Short Research Papers
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The goal of the Short Research Papers track is to encourage the iConference community to present new, provocative, and cross-cutting themes in a short paper submission. Short research papers might include, but are not limited to, critical literature reviews of an emerging topic, theory building that is in the early stages of development, or new analysis / methods applied to existing data.
Short papers are more focused and succinct contributions to the research program and are likely to have a smaller scope of contribution than Full Research Papers. For example, short papers on applications design may not cover the entire iterative design cycle (observation, design, implementation, evaluation, etc.) but may instead go into depth in specific areas.
iConference Short Research Papers undergo a rigorous double-blind review process, managed by the Short Research Papers Chairs. Confidentiality of submissions is maintained during the review process. Papers will be scored on innovation, contribution and quality of thought and writing. Submitted papers must be original work, not published elsewhere.
Presentation
All accepted papers will be presented virtually during iConference 2026 on the virtual iConference SCOOCS platform with a 20-minutes presentation followed by a 10 minutes Q&A; presentation instructions can be found here. All authors who presented online will also have the opportunity to present on-site.
Publication
Accepted Short Research Papers will be published Open Access in Information Research.
Best Paper Award
The best Short Paper will be awarded with a sum of USD 500.
Guidelines
Conditions: At least one author of each accepted submission must register during the Early Bird registration period to present their work at iConference 2026. The organizers reserve the right to withhold publication if these conditions are not met.
All papers must adhere to the complete guidelines. Submissions that do not conform to the lengths defined are subject to desk rejection by the chairs.
All papers must be original work, not published elsewhere.
All submissions will be made using the secure ConfTool submission system.
Length: Up to 3,000 words (excluding captions and references)
Language: English
Template: Information Research Journal Template
Pre-Recorded Presentations (optional): Presenters can hand in a pre-record of their paper presentation additionally to their live presentation during the virtual iConference. This recording will be available in the media library of the virtual conference platform for all participants 24/7 after the live presentation. Pre-recorded paper presentations are due 09 February 2026 following the guidelines. Deliver your pre-recording here:
First Submission
First submissions can be uploaded to the ConfTool submission site. The deadline for the first submissions is 15 September 2025.
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Format: PDF
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Template: Information Research Journal Template
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Font: Lora - Download
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Keywords: All submissions must include at least three keywords
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Anonymization: Author-identifying elements must be excluded from first submissions to facilitate double-blind review. Authors are encouraged to cite their own work in the third person, e.g., avoid “As described in our previous work [10], …” and instead use “As described by [10], …”.
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File Naming: Please use all or part of your paper title as the file name
Final Submission
Authors of accepted papers will submit a final version containing author-identifying information. Final versions of accepted papers should be uploaded to ConfTool by 08 January 2026.
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Format: doc, docx or LaTex
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Template: Information Research Journal Template
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Font: Lora - Download
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Keywords: All submissions must include at least three keywords
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Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all substantive content, including numeric and bibliographic data. Manuscripts will not be copy edited by iConference organizers.
Acceptance of a submission is conditional on the completion of changes that were identified during review. In making these changes, authors must adhere to the word limit of 3,000 words in the interest of fairness. If necessary, we suggest having a professional editor help identify redundant words and thoughts.
Papers authors will also provide details of these changes with their final submission. These details will be entered into ConfTool using the open field titled Remarks on This Contribution Section.
Papers that do not comply with the final submission requirements will be removed from the proceedings and not be published.
Presentation
All accepted papers must be presented virtually on the virtual iConference SCOOCS platform with a 20-minutes presentation followed by a 10 minutes Q&A; presentation instructions can be found here.
Presenters can optionally request to present their poster onsite in addition to the virtual presentation. If the author has requested an additional paper presentation slot on-site in Edinburgh, at least one author of the accepted submission has to register for the onsite part of the iConference 2026 during the Early Bird registration period to present their work onsite in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. The organizers reserve the right to withhold the presentation slot if these conditions are not met.
Timeline
Submission portal opens: June 2025
Submission deadline: 15 September 2025
Decision notification date: mid November 2025
Final camera-ready versions due: 08 January 2026
Pre-recording submission due: 09 February 2026
All deadlines are in GMT-11 23:59.
Short Research Paper Chairs
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