in their work. The list does not have to be exhaustive and should be limited to three. References do not have to be submitted in any specific format but should contain adequate details for the Committee on Programs to find the material being referenced.

Off-Label Use: Discussion of an off-label use of a commercial product and/or discussion of an investigational drug or device must be disclosed in the abstract form.

IRB Documentation Status: The author must indicate the Institutional Review Board (IRB) status of the study. Studies involving human subjects require IRB approval. Experimental investigations involving animals must conform to the generally accepted principles of animal maintenance and care or adhere to ARVO principles for use of animals in ophthalmic or vision research.

Financial Disclosure: Before an abstract can be considered by the Committee on Programs, the presenting author must complete the separate Financial Disclosure form and list ONLY financial relationships that are RELEVANT to your participation in the AOS program. Individuals who have nothing to disclose must so declare. Unlike previous years, co-authors are not required to submit a financial disclosure.

If a RELEVANT financial disclosure is identified, a conflict of interest resolution process will be performed before your abstract will be considered for presentation.

Note: If your abstract is chosen for paper presentation, the presenting authors’ financial conflicts of interest, or lack thereof, must be noted on the first slide of the presentation. In addition, please:

  • Avoid using commercial slides, commercial logos, and other identifiers on slides and videos.
  • Be aware that the meeting evaluation form will ask attendees if commercial bias was present.

Additional Guidelines:

  • Abstracts that do not conform to these guidelines may be rejected by the Committee on Programs.
  • Abstracts will appear in the final program as printed. Please proofread your work carefully.
  • If a non-member will present the paper, that person must register as a Professional Guest of an AOS member who is attending the meeting.
  • The primary criteria for acceptance are: (1) The Committee on Program’s assessment of the quality of the submission, with primary emphasis on new scientific information that enhances patient care, (2) the needs assessment performed by the Committee, and (3) prior program evaluations. The Committee will include as many papers as time and program format will allow.
  • Submission of an abstract is interpreted as a willingness of the author(s) to present the paper/poster on any one of the three days reserved for the Scientific Program, if the abstract is accepted.
  • The author(s) must commit to following all guidelines in order to permit an effective meeting.

Discussants: To assist the Discussant of the paper, the author must submit a list of talking points and the abstract to the assigned primary discussant at least six (6) weeks in advance of the meeting. The Discussant should also be provided with the slide presentation whenever possible. If modifications are made to the slides, the presentation must be resubmitted to the Discussant prior to the meeting.

Authors are required to suggest a minimum of three (3) members as possible Discussants. You may view the online member list by clicking here. Selection of the Discussants will be completed by March.

Publication: All abstracts – both paper and poster – will be published with free, open access in The Transactions of the AOS on the AOS website.

You will receive notice of acceptance or rejection of your abstract for presentation in February.