The fourth OD conference focuses on, but is not limited to, the following topics:
- current research on online deliberation;
- research challenges which deliberation, and in particular online deliberation, pose for researchers, governments, communities and citizens;
- socio-technical design of online deliberative spaces;
- links between theories of deliberative democracy with experience with online deliberation;
- descriptions of tools and techniques that are already being tested or fielded;
- deliberative platforms using novel or unusual settings, technology or approaches;
- experiences and findings related to relevant technological theories (such as Web 2.0) and/or relevant social theories of deliberation and governance (such as public sphere, government 2.0 and civic intelligence); and
- case studies in applying and evaluating online deliberation in various formal and informal engagement domains.
Special Issue of Journal of Information Technology & Politics
Conference participants are invited to submit their papers to a peer-review process for publication in a special issue of the Journal of Information Technology & Politics (www.jitp.net) connected with the conference. The special issue will focus on the development of online deliberation research and the future directions of the field.
Guidelines for papers and other submissions
The conference allows for four distinct types of submissions:
- Research papers
- Exploratory papers on ongoing research and innovative projects
- Technology demonstrators
- Panels on pertinent issues
Research papers
These papers should have a strong focus on scientific rigour and may be a maximum of 10 pages. Papers in this track will be peer reviewed for rigour, relevance, originality and clarity of presentation. Abstracts or incomplete papers will not be accepted.Exploratory papers
These papers describe novel concepts, works-in-progress, reflections, manifestos or other ideas and issues that are not currently suitable for a complete research paper. They may be a maximum of 5 pages. Papers in this section will also be peer reviewed, but the focus is on relevance more than scientific rigour.Technology Demonstrators
Proposals for technology demonstrators (two pages) should include a description, objectives, examples of testing and application and, if possible, a URL where the technology can be viewed.Panels
Proposals for panels (two pages) should include motivation, objectives, expected outcomes, approach to audience interaction and panel members. Panels are currently planned to be 1.5 hours long.All submissions must be made via the conference submission system web site. Submissions should be written in English and foreign speakers are encouraged to have their submissions reviewed for language prior to submission. Submissions should be formatted using 11 point Times-Roman font on A4 sized paper. Accepted research and exploratory papers should be revised according to reviewer comments and resubmitted by the deadline.