Alternative labels, factors and/or weighting for review categories per submission type

Our conference has two different submission types / tracks.
We invite full papers and also submissions by Ph.D. students to be reviewed.
The review process for both submission types / tracks is primarily the same, but there are some differences regarding the single factors for review and the weighting of those factors.

First of all, we would like to rename some of the categories for reviewing for one of the tracks, e.g. instead of the default label “Significance” we would like to use “Scientific Approach”.

Moreover, we would like to change the specific labels of the review factors for this category to a more appropriate wording. How can we do that?

We would like to introduce a completely new review category for the Ph.D. student track and change the weighting of all factors. Is this possible?

(A German version of this article is available.)

You can change the wording for all categories for reviews and the corresponding review factors for each submission type / track separately. Furthermore, the overall scheme for the review forms of all tracks can be adapted for single tracks in order to create unique review forms for each track (please see image 1 for an example).

Please go to:
Overview => Settings => Manage Submission Types / Conference Tracks
... and activate the “Expert Settings” on the bottom of the settings page.

If you select a track and edit its settings, you find the new option “Alternative Review Forms” on the bottom of the page.
Choose one of up to nine different alternative definitions for this submission type / track. Save your new settings by clicking on “Save Changes” (see image 2).

Edit this submission type / track again and scroll down to the bottom. Click on the new wording option “Alternative definitions [1/2/3…]: Edit Phrase”. Now rename the categories for review as well as the associated names / labels for all the review factors when you click on “Edit Labels and Ratings” for each category (see image 3).

You can furthermore change the weighting factors (i.e. the percentage) for each track. If you do not need a certain category for a specific track, then simply choose the option “Disabled: Category is NOT shown”.

If you want to add a new category just for one track, please first increase the total number of categories here:
Overview => Settings => Review Form Options and Factors
Enable the expert settings on the bottom of the page by clicking on “Expert Settings Disabled” or the cogwheel.
Then go to the section “Review Options” and for the option “Number of Criteria”, select a higher number (see image 4).

You can now switch between the available selected review form definitions in the menu "Related Functions" in the upper right corner of the page "Review Form Options and Factors". 

Please create labels for each category by clicking on “Edit Labels and Ratings”. If you enable a new category and give it a weight in percentage, do not forget to amend the other factors, as the total weighting must amount to 100% (see image 5).

Test your new settings for all submission types / tracks by entering test reviews. More relevant information is available on page How can I test the settings? 

Hint: The system offers four different review forms for each submission type / track. Please consult this page for more information on review forms:
Configuration of the Review Forms in ConfTool Pro
If necessary, further modifications for the review forms are possible, but require some programming. Please contact us for a quote.

For the options that you find in the section “Additional Options for "Default" Review Form” (Contribution of the Submission, Best Paper Award, Recommended as Poster, Major Revision Required, Veto Against Acceptance - see image 1) you can define that they shall only be visible for the alternative review form when you follow these instructions:

First, on the default page for the review factors:
Overview => Settings => Review Form Options and Factors
… set the corresponding option to “Yes”, therefore activating it. Then click on “Edit Labels” to change the wording for that option. Now, empty all fields for the default form (see image 2). When all the definitions are blank, the option will not be displayed at all.

Next, head over to the alternative definitions page and scroll down to the section “Additional Options for "Default" Review Form” and for the options “Contribution of the Submission”, “Best Paper Award”, “Recommended as Poster”, “Major Revision Required” and / or “Veto Against Acceptance” click on “Edit Labels” (see image 3). Enter the definitions for these options (see image 4).

Now these additional options will only be available for the alternative review definitions.

Please always test your new settings!