AEJMC 2026 Conference Paper Competition

Uniform Paper Call

Dates: August 5–8, 2026 • Location: New Orleans, Louisiana • Submission Opens: January 15, 2026 • Deadline: 11:59 p.m. CDT, April 1, 2026

The following uniform call will apply to ALL AEJMC group competitions. Specific requirements, including limits on paper length, are outlined in each Division and Interest Groups’ (DIG) individual calls.

Submission guidelines

• Anonymize your paper: Remove all identifying information (names, affiliations, acknowledgements, properties, metadata, etc.). Submissions with author identifiers will be disqualified. All AEJMC Divisions, Interest Groups and Commissions will abide by this rule. Reviewers and research chairs are prohibited from searching document properties or anywhere else beyond the text of the paper for identifying information.
• Upload your paper (PDF preferred; Word accepted) to the correct group via AEJMC.org.
• Include an abstract (maximum 75 words) in the online submission form.
• Complete the submission with the author(s)’ name, affiliation, mailing address, phone number, and email address.
  • The title should only appear on the paper’s first page and running heads. Do NOT include the author’s name on running heads or title page.
• Deadline: Wednesday, April 1, 2026, 11:59 p.m. (Central Daylight Time). Any submissions after this time will not be accepted.

Policies

1. Language: Submissions are to be in English only.
2. Membership: You do not have to be a current member to submit.
3. Originality: Submissions must not be under review elsewhere, and each individual submission may be sent to only one AEJMC group. Accepted papers must not have been presented at other conferences (except for AEJMC regional conferences) or published before the competition deadline.
4. Student eligibility: Student papers compete on an equal footing in open paper competitions unless otherwise stated by the individual division or interest group. Faculty–student co-authored papers are considered faculty submissions and are ineligible for student-only competitions.
5. Presentation requirement: Accepted papers must be presented at the conference (by an author; students may have a designee). If the paper is not presented at the conference, the acceptance is revoked and may not be included on a vita.
6. Diverse perspectives: Papers should follow the best practices in accounting for diverse perspectives as applicable to the field.
7. Copyright: Authors retain copyright and may pursue publication after the competition deadline.

Notification

• Authors will be notified by May 20, 2026. Reviewers’ comments will be accessible through the submission portal.
• If you have not been notified by May 20, contact your division or interest group research chair. The AEJMC Central Office may not have this information available.

Avoiding self-identification in citations

• Replace self-references (“In my prior work…”) with neutral phrasing (“In a previous study, researchers…”). This is not always possible since authors may desire to build on their previous work but avoid obvious self-citation that would reveal author identity.
• Remove or minimize self-citations if they risk revealing identity.
• Cite your own work as if by another author.

Formatting notes

• A cover sheet and/or the required 75-word abstract page do not count toward the AEJMC groups’ set page limits.
• Follow any additional group-specific length/format rules.

AI use

• Adhere to AEJMC’s policy on AI usage.

Questions

• For comments, concerns, and other Conference Paper Call inquiries, contact Felicia Greenlee Brown at Felicia@aejmc.org.

AEJMC 2026 Conference Paper Competition

Submissions Invited for Research-in-Progress

AEJMC invites submissions for a new Research-in-Progress submission category at the 2026 Conference. This format provides scholars with an opportunity to present and receive feedback on projects that are underway but not yet complete at the time of presentation. It is ideal for emerging research ideas, pilot studies, data collection efforts, or early analyses that show strong potential for scholarly contribution.

Divisions, Interest Groups and Commissions with research programming may choose not to participate in the Research-in-Progress symposium competition.

Submission Deadline

• 11:59 p.m. CDT, April 1, 2026
  All submissions must be uploaded as a single file through the AEJMC submission site.

Purpose

This category supports projects still in progress at the time of the conference.  Submissions should be developed enough for meaningful peer feedback during the review process but not substantially complete or under review elsewhere. This format allows participants to present their project’s purpose and current progress to encourage discussion and constructive feedback. Any submission that is uploaded with author’s identifying information will not be considered for review and will automatically be disqualified.

Eligibility

• Projects must be actively in progress—data collection, analysis, or writing should be underway.
• Submissions must include sufficient detail for reviewers to evaluate scholarly potential (see below under Submission Requirements for further details).
• Completed papers or those under review elsewhere are not eligible.

Presentation

• Research-in-progress will be accepted for in-person presentation, and registration for the conference will be required.
• You do not have to be a current member to submit.
• Participating DIGs will decide on presentation format for accepted Research-in-Progress submissions.

Submission Requirements

• Abstract (75 words or fewer)
• Proposal of 1,000–1,500 words (PDF preferred, Word accepted) outlining:
  • Purpose and significance
  • Theoretical framework and/or literature grounding
  • Research questions and/or hypotheses
  • Methodology
  • Expected contributions to the field of communication or media studies
  • Preliminary results or findings
  • Areas needing feedback that would benefit the research project
  • References, tables, and figures (not part of word count).
• Labeling & Submission
  • Select “Research in Progress” in the AEJMC Submission Portal.
  • Clearly include “Research in Progress: [Your Paper Title]” in the title and on the title page.
  • Anonymize all files—remove identifying author information.
  • Each submission may be sent to only one participating Division, Interest Group, or Commission.
• Review & Eligibility
  • Submissions will be evaluated using criteria specific to Research-in-Progress projects, distinct from full paper reviews.
  • While these submissions are not eligible for AEJMC-wide or DIG Top Paper Awards, they may receive Top Research-in-Progress recognition at the DIG level.

Additional Guidelines

• All submissions must follow AEJMC’s 2026 Uniform Paper Guidelines and reflect best practices in accounting for diverse perspectives as applicable to the field.
• Adhere to AEJMC’s policy on AI usage.

Important Dates

• Submission deadline: 11:59 p.m. CDT, April 1, 2026
• Notification of acceptance: May 20, 2026

AEJMC 2026 Conference Paper Competition

Division & Interest Group Research Paper Calls

AEJMC invites submissions of original research papers to our Divisions and Interest Groups (DIG) to be presented at our 2026 Conference in New Orleans, LA, August 5-8, 2026. Specific requirements, including limits on paper length, are outlined in each Division’s and Interest Group’s (DIG) individual calls. The AEJMC Uniform Call will apply to ALL AEJMC group competitions. See the complete DIG calls.

AEJMC Policy on Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In the fall of 2025, AEJMC members approved a resolution on Ethical Use of AI for Research, Teaching, and Professionalism (adopted October 6, 2025). To execute the resolution, AEJMC offers the following principles and guidelines for AI use in AEJMC journal submissions, conference papers, and reviews of manuscripts submitted to journals and conferences.

Definitions

• AI – Digital tools using Artificial (i.e., non-human) Intelligence (whether generative, assistive, agentic, or some future form as-yet unnamed). For purposes of this policy, AI use includes both standalone AI tools and AI-enabled features embedded within commonly used software (e.g., document editors, data analysis programs, or file viewers). 

• Author – Any creator of content (whether textual, visual, audio) in any form (e.g., conference manuscript, journal article submission, chart, figure, photograph, video, review of other authors’ works, etc.). Includes all co-authors of specific content, even when singular form is used.

AEJMC Core Values

• Accountability

• Fidelity and truth-telling

• Justice

• Caring

Principles for AI Use

• Disclosure – Author must disclose their use of AI, in any and all ways, including if such tools contribute to content development, analysis, or interpretation.

• Transparency – Author must be fully transparent in their use of AI, including disclosure of tools, purposes, and the nature of assistance provided, whether AI is accessed through standalone platforms or embedded features within other software.

• Replicability – Author’s transparent disclosures of AI use should be sufficiently detailed to permit replicability.

• Assessability – Author’s transparent disclosures of AI use should be sufficiently detailed to permit others to fully assess the appropriateness, quality, and impact of such use.

• Responsibility – Author retains responsibility for any unintended or unforeseen consequences that may result from their AI use (e.g., fabrication, falsification, plagiarism), regardless of whether AI use was direct or mediated through embedded software features.  

Examples of AI Use Necessitating Disclosure & Considerations of Appropriateness

• Gathering and synthesizing previously published information, stopping short of using AI-enabled tools to draft large amounts of text

• Identifying patterns, trends, or gaps in existing bodies of literature for the purpose of informing research questions or study design

• Data coding or analysis (e.g., via an AI platform or tools positioned as AI within legacy data analytics software such as SPSS, R, SAS, Atlas.TI, QDA Miner)

• Creation of research instruments (e.g., photos and videos serving as experimental stimuli)

• Using AI to direct-translate large amounts of text from one language to another

Disallowed AI Use

• Uploading the unpublished work of other authors without prior permission in ways that expose the content to actual or potential training of AI tools

• Using AI-enabled tools or software features that expose the unpublished work of other authors to external systems or third-party processing without the authors’ prior permission, including when such features are embedded within commonly used software platforms

Policy Implementation

• Conference and journal submission systems may require authors to affirm disclosure of AI use as part of the submission process (e.g., a checkbox).

• Authors should disclose AI use in ways that maximize attention to the disclosure (e.g., in the manuscript’s methods section if AI used for data collection/analysis; in a footnote at the start of the abstract if AI used to meet abstract word-count limits, in a note at the bottom of a table or figure created using AI). 

• Failure to provide accurate disclosure may constitute a policy violation.

• Authors are also strongly encouraged to consult the AI policies of publishers to whom they intend to submit their work. 

Potential Consequences of AI Policy Violation

• Rejection and disqualification of author’s manuscript submission from AEJMC conference or AEJMC-affiliated journal

• Two-year suspension of author’s privilege to submit authored work to AEJMC conference or AEJMC-affiliated journal

• Accurate and limited responses to official employer queries, as recommended by AEJMC legal counsel

Additional Resources

AEJMC’s 2025 Resolution on AI

AEJMC Code of Ethics, Research

The APA’s guidelines

Taylor and Francis’ guidelines

Sage’s guidelines

Accessing the Paper Submission Site as an AEJMC Member

Access the Submission Site

• Visit the AEJMC Paper Competition Submission Site
• Log in using your AEJMC Community credentials.

 Start a New Submission

• Click Start Application on the homepage.
• Select your Submitter Type.
• Select your Submitter Category, then choose the Division/Interest Group (DIG) to which you are submitting.
• Review and accept the License Agreement Terms.
• Enter your Submission Title.
• Enter your Submission Abstract (maximum 75 words).
• Click Save and Next.

 Add Co-Authors (if applicable)

• Add all co-authors. You will need each co-author’s:
  • First and last name
  • Email address
  • Institutional affiliation
• Indicate whether each co-author is a Presenter or Non-Presenter
• Click Save or Save and Next after all co-authors are entered.

 Complete Required Checklists and Statements

• Complete the Submission Upload Checklist (all items must be checked to proceed).
• Review and agree to the Author Acknowledgement and Compliance Statement.
• Click Save or Save and Next.

 Upload and Finalize Your Submission

• Upload your proposal file.
• Click Save and Finalize to complete your submission.

 Confirmation

• You will receive an email confirmation once your submission has been successfully finalized.

Accessing the Paper Submission Site as a First-Time User

Create Your AEJMC Profile (First-Time Users Only)

Complete this step only if you have never logged into the AEJMC membership system.

• Go to Create a Submission Account
• Complete the required fields and click Sign Up.
• You are not joining the association — this only creates your submission profile.
• Complete the registration process and click Return Home.
• Use these credentials to log into the submission portal (see Access the submission site).

 Access the Submission Site

• Visit the AEJMC Paper Competition Submission Site
• Log in using your AEJMC Community credentials.

 Start a New Submission

• Click Start Application on the homepage.
• Select your Submitter Type.
• Select your Submitter Category, then choose the Division/Interest Group (DIG) to which you are submitting.
• Review and accept the License Agreement Terms.
• Enter your Submission Title.
• Enter your Submission Abstract (maximum 75 words).
• Click Save and Next.

 Add Co-Authors (if applicable)

• Add all co-authors. You will need each co-author’s:
  • First and last name
  • Email address
  • Institutional affiliation
• Indicate whether each co-author is a Presenter or Non-Presenter
• Click Save or Save and Next after all co-authors are entered.

 Complete Required Checklists and Statements

• Complete the Submission Upload Checklist (all items must be checked to proceed).
• Review and agree to the Author Acknowledgement and Compliance Statement.
• Click Save or Save and Next.

 Upload and Finalize Your Submission

• Upload your proposal file.
• Click Save and Finalize to complete your submission.

 Confirmation

• You will receive an email confirmation once your submission has been successfully finalized.