Be on the Program

If you are interested in organizing an invited or topic-contributed session for JSM, be sure to select the section/society that best fits with your topic when submitting your proposal via the online system.

Before JSM

• Advise presenters and discussants to follow the participation opportunities and limits (above).
• Identify all participants in each session.
• Confirm the attendance of all speakers.
• Maintain contact with participants, ensuring deadlines for submitting abstracts and draft papers are met.
• Make sure the chair has received draft manuscripts from each speaker by May 31, 2025.

Note: Nonmember invited speakers can have their registration fee waived upon a written request from the section or society program committee chair if received at the ASA by March 31, 2025.

At JSM

• Assist the chair in any way required, including chairing the session if necessary.
• Check the program changes document for any last-minute changes.

If you are interested in chairing a session, please contact the member of the program committee representing the section/society of interest to you.

Before JSM

• Advise presenters and discussants to follow the participation opportunities and limits.
• Collect draft manuscripts from all presenters in your session by May 31, 2025.
• Obtain a biographical sketch of all participants and prepare a brief introduction for each.
• Contact the ASA Meetings Department if you have changes to presenters or their contact information.

At JSM

Before the Session

• Arrive 10 minutes early.
• Check the condition of your meeting room, especially equipment and how/if the microphone(s) work. If assistance is needed, alert the AV technicians via the in-room system.
• Verify speakers’ names (pronunciation), titles, and affiliations.

During the Session

• Start on time.
• Keep introductions brief.
• Insist that all speakers use the microphone.
• Make sure presenters do not block the screen.
• Hold each speaker to the allotted time as printed in the program.
• Remind speakers about their remaining time (e.g., prepare flash cards for five (5) minutes and one (1) minute remaining).
• If a presenter ends early or does not attend, use that extra time for questions and comments. Do not start the next paper early.
• Stop the presentation of any speaker who does not adhere to the statistical subject of their paper.
• Keep questions brief and relevant. Restate questions to be sure they are heard by everyone.
• End on time.

Before JSM

• Acceptance emails will go out to JSM participants by early April 2025.
• For every presentation (paper, panel, or poster), one copy of a complete draft manuscript and brief biographical sketch of the presenting author must be sent to the session chair by May 31, 2025. Invited sessions with no discussant are exempt from this submission.
• A draft manuscript is proof of a “paper in progress.” It can be a copy of your presentation slides, a copy of your handouts, a detailed draft outline of your presentation, or a draft copy of your final manuscript.
• If you have a later draft with major changes, send a copy to your session chair. It is also helpful to send the session chair a copy of handouts, visuals, etc. prior to JSM.
• Practice your talk.
• Ask colleagues to listen to you, including those who are not too knowledgeable about your topic.
• Make your rehearsal realistic and time it.
• Refine your timing.

At JSM

• Check in at the JSM Speaker Ready Room at least two hours prior to your session.
• Email your session chair to confirm your arrival.
• Verify the location of your room.
• Arrive 10 minutes early.
• Introduce yourself to the session chair.
• Be aware of the time for your presentation.
• Use the microphone provided and speak clearly and loudly enough to be heard in the back of the room.
• Present only the main points of your paper.
• Speak from notes, rather than reading the written version of your paper.
• Stay for the entire session.

After JSM

• Submit your paper for publication in the JSM Proceedings.

Before JSM

• Collect copies of the draft manuscripts in your session from the chair by May 31, 2025.
• Obtain copies of the final papers in your session well before the meeting.
• Familiarize yourself with the papers and prepare your discussion.
• Send the session chair a brief biographical sketch of yourself.
• Prepare about 10 minutes of discussion and reserve the remainder of your time for impromptu reactions to the presentation.

At JSM

• Arrive 10 minutes early.
• Check in with the chair.
• Introduce yourself to the other participants.
• Confirm the time available for your remarks with the chair.
• Check in at the JSM Speaker Ready Room at least two hours prior to your session.
• Begin discussion of the paper(s) to stimulate the audience and clarify the authors’ points.
• Prepare a question for each speaker to help if the discussion begins to lag.

After JSM

• Submit your paper for publication in the JSM Proceedings.

All poster presenters will be provided with a 4’ (height) x 8’ (width) display board, push pins, and 6’ table for handouts and business cards. The poster presentation must be displayed and fit within this display area. Electricity and audiovisual equipment will not be provided.

Before JSM

• Posters must be printed and brought with you or printed onsite and picked up prior to the session.

At JSM

• Contributed and topic-contributed posters will use a traditional poster format.
• Posters will be on display and poster authors will be present in person to present their posters during assigned session times as follows:
  
  

  Monday		10:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
  Tuesday		10:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
  Wednesday		10:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.

  
  
• Posters presented in the morning sessions must be set up between 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and taken down between 12:20 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
• Posters presented in the afternoon sessions must be set up between 12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. and taken down between 3:50 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Authors must remain near their poster for the duration of the session (110 minutes) to answer questions.

After JSM

• Submit your paper for publication in the JSM Proceedings.

Speed sessions consist of 20 oral presentations of four minutes each, with five minutes of break after the first set of 10 talks. The short oral presentations are then followed by an electronic poster (e-poster) presentation, which is like a traditional poster presentation, but presented on a large computer screen. The ASA uses 42” LCD displays in the landscape position.

Before JSM

• For every presentation, one copy of a complete draft manuscript and brief biographical sketch of the presenting author must be sent to the oral session chair by May 31, 2025.
• A draft manuscript is proof of a “paper in progress.” It can be a copy of your presentation slides, a copy of any handouts, a detailed draft outline of your presentation, or a draft copy of your final manuscript.
• We strongly recommend you test your presentation on a screen of approximately the same size as will be present at the meeting.
• Save your e-poster as a PDF to a USB key (thumb) drive and bring it with you the day of your presentation.

At JSM

• Check in at the JSM Speaker Ready Room at least two hours prior to your session.
• Authors must remain near their e-poster for the duration of the session (45 minutes) to answer questions.
• Sound is not permitted due to the open area in which posters are presented.

After JSM

• Submit your paper for publication in the JSM Proceedings.

These are small group talks with a discussion leader that occur in conjunction with breakfast or lunch, giving participants the opportunity to network while discussing a topic of interest.

Though most sections seek out discussion leaders for these, proposals are submitted online from early December to early February. Sections can accept or reject these proposals based on space and interest.

Before JSM

• Each roundtable can have up to 10 seats, which includes the roundtable speaker. Participants must register to attend your roundtable.
• The number of seats at your table will be the number sold.
• As the roundtable presenter, a ticket is added to your registration automatically and paid for by the sponsoring section or society.
• Co-authors and organizers must register for the roundtable.

At JSM

• Arrive at the meeting room at least 10 minutes before the session begins to take care of last-minute details. Tables will be marked with a number (e.g., “1,” “2”) to designate where your roundtable will be located. For example, if you are the presenter of P.M. Roundtable ML08, you will sit at the table marked “8.” Once you are at your assigned table, there will be a tent card marked “Speaker,” and this is where you should sit.
• As participants arrive, introduce yourself and encourage them to begin eating.
• Start your discussion as you see fit, but end on time so participants can attend the sessions afterward.
• No AV is provided for the roundtables. You may bring your laptop, but electricity will not be provided.

After JSM

• Submit your paper for publication in the JSM Proceedings.