CSCW 2020 is moving to quarterly deadlines!

CSCW is changing! We are moving paper submissions away from a yearly model to a quarterly model. While many factors were considered in making this decision, our overarching goal is to better recognize that scholarship happens throughout the year, not just once a year. Here is an overview of the new plan:

Deadlines

CSCW deadlines will occur 4 times per year: Jan 15, Apr 15, Jul 15, and Oct 15.

The first deadline will be Oct 15, 2019. Papers accepted to the Jan 15, and Apr 15 cycles will be presented in the Nov conference of that same year. Papers accepted in the Jul 15 and Oct 15 cycles will be presented in the following year. This means that papers accepted in Oct 15, 2019, Jan 15, 2020, and Apr 15, 2020 cycles will be presented in Nov 2020. Please keep in mind that papers must be *accepted* in this cycle, not just submitted. Papers that are invited to revise and resubmit must resubmit with the *next* cycle. For example, if your paper was submitted in the Oct 15 cycle and invited to revise and resubmit, you would resubmit it with the Jan 15 cycle. In some cases, Jul 15 acceptances may be invited to present in the same year in late-breaking work slots but that will not be the default and should not be the expectation.

Revise and Resubmit

As before, authors will have the opportunity to revise and resubmit a submission following feedback from reviewers. Revised submissions should be made at the next cycle after feedback is given.

PACM HCI Journal

In 2017, CSCW moved all publications to the Proceedings of the ACM on Human Computer Interaction (PACM HCI). Papers accepted to CSCW under the new model will continue to be published in PACM HCI.

What does this mean for Authors?

You can now submit work 4 times per year instead of 1 time per year. If your submission is accepted with minor revisions, it will be considered accepted for that cycle. If your submission is invited to revise and resubmit, you should resubmit it in the following cycle.

What does this mean for Reviewers?

You should be prepared to review up to 4 times per year! Naturally, the number of reviews you do across a year is not likely to change significantly (unless the number of papers submitted increases significantly) and as usual, you should plan to review 3-4 times as many papers as you submit to manage the reviewing load. As with the current model, you should be prepared to rereview papers that were invited to revise and resubmit in a prior cycle.

What does this mean for Associate Chairs?

ACs will be asked manage approximately 12 papers, as they did previously. The number of cycles ACs will participate in will vary depending on number of submissions per cycle, number of papers that match AC expertise in a given cycle, AC availability, and whether ACs have revise and resubmits to manage. ACs, in tandem with Editors, will oversee various types of outcomes including Accept (with or without minor revision), Revise and Resubmit, Reject (after going out to reviewers), Quick Reject (which goes out to Associate Chairs but not out to reviewers), and Desk Reject (which is decided by the Editors and does not go out to Associate Chairs).

What are Editors?

We are introducing a new role, Editors. Editors will assign submissions to ACs based on fit and load distribution. Except in rare cases, Editors will not be writing reviews or metareviews. Editors, in tandem with ACs, will oversee various types of outcomes. If Editors choose to Desk Reject, they will write a brief review explaining the decision.

What does this mean for the PC meeting?

There will no longer be a virtual PC meeting. This will be replaced with a meeting for ACs and Editors at the conference, starting with CSCW 2020, which will be used as a platform to support: 1) calibration and norms around scholarly directions, ethics, etc; 2) reflection of the reviewing process over the past year; 3) socializing.

How can I get involved?

We’re looking for ACs and Editors! Please sign up here volunteer. ACs and Editors should have reviewed for CSCW previously and should, in general, have received their PhD. Editors should have also served as an AC for CSCW or similar venues previously.

I have so many questions that are not answered. Where can I find answers?

We are working hard behind the scenes to make the transition to this new model. We wanted to announce the change early to allow authors to prepare and to recruit Editors and ACs. Many of the details are still being flushed out and our intent is to have them in place before the Oct 15, 2019 submission date. This includes details about how long the review process will take, what the specific dates are for each cycle, how resubmissions work in PCS, etc. The Oct 15, 2019 cycle is a soft launch and if you choose to submit to that cycle, we will ask for your patience as we work through the logistics. We hope that by Jan 15, 2020 the process is streamlined and described clearly to the community. If you have questions that need to be answered now, please feel free to email us: papers2020@cscw.acm.org