SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT THROUGH OXFORD ABSTRACTS

Prior to submitting an abstract

1. Join or renew your membership to MAS.

2. Go to the web page: http://www.msacad.org/abstract/

Click on "submit abstract."  You will need to create an account with Oxford Abstracts.  Once you have created an account, login using your email address and password.

Submitting an abstract

Step One:  Title and Abstract

• You can type your title and abstract directly into the boxes provided or you can cut and paste from another file. 
• The title should be all CAPITAL LETTERS.
• Your abstract should be informative, containing: (a) a sentence statement of the study's specific objectives, unless this is given in the title; (b) brief statement of methods, if pertinent; (c) summary of the results obtained; (d) statement of the conclusions. It is not satisfactory to state, "The results will be discussed."
• Do not include graphics or figures in your abstract.
• Use standard abbreviations for common units of measure. Other words to be abbreviated, such as chemical names, should be spelled out in full for the first use, followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis. Do not abbreviate in the abstract title.
• Use italics for scientific names of organisms.
• Your abstract, including the text and any acknowledgments, may not exceed 250 words. Excessively long abstracts will be truncated.  Please note that if you cut and paste your abstract from another document, the system will not show you a word count unless you type in an extra character directly into the box. 

Step Two: Affiliations and Authors

Affiliations: List each affiliation only once.  For example, if you have a total of four authors and three authors are from The University of Southern Mississippi and one author is from Jackson State University, that is a total of two affiliations.  You put in The University of Southern Mississippi only once.  Each author can only have one affiliation so please list their primary affiliation only.

Authors: Please use the full first name for each author.  Do not use an initial for the first name.  Do not forget to indicate the affiliation of each author.  You do that using the drop down box which is the fourth box on the author line.  The default affiliation for authors is 1, so if you do not indicate affiliation using the drop box, each author will be affiliated with the first institution listed under affiliations.

Step Three:

Remember to indicate if the presenting author is also planning on presenting in another division.  This is critical if the author will be doing two oral presentations.

Step Four:

Indicating that you would be interested in submitting an article to JMAS does not obligate you to do so or obligate the journal to accept it.

Step Five:

It is easiest if everyone who can pays using PayPal.  If you choose not to use PayPal, send alternative methods of payment to:

Mississippi Academy of Sciences
PO Box 55907
Jackson, MS 39296-5907

Once you have completed your submission, you will receive an email from the abstract system notifying you that your abstract has been successfully submitted.  You may reenter the system to edit your submission until November 1.  Each time you make changes, the system will send you an email.    If you wish to delete your abstract at any time, please contact Ann Marie Kinnell at ann.kinnell@usm.edu.

After submitting your abstract

Do not forget to go back to the MAS web site and register for the meeting.  ALL presenting authors and all persons attending the annual meeting must be registered for the meeting.