Call for Participation

Quick Facts

Submission deadline: 26 June Tuesday 22nd July 2014 (5:00pm PT)
Notification: 10 29 July 2014
Camera-ready deadline (tentative): 7 27 August 2014

Submission format:
A single unanonymized PDF document containing:
(1) a four-page Extended Abstract Format paper; and
(2) a three to four-page Appendix.
The document must follow the format and structure outlined below, which is specified in detail in the message from the Doctoral Consortium Chairs.

Selection process:
Curated

Committee members:
Anna Cox (Co-Chair)
Drew Davidson (Co-Chair)
Jessica Hammer
Paul Cairns

At the conference:
Accepted submissions will be presented both at the Doctoral Consortium, which is open only to participants, and as a poster at the conference. Please see the Information for Poster Presenters.

Archives:
Extended abstracts on USB key and in ACM Digital Library

Message from the Doctoral Consortium Chairs

The CHI PLAY 2014 Doctoral Consortium provides an opportunity for Doctoral students to explore and develop their research interests in games and HCI in an interdisciplinary workshop, under the guidance of a panel of distinguished researchers. We invite students who feel they would benefit from this kind of feedback on their dissertation work to apply for this unique opportunity to share their work with students in a similar situation as well as senior researchers in the field. The strongest candidates will be those who have a clear topic and research approach, and have made some progress, but who are not so far along that they can no longer make changes. In addition to stating how you will gain from participation, both you and your advisor should be clear on what you can contribute to the Doctoral Consortium.

Students attending the Doctoral Consortium will receive complementary registration for the CHI PLAY conference.

Anna Cox, University College London, UK
Drew Davidson, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

What is the Doctoral Consortium?

The Consortium has the following objectives:

  • Provide a setting where students can present their work and meet other students
  • Provide feedback on students’ current research and guidance on future research directions
  • Offer each student comments and fresh perspectives on their work from researchers and students outside their own institution
  • Promote the development of a supportive community of scholars and a spirit of collaborative research
  • Contribute to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and conference events
  • The Consortium will be held on Sunday 19th October 2014. The consortium will be held as a single track, with about 8-10 students. Applicants are encouraged to also apply to be student volunteers in order to secure reduced registration fee.

Preparing and Submitting your Consortium Proposal

Current graduate students pursuing a PhD project who would benefit from detailed workshop discussions of their doctoral research should submit a single PDF file that includes the following elements, and is formatted using the SIGCHI Extended Abstracts format:

  • Extended Abstract. A 4-page research description covering central aspects of your PhD work, which follows the structure, details and format specified. Key points include:
    • Your situation, i.e., the university doctoral program context in which your work is being conducted
    • Context and motivation that drives your dissertation research
    • Research objectives/goals/questions
    • Background/literature review of key works that frames your research
    • Hypothesis/thesis and/or problem statement
    • Your research approach and methods, including relevant rationale
    • Results to date and their validity
    • Dissertation status and next steps
    • Current and expected contributions
  • Appendix 1. A one-paragraph statement of expected benefits of participation for both yourself and the other consortium participants (i.e., what will you contribute as well as gain) (1 page).
  • Appendix 2. A letter of nomination from your primary dissertation advisor (1 page).
  • Appendix 3. Your concise current Curriculum Vita (1-2 pages)
  • Once you have assembled – and tested – the PDF file, the entire submission file should be uploaded following the directions at the CHI PLAY 2014 submission site, no later than 17:00 PDT on 26 June 2014.

It is essential for you to ensure that your submission is complete and in accordance with the format and content guidelines described above. Because the Doctoral Consortium Committee expects to receive a large number of applications, submissions that do not meet these requirements will be returned without review.

Doctoral Consortium Review Process

The proposals will be evaluated by a review committee comprising the DC chairs and additional senior player-computer interaction experts.

The review and decision of acceptance will balance many factors. This includes the quality of your proposal, and where you are within your doctoral education program. It also includes external factors, where as a group the accepted candidates exhibit a diversity of backgrounds and topics. Your institution will also be taken into account, where we are unlikely to accept more than two students from the same institution and almost certainly will not accept more than one student with the same advisor. A summary of the reasons for acceptance or rejections will be provided to the students.

Candidates who have a clearly developed idea, who are formally considered by their institution to be working on their dissertation, and who still have time to be influenced by participation in the Consortium will receive the strongest consideration. Participants in the Consortium will be selected by the Doctoral Consortium Committee. Confidentiality of submissions is maintained during the review process. All rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity. All submitted materials for accepted submissions will be kept confidential until the start of the conference.

Upon Acceptance of your Doctoral Consortium Proposal

Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection on 7 August 2014, or shortly after.

Authors of accepted submissions will receive instructions on how to submit publication-ready copy (this will consist of your extended abstract only), and will receive information about attending the Doctoral Consortium, and about preparing your presentation and poster. Authors will retain copyright to their submission. Obtaining permissions to use video, audio, or pictures of identifiable people or proprietary content rests with the author, not the ACM or the CHI PLAY conference.

At the Conference

All participants are expected to attend the Consortium, including a group dinner wrap-up reception in the evening (Sunday 19 October 2014). Each student will present his or her work to the group with substantial time allowed for discussion and questions by participating researchers and other students. Although many fine pieces of work have to be rejected due to lack of space, being accepted into the Consortium is an honor, and involves a commitment to giving and receiving thoughtful commentary with an eye towards shaping the field and upcoming participants in the field.

Students will also present a poster of their work at the main conference. Please see the Information for Poster Presenters. In addition to the conference poster, each student should bring a small version of the poster (e.g., using letter or A4 paper) for sharing with faculty mentors and other students during the Consortium sessions.

Poster board panels vary from venue to venue, but typically you will have a space 4 feet by 4 feet square (1.2 x 1.2 metres). Posters should be designed and printed portrait style and will be hung with materials provided by the conference.

After the Conference

Accepted Doctoral Consortium abstracts will be distributed in the CHI PLAY Extended Abstracts, available on USB key and in the ACM Digital Library, where they will remain accessible to thousands of researchers and practitioners worldwide.