Northeastern Political Science Association
GUIDELINES FOR PANEL PARTICIPANTS
Time Allotments:
Each panel period is scheduled for approximately one hour and thirty
minutes. During the panel sessions, the
presentation of each paper should take no more than fifteen minutes. Discussants and responses from authors should
take no more than a total of fifteen minutes.
A minimum of fifteen minutes should be allotted for audience participation.
Role of Chair:
At the meeting, panel chairs should provide a brief introduction of
participants and a brief overview of the panel (for instance, common
themes). Chairs should act to move
proceedings along and recognize questions from the floor. The panel chair should be firm in limiting excessively talkative
participants
· Paper Copy.
If the panel chair does not receive a copy of the participant’s paper by
October 21st, then s/he should telephone the author requesting
copies for all panel participants.
· Replacements.
Panel chairs should recruit replacements for discussants that withdraw
from participation.
· Communication.
Please keep the section and program chairs informed of all panel changes
as soon as possible in order that the printed program may be as accurate as
possible.
Role of Discussants:
Discussants should address the significance of any substantive problems
with the papers during the panel. Try to
limit remarks to no more than three or four major points in a single
paper. Stylistic critique is useful and
generally appreciated by the authors, but should be communicated outside the
panel by marginal or separate notes and conversation. Further, discussants should be courteous even
when critical of papers. It is
unprofessional to behave in an uncivil manner toward fellow panelists.
Role of Authors:
Paper authors are expected, as courteous and responsible professionals,
to complete their papers and send their copies by October 21st to
each of the other members of the panel including the section chair, the panel
chair, the discussants, and the other authors on the panel. Failure to have the paper delivered to the
panel chair within such time limits will disqualify the paper for any prize
consideration.
· Do Not Read the Paper.
Paper authors should prepare complete, written papers, but during the
panel they should only present findings and significance.
· Bring Copies.
Paper authors are encouraged to bring additional copies of their papers
for distribution to members of the audience.
Also, it would be very useful in adding to the professionalism of the
conference if each paper author would provide 25 copies for the exhibition area
for interested conference participants to pick up.
· Awards.
Panel chairs should forward papers to be considered for the President’s
Prize in either the faculty or graduate student categories to Jeffrey Kraus,
Department of History, Political Science and Economics,
Withdrawals.
If a panelist must withdraw from participation, the panelist should
inform the panel chair and the program chair as soon as possible. There are often other persons who proposed
papers or who wish to act as discussants, but could not be included in the
program because of the limited number and size of the panels. A current non-participant might be able to
fill the vacancy.
Pre-registration
Requirement. All participants must pre-register by