Nicole Lazar, JSM 2021 Program Chair
In 2021, one of the largest statistical events in the world—the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM)—will be held in Seattle, Washington, August 7–12. The theme for the meeting is “Statistics, Data, and the Stories They Tell,” emphasizing the role statistics plays in helping society understand the world. As ever-more complex data becomes a hallmark of modern science and policymaking, statisticians have a growing societal importance, which is reflected in the 2021 JSM theme.
The invited program, nearly complete, includes 209 sessions telling a wide range of stories—both theoretical and applied. The pandemic is the focus of a number of those stories, but there are many others, as well, including sports, wearable technologies, and genomics. A variety of methodological approaches—including for longitudinal and spatial data and multimodal data—are also represented.
The process leading to the selection of the invited sessions was, as always, competitive. Many strong proposals were not selected, but there are still ways to get involved in the 2021 JSM program. Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the coming year, some of the deadlines for JSM 2021—particularly those for the contributed portion—are later than they typically are. This will give everyone time to figure out their plans for the conference and secure funding for attendance, in addition to the clarity that time should bring. Despite the later deadlines, it’s not too soon to be thinking about getting involved.
Speed Sessions
The speed session is an increasingly popular JSM format. It allows for an electronic poster (e-poster) presentation, which enables video and other special effects. Speed session presenters give a four-minute oral advertisement for a later poster presentation. These oral presentations are collected in sets of 20, with a five-minute break in the middle. This is followed later by the e-poster phase, which lasts 45 minutes. The program committee tries to cluster speed session posters by topic to attract a large and focused audience.
Here are some tips, based on experience with previous speed sessions:
- The oral component should lure people. Don’t try to be too detailed, but rather give the big picture view. A little humor helps.
- E-posters can include software demonstrations, analysis animations, videos, and interactive statistical graphics or dashboards. Take advantage of the versatility of the medium. Don’t think in terms of a static poster. Be modern and daring.
Note that you don’t need to pay for poster printing, nor do you have the hassle of transporting a poster in the overhead compartment of an airplane, when you participate in an e-poster session.
Poster Sessions
In many fields, the main way to present research is through a poster. Presenting a poster at JSM allows face-to-face extended discussion with individuals or small groups interested in the topic, providing researchers with more direct feedback than is typically possible with a contributed paper talk.
Contributed Sessions
Contributed paper sessions consist of seven papers with 15 minutes of presentation time for each, including the introduction of the speaker and questions. Although this is still the preferred way to present research for many JSM participants (nearly half of JSM sessions are contributed sessions), the short duration of the talks, relative difficulty interacting with the audience, and large number of parallel sessions might lead researchers to consider trying a speed or poster session.
Topic-Contributed Sessions
For the previous modes of presentation, a participant simply submits a title and abstract by the deadline (see below) and several presentations are put together into cohesive sessions by the JSM 2021 Program Committee. But if you can put together five speakers on a common theme—either five papers or four papers with one discussant—you can submit a proposal for a topic-contributed session.
Topic-contributed sessions are allocated on a competitive basis, however, and each ASA section, committee, interest group, or partner society has a limited number of them. So, before submitting a proposal to a section or society, get in touch with the relevant JSM 2021 Program Committee members to let them know of your interest.
Because of the selection process, topic-contributed sessions are often more cohesive than contributed paper sessions and feature high-quality papers. The advantage is that each speaker has 20 minutes of presentation time, instead of 15 minutes. Organizers must select a theme, invite five speakers, and ensure speakers’ commitments prior to the submission deadline of December 10, 2020. Session participants must follow the rules for JSM participation. Finally, only online session proposal submissions will be considered for the topic-contributed program.
Abstract Submission
Topic-contributed abstract submission for those sessions selected by the program committee will be open January 6 to February 2, 2021. Advanced registration is not required this year when submitting a topic-contributed abstract. Abstract editing for invited and topic-contributed sessions will be open from March 16 to April 14, 2021, at which point you should also register for JSM.
To contribute to the JSM 2021 program in any of the above venues except for topic-contributed sessions, submit an abstract and title online from March 16 to April 14, 2021. Registration is required when submitting contributed paper and poster abstracts. As part of the submission process, you must also specify the choice of the ASA section or JSM partner society most closely associated with the topic of your presentation.
Session Chairs
All JSM sessions require a chair to ensure speakers are well informed about the session in advance, introduce speakers, and manage time for each speaker. Chairing a session is a way to get involved with JSM and network with other professionals in your field. Especially encouraged are people who are new to the profession. Simply volunteer to the program committee members of your section or society.
Contact JSM 2021 Program Chair Nicole Lazar with any questions.
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