CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

for the

4^th Annual Outdoor Leadership Research Symposium (OLRS)

at the

2012 International Conference on Outdoor Leadership

Estes Park, Colorado, February 18-21, 2012

Submissions to the 4^th annual Outdoor Leadership Research Symposium (OLRS) are now being accepted.  OLRS is intended to provide a forum for practitioners and scholars to share recent and on-going research related to outdoor leadership.  The symposium is being held in conjunction with the International Conference on Outdoor Leadership, sponsored annually by the Wilderness Education Association (WEA).  The goal of this symposium is to help promote the development of evidence-based practice in the field of outdoor leadership.  Submissions will be blind peer-reviewed and judged according to their relevance to the field of outdoor leadership as well as the basic quality of the research conducted.  Presenters will have 15 minutes to present their research, followed by five minutes of questions.  Accepted abstracts will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education & Leadership.

Eligibility of proposals:

1.      Only studies that have not been previously published or presented should be submitted.

2.      Only studies that are completed or near completion should be submitted. A full report of findings and conclusions are expected at the presentation and in the published abstract.

3.      Authors of accepted proposals must register for the conference by the early registration deadline.  Any presenter who fails to do so will be dropped from the research symposium. Please do not submit an abstract unless you are committed to attending the symposium.

4.      Abstracts must be submitted no later than Tuesday, November 15, 2011.  Authors will be notified by Friday, December 16, 2011 regarding the status of their submissions.  Authors must submit revised abstracts by Friday, January 6, 2011 for inclusion in a book of abstracts to be distributed at the symposium.

Submission guidelines:

1.      Abstracts should be no more than two pages in length, using Times New Roman 12 point font, one inch margins (top, bottom, and sides), and single spacing.

2.      Abstracts should follow standard formatting for journal articles: Background (which includes the introduction, review of literature, and statement of hypotheses/research questions), Methods (which includes a description of site, sample, instrument, procedures, and analysis), Results, Discussion, and References (which may be listed on a third page).  Conceptual articles may use alternative headings.

3.      Abstracts should be written and formatted according to the guidelines of the APA Publication Manual (6^th Edition).

4.      A cover page should be included providing the following information: abstract title, names and affiliations of all authors, and contact information (including phone and email) of the principal author.

5.      Documents should be saved in Microsoft Word format.

6.      Abstracts that do not adhere to these guidelines may be rejected without further review.

7.      Abstracts should be submitted to Bruce Martin at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it by Tuesday, November 15, 2011.  “2012 OLRS Abstract” should be written in the subject heading.