Free Paper Guidelines

General Guidelines

1. Each member can submit a total of 3 abstracts (as presenting author), of which 2 can be of the same / similar specialty.
2. A free paper can have one presenting author and upto 3 co-authors. ( 4 authors in total )
3. One of the above 4 authors can be the presenting author of the free paper.
4. At least one of the 4 authors should be a ratified member of AIOS
5. Abstracts are to be submitted online only. No abstracts shall be accepted as a email, Fax, Hard copies etc.
6. All abstracts undergo an evaluation process.
7. Based on the evaluation, a member can present a MAXIMUM OF 2 FREE PAPERS.
8. Each Author must have contributed to the scientific part of Free paper being submitted. However, at least one author should be a ratified member of AIOS.
9. Free paper awards will be given to all Presenting author and certificates will be given to all co-authors.
10. The presenting author (which can be any of the 4 authors) MUST BE A RATIFIED MEMBER OF AIOS to contest for an award.
11. If presenting author is not a ratified member, the paper can be presented by the member BUT will not be considered for evaluation of any AIOS award.
12. Eligibility for AIOS Award – The submitted paper should not have been published in indexed journal/submitted for publication in indexed journal. Paper presented in other conferences can be submitted and shall be eligible for AIOS award. If any ambiguity found anytime : This would amount to plagiarism and the presenter and all the co authors will be debarred for submitting to AIOC for next 3 years.
13. Free Paper duration is 5 minutes only.
14. No change in presenting author is allowed during Free paper final session.
15. Institution / hospital affiliation and doctor’s name in the title or abstract should not be mentioned and will lead to automatic rejection.
16. Single case report will not be considered for Free paper.

Specialties

Free papers are accepted in any of the following specialties

1. Cataract
2. Community / Social Ophthalmology
3. Comprehensive Ophthalmology
4. Cornea
5. Diabetic Retinopathy and Medical Retina
6. External Eye & Ocular Surface Disease
7. Glaucoma
8. Lacrimal
9. Neuro Ophthalmology
10. Ocular Pathology , Ocular Oncology and Tumors
11. Optics / Refraction / Contact Lens
12. Orbit & Oculoplasty
13. Pediatric Ophthalmology
14. Refractive Surgery
15. Squint
16. Trauma
17. Uvea
18. Vitreo Retinal Diseases

( One or more specialities may be combined depending on the number of
submissions in the speciality. )

Free Paper or E-Poster

The scientific committee suggests that the “Free Paper or E-Poster” option provides the author with optimum opportunity to present his or her work. If this option is selected, the abstract will be considered, first as a paper, and if not accepted, it will then be evaluated as a E-Poster. However, if only paper is selected, and the abstract is not accepted as a paper, it will not be considered as an E-Poster.

Abstract Structure

Type the details exactly as you would want to be printed in the abstract book programme

Abstract Title

The title of the abstract SHOULD NOT exceed 100 characters (including spaces).

Abstract body

The abstract body SHOULD NOT exceed 1000 characters (including spaces).

  • Study design
  • Purpose
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusion
  • Clinical Implication

Add Presenting Author

At Least one presenting author should be added. The chief author himself / herself can be a presenting author. It is the duty of the chief author to get consent from the presenting author before adding his/her name. 

Add co-authors

A maximum of three co-authors can be added. If there are no co-authors, add the chief / presenting author itself as a co-author. All co-authors should be a member of AIOS.

Note : Do not use proprietary names alone in the title or body of the abstract. If necessary, you may include a proprietary name in parenthese directly after the generic name on first use in the body of the abstract.

Sessions for the selected free papers at the conference (For Annual Conference)

  • The preliminary round for all specialties will be held on Day 0, 1 or 2 of the Conference.
  • The semi finals for sections which has more than one preliminary rounds shall be held on day 0,1,2 of the conference.
  • The selection for Col. Rangachari Award will be held on day 3 of the Conference
  • Maximum no. of submissions a co-author can participate
  • An author can participate upto a maximum of 4 free papers as a co-author

Awards (For Annual Conference)

1. The best paper of each session will be recognised by the AIOS Scientific Committee and a “Best Paper of Session (BPOS)” certificate shall be issued.
2. There will be a best paper award for each specialty.
3. The winner of the best paper of each speciality will be felicitated during the awards ceremony in the next conference.
4. The best paper in each specialty gets an entry into Col Rangachari Session ( Usually held on day 3 of the conference ). If there are more than one session(s) of any specialty then the best paper of each session of that specialty will compete in a semi final session, so as to select the best paper of the specialty – which then goes for Col Rangachari session. All the 18 Best papers ( one from each specialty ) compete in the Col Rangachari session to select the Best paper of the conference, the Presenting author of which is felicitated at the Inaugural ceremony of next conference with Col Rangachari Award.
5. The presenting author of the Best State paper is eligible for a) Complimentary Registration for the Conference & b) A Travel grant ( upto a maximum of Rs.10,000/-) by the AIOS office. The travel grant can be availed by the presenting authors by submitting the claim form in the scientific committee office at the venue of the conference. The claim form shall be verified and approved by the Chairman – Scientific Committee and same shall be handed over to AIOS office. The AIOS office shall issue a cheque for the approved amount.
6. A colour photograph of the presenting author of the best paper shall be sent to the scientific committee (support@aios-online.com and chairmanscientificcommittee@aios.org) for inclusion in the scientific committee website /Program Book / Ready Reckoner.

Certificates

  1. The Scientific Committee shall issue a certificate of presentation to all the authors of the free paper which was read at the conference.
  2. This certificate will be in the form of a tamper proof digitally signed PDF file which can be downloaded by logging in using the blue box of the scientific committee website
  3. Certificates will be available on the website after 15 days from the date of the conference.

Declaration to be provided

The following points has to be declared while submitting the abstract

1. Whether the research has been carried out in india. Was this research carried out in India?

2. Has this submission been presented in any other conference earlier.

3. Was this submission published or submitted for publication in any peer reviewed journal.

4. Does this paper pertain to Laboratory research ( Translational research ).

5. In case research involves human subjects if Ethics committee approval has been obtained with reference number.

Important Note

1. The submitted paper should NOT have been published in indexed journal OR submitted for publication in indexed journal.

2. If ambiguity found anytime, this would amount to plagiarism and the presenter and all the co- authors will be debarred from submitting for AIOC for next 2 years.

3. Your session during the conference, along with your presentation shall be video-taped for inclusion in the proceedings of the conference.

Withdrawal / Change of instructors

If for any unavoidable reason, the presenting author wants to withdraw the paper, he/she can withdraw from his/her topic on the following condition(s) :

1. No change in the sequence shall be accepted a less than one month from the scheduled date of conference.
2. As per the decision of the Governing Council, Managing Committee and the General body of AIOC 2018, absence from the session without the prior information ( at least 30 days before the conference ) shall lead to debarring as a speaker in the subsequent annual conference.

Best Paper of Affiliated State Societies (For Annual Conference)

1. The best paper of the annual conference of the affiliated state society gets an automatic entry into the preliminary round of the free paper session
2. The Hon.Gen. Secretary of the Affiliated State Society shall officially email the following details of the best paper award winner to the chairmanscientificcommittee@aios.org with cc to support@aios-online.com

a. Title of the paper
b. Presenting Author name and full address
c. Presenting Author’s AIOS membership number

d. Presenting Author’s email id
e. Presenting Author’s mobile number
f. Photograph of the presenting author

3. The presenting author can send the abstract of the winning paper. The guidelines for submitting the abstract have to be adhered to.
4. The best paper of the state is eligible for AIOS awards if the presenting author is a ratified member of AIOS
5. If the presenting author is not a ratified member of AIOS, he/she should have applied for membership to present his/her paper in the conference
6. A non-ratified presenting author is not eligible for any AIOS awards.

Best papers to IJO first

All the SELECTED BEST PAPERS from each session should be submitted to IJO[editor@ijo.in] first for possible publication. The authors cannot submit the selected BEST PAPERS to any other journal unless it has been rejected by IJO after the peer review process. The final decision about the article by the “Editor – IJO” will be taken within 6 months after the submission. If the authors have already submitted it elsewhere for consideration for publication, they must declare the same. Such paper(s) can be presented but will not be considered for “Best paper of the session award.”

Free Paper Full Text

1. If accepted as a paper for the conference, the full text of the presentation must be uploaded either by logging into the chief author’s dashboard or by using the link provided in the selection mail before the stipulated deadline as mentioned in the acceptance letter.
2. The guideline to submit the full text is available on http://www.ijo.in/contributors.asp. Ensure that the file size is less than 5 MB. Files, which are greater than 5 MB, shall be
automatically rejected.
3. The full text carries marks which shall be considered for selection of papers for the semi finals / finals. The free paper full text received shall be sent to the judges well in advance for evaluation.
4. The full text of the best paper of the state should be emailed to support@aios-online with a copy marked to chairmanscientificcommittee@aios.org

Financial disclosure

It is mandatory to add financial disclosure of the presenting author and all co-authors in the abstract as well as the second slide after the title in the presentation.&