2010 Camp Research Symposium — Call for Presentations
(Call for Papers closes on September 30th, 2009)

The American Camp Association invites researchers to present results of camp-related studies at a Symposium to be held during the Association's 2010 National Conference at the Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colorado: http://www.acacamps.org/conference/ This year's conference celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the American Camp Association and the theme is “Because of Camp…”, which highlights the opportunity to communicate the impact and benefits of the camp experience.

Symposium Submission Details: We welcome studies completed by faculty, students, researchers, and camp professionals. The focus of this symposium is to communicate the practical applications of completed research to camp professionals. A blind, peer-review process will examine the appropriate use of the research process, but the presentations need to be practitioner-friendly and emphasize the direct application of the findings to practice. Upon participant request, full study details should be made available.

The research symposium proposals should include (and will be rated on) the following areas: relevance of purpose, research question(s) to professional needs and interests, theoretical context, methodology, analysis procedures, conclusions, and practical camp applications. The submission of research proposals is an online process but is set-up to allow for uploading a Word document of the proposal. The submission site allows for approximately 1000 words in 12 pt Times New Roman font. Graphs and charts may be included but should be limited.  Keep in mind these graphics reduce the character counts. The expectation is that the research be completed with at least a minimum of preliminary results at the time of abstract submission and that the proposed paper has not been previously presented or published. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jeff Jacobs (Symposium Coordinator) at jacobs@calpoly.edu.

The symposium consists of two presentation formats: verbal presentations and poster presentations. The author(s) will be asked for a preference but that request cannot be guaranteed. A blind peer-review will occur with all submissions with no distinction around presentation format. The verbal presentations will be moderated and will consist of 15 minute time slots followed by a brief question and answer period. Related topics will be grouped to form topical sessions. The poster session will be held for a two hour time block during unopposed program time. While the research symposium proposals should include the traditional research details for the review process, the presentations should focus primarily on practical application. All conference attendees will have access to the abstracts for additional information or details on the other aspects of the research process. All papers accepted for the symposium regardless of presentation format (verbal, poster) will be displayed in poster form at the conference. The ultimate goal is to post the research summaries and practical applications on the ACA research web site so the information is more widely accessible.

Marge Scanlin Outstanding Student Research Award: Student researchers may want to submit their project for consideration for the Marge Scanlin Outstanding Student Research Award. This Scholarship will be awarded each year to a deserving student who has contributed to the camp research body of knowledge.  The purpose of the award is to encourage students to undertake camp research and present their findings at the annual ACA conference.  A monetary scholarship will be awarded to the student whose abstract is selected for the Scanlin Award.  The student is expected to attend the conference to present their research and use the monetary award to help defray conference expenses.  The student selected must join ACA, if not already a member. For more information on the Scanlin Award, visit: http://www.acacamps.org/research/connect/scanlin_award.php.   

Presenter expectations: If a proposal is accepted for presentation, we expect the author to attend the conference to fulfill that obligation. It is expected that people speaking at the conference will register for at least one day. Professionals share a joint responsibility to help "grow" the profession, so we appreciate the contributions made by the researchers through their participation in the Symposium and the conference in general.

Review expectations: Summaries will undergo blind peer-review by a review team with expertise in camp and youth development research and other related areas. Submissions for the Marge Scanlin Research Award will undergo a separate review process. Papers may be rejected due to ineffective development of the summary, weaknesses in the study itself, lack of developed practical applications, or time and space limitations. Recent research that connects with the conference theme will be given priority.

Submission Deadline and Timetable: Call for Proposals will close September 30, 2009 and
E-mail notification of status by October 30, 2009.

We hope you will submit your research for consideration and look forward to offering a premier symposium on camp-related research.