VASGBI - Guidelines for submitting abstracts

Vascular Anaesthesia Society Abstracts.

PREPARATION OF ABSTRACTS

Abstract submissions should be limited to one side of A4.

Word-processing Package
Microsoft Word is preferred, although WordPerfect and other major word processing packages (including those for Macintosh) are acceptable.

Page Layout and Font

Select A4 paper size (210 x 297 mm; 8.27 x 11.69").
Set all margins to 2.54cm (1").
Use single line spacing.
Use only Times New Roman 12pt font including references.
Use left hand margin justification.

Text Layout

Start at the top of the page with the title in bold, use sentence case (not all capitals).
Leave a blank line.
Start a new line and list the authors' initials and last names in normal typeface. The presenting author's name should be in bold.
Start a new line and provide the postal address where the work was carried out, including department(s), institution, city and country. This should be in italics. For abstracts with authors from different institutions give the address where the work was carried out first followed by the other authors' addresses. Use the superscripted symbols *  and # to indicate each author's affiliation.
Leave a blank line.
Type in the text of the abstract, following the relevant portions of the "Author Guidelines" for the journal Anaesthesia which can be found at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journals/ana/submiss.htm
Pay particular attention to the units used (SI only, except for intravascular and airway pressures) and to the format of the symbols for the units.
Words which are abbreviated should be written in full at first mention and followed by the abbreviation in brackets. This will usually be in the form of large capitals without separating points.
Use a blank line to separate paragraphs.
The complete abstract (including title, authors' names and addresses, text, table, space for figure, references and acknowledgements) should not exceed 1 page.

Figures and Tables

Only one table or figure is permitted.
Tables should be incorporated into the abstract document.
If a figure is to be used, be sure to leave sufficient space in the abstract document for it to be incorporated by the printers. The figure caption should be part of the abstract document. In production of the journal, your abstract (including the figure) will be reduced by 25%. Please ensure that your figure will remain legible after reduction. The use of "three dimensional" graphs is discouraged.

References and Acknowledgements

Use numerals in square brackets for references [1]. List the references in the order they appear in the text.
Start the reference list with the subheading References(s) in bold. The reference list should be normal text, do not use the automatic footnotes or endnotes facilities in word processor packages.
The format for citing references is that used by Anaesthesia, including the title and journal title in full. Precede each reference with its number followed by a full stop. The names and initials of more than six authors should be abbreviated to 3 authors followed by et al.
There is no restriction on the number of references cited but the references, formatted as described above, are included in the limit of one page of A4.
Please acknowledge any source of funding for your study at the end of the abstract.

Notes
Abstracts presented at the Society meetings may be published in Anaesthesia, although acceptance of an abstract by the VASGBI cannot guarantee publication. The abstracts will be subject to peer review by the editors of Anaesthesia. Abstracts that contain no data and those prepared without regard to the instructions are unlikely to be accepted.

CATEGORIES OF VAS ABSTRACTS

All submitted abstracts will be scored by several reviewers from the VASGBI Education and Research committees. This review process will result in the abstract being accepted or rejected on the basis of quality of content and presentation. Authors may elect to present only in poster format. Otherwise the VASGBI will select as required a few high scoring abstracts for oral communication (8 minute presentation, 3 minute discussion) and all other accepted submissions invited to present a poster.

Authors are asked to categorise their submission into type of abstract (a-f).

Research Abstracts

These abstracts are for original research studies and should include the following subheadings: Methods, Results and Discussion. Three types of study may be submitted:
a) Clinical patient study (investigational/therapeutic)
b) Biological Science (including cell and small animal studies)
c) Health related research (population study, economic, public health etc)

Clinical Practice Abstracts

These will allow participants to present new knowledge of techniques, cases and audit experience of current practice and should follow the same general features of abstract writing. They should have Report and Conclusion subheadings.

d) Case reports. These should normally contain a series of patients and add new information or experience. A single case report will only be accepted if its inclusion can be justified on the basis of novelty and detail.

e) Technical reports on new methods/techniques. These should contain more than simple explanation and include some evaluation/assessment. Commercial support and industry involvement must be clearly stated.

f) Audit and observation of current practice. These should follow the structure of research abstracts. They should state the reason for the audit of current practice, methods, observations, and include in the conclusions the implications for any change in practice.

GUIDANCE FOR POSTER PREPARATION

A well-designed poster allows the inclusion of more detail than is possible in the abstract and makes effective use of tables, figures and illustrations to enhance your message. The following criteria are used to score Posters for prizes.

Sensible poster layout that allows flow of argument with appropriate title
Plan of study design with hypothesis/rationale and appropriate methods
Accurate presentation of results with appropriate use of figures and statistics
Conclusions clearly presented and are justifiable from the results presented
Excellence in the art of display that enhances and does not distract from findings

Posters should include the same headings as the abstracts as described above depending on the type of work being presented.
It is also useful to prepare a short (< 60 seconds) oral guide through your poster to be offered to those that prefer your words before reading for themselves.

Poster Layout

Making a good poster is an art. Packages such as “Powerpoint” make the task much easier and allow you to experiment. However avoid simply copying and pasting your abstract.
The VAS poster board surface area is usually 2 m high and 1 m wide.
Posters should be prepared A1 (840mm X 594mm) size.
Don't overload your poster. Remember, you are not writing an article.
Seek simplicity, keep text to a minimum, avoid redundancies.
Use 500 to 1'000 words (including title, figure legends and tables), definitely not more.
The figures and tables should cover approximately 50% of the poster area.
Prepare a 20 cm high title strip that runs the full width of the poster. Use a black and bold typeface, not smaller than 30 mm in height for the title and at least 20 mm for authors names and affiliations (the height refers to capital and tall letters), Capital letters are usually more difficult to read than small letters.
The average reader spends 1-2 minutes on your poster. Highlight your main finding. Most of us start by reading the Discussion or Conclusions, so don't hide them in small text in the right lower corner.
The poster is supposed to be readable from a distance of 1.5-2 m. The text should definitely be no less than 5 mm for capitals and tall letters, and preferably larger. Use a constant font throughout the poster.
If possible, avoid abbreviations and acronyms, especially in the Conclusions.
Feel free to provide one or more key references (in the right lower corner).
Handouts of your poster on A4 paper (with your addresses) to your interested readers may facilitate future research communication.