Research Guides: Research publishing : where to publish: Publishing a conference paper

What are conference papers?

A conference paper can be written while research is ongoing. It can present preliminary results and gain informal feedback to use in your research.
Conference papers are typically shorter than journal articles, with less details and fewer references.
Papers from a conference may be collated into the conference proceedings.
Conference proceedings may be published as a book (with an assigned ISBN), special issue of a journal, or a serial (with an assigned ISSN).
Research papers are more likely to be published in conference proceedings than in journal titles.
In many disciplines conference publications are not considered as highly as other forms of dissemination. Discipline practices and the quality of the conference and conference publications should be a consideration when attending a conference.

Find conference calls for papers

Upcoming conferences or calls for papers may be found online at:

Subject or discipline-specific information may also be available:

Turn your conference paper into a journal article

If a conference proceeding is not published, rework the paper and publish it as a journal article.
Some journals may also accept previously published conference papers, with revision.
Also ensure that copyright has not been assigned to the conference organizers. It may be necessary to obtain written permission from the copyright holder to re-publish in a journal title.

Evaluate the quality of the conference

Discipline practices and the quality of the conference and conference publications should be a consideration when attending a conference.

Some factors to consider when evaluating quality include the:

Impact factor of the conference proceeding (Check the conference proceeding in Scopus or Web of Science)
History or longevity of the conference
Relationship to industry
Submission and acceptance rates
Think Check Attend includes a searchable Conference Checker