RSIG Call for Abstracts

32nd Annual Research Day

RESEARCH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

 Call for Abstracts

Forging a Path Forward: Bringing Together Research, Practice and Lived Experiences

Friday April 12th, 2024

Four Points by Sheraton, St. Catharines, Ontario

Deadline for Abstract Submissions: Extended to January 26th, 2024

Download the Call for Abstractsclick here

The RSIG Research Day will be in-person 2024!

The RSIG committee is excited to announce that the Research Day will be in person this year. We are looking forward to highlighting all the outstanding research that has been done across the province by students, community researchers, and early career professionals. This year, our in-person event will be held in St. Catharines, Ontario at the Four Points Sheraton on Friday, April 12th, 2024.

The objectives of the RSIG Research Day are:

● To provide an update regarding the research being conducted to advance the field of intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

● To provide an opportunity for networking and collaboration for researchers, students, professionals, and self-advocates with an interest in research in the field of developmental disabilities.

To facilitate interest and support for research regarding developmental disabilities at the level of institutions (i.e., universities, colleges, community, and government). 

We are seeking poster and oral presentation contributions, and interactive workshops from self-advocates, professionals, and student researchers who are engaged in research related to intellectual/developmental disabilities that span all disciplines. We encourage submissions that represent a wide range of research designs, including quantitative, qualitative, and single-subject designs. Contributions that are collaborative and/or participatory research with self-advocates are also highly encouraged. Due to time constraints, we will accept a limited number of interactive workshops and oral presentations, and we often cannot accommodate all presentations submitted. Alternatively, individuals submitting for an oral presentation may be invited to present a data blitz or a poster presentation instead.

COVID is still a reality. On April 12th, if you are ill for whatever reason, test positive or are isolating due to concerns about exposure, please do not come to the event. If you are well and do attend the event, have fun and please remember to follow all safety precautions, masks are encouraged.

2024 Conference Theme:

Forging a Path Forward: Bringing Together Research, Practice and Lived Experiences

We welcome submissions that demonstrate the various creative and collaborative ways that knowledge has been produced and shared to make changes to both policy and practice, in the developmental sector. We are especially interested in research highlighting promising practices surrounding stakeholder engagement in practice, service delivery, research, and knowledge translation with persons with developmental disabilities and their support. Research that demonstrates a collaborative approach between research, practice and the lived experiences of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities will be the highlight of this event

Submissions related to this theme are encouraged, but not necessary.

To submit a contribution (interactive workshop, research poster, oral presentation or data blitz ) please submit your abstract online by December 31st, 2023

If you have any questions about the conference, you can speak directly with RSIG co-chairs, Laura Mullins (lmullins@brocku.ca) or Courtney Bishop (courtney.bishop@durhamcollege.ca). You can also email oadd.rsig@gmail.com

For more information about OADD and RSIG, please visit: www.oadd.org or “like” us at www.facebook.com/rsig.oadd

2024 GUIDELINES FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS

Please use this format for both poster/oral/data blitz presentation submissions.

Abstracts should be no more than 500 words in length (word count does not include Title, Authors’ names, nor Correspondence sections)

Abstracts should be typed with single spacing, using 11-point Arial font, and 1-inch margins Authors are asked to divide their abstract into four sections:

1) Objectives: State the purpose of the research and/or any hypotheses tested.

2) Method: A brief description of the sample (number of participants; characteristics of participants such as age, diagnosis, severity of intellectual/developmental disability), measures, techniques, and methods of analysis used.

3) Results: A summary of the findings related to the objectives of the study. If you have pending results, remember to make note of that in your abstract.

4) Discussion/Conclusions: Statement addressing the relevance and/or implications of the findings (i.e., how findings apply to real-world issues and inform practice).

Centre the title and type it entirely in CAPITALS and BOLD.

Please skip a line and include author names, and institutional affiliations (in bold, non-capitals, centered). DO NOT list street addresses underneath the title.

Correspondence: list contact name, affiliation and email address of all authors.

Data Blitz

You asked and we delivered. Perfect for first-time presenters or work in progress, Data Blitz talks are an unconventional and engaging method of sharing information; essentially presenters are providing a synopsis of their research. Each Data Blitz presentation is 3 minutes long, uses a maximum of 3 slides, and there are no questions. The timing of the Data Blitz presentations are strictly enforced, so be prepared to keep up and have some fun!

Interactive Workshop- NEW!! We will consider a limited number of interactive workshops related to the conference theme. Workshops will be scheduled for 45 minutes. The interactive workshop abstract submission should include a description of how learners will be engaged in active learning, as well as a clear objective that outlines take-away skills, and/or knowledge or material that attendees will acquire through their participation.

For more information about OADD and RSIG, please visit:  www.oadd.org or “like” us at www.facebook.com/rsig.oadd

Download a copy of the RSIG committee guidelines for reviewing abstracts

Download a sample abstract

RSIG and OADD Awards and Scholarships information

Provide Full Name, Affiliation (University/Organization), city and province for each.
Attach file (word document)

The OADD will be printing RSIG abstracts in an upcoming issue of the Journal on Developmental Disabilities.

** Please note: Your abstract and contact information will be included in our conference abstract book**