Papers present significant contributions to research, development and practice in all areas of the field of human-computer interaction. All papers are presented at the CHI Conference, and appear in the CHI Proceedings which are published as an issue in ACM's archival CHI Letters series. The CHI Proceedings are read and cited worldwide. They have wide impact on the development of HCI principles, theories, and techniques, and on their practical application. Consequently, papers undergo a rigorous review process.

Types of Contribution

As an interdisciplinary conference, CHI accepts the following types of contributions:

• Design Briefings. Accounts of the design (rationale, process, outcomes and evaluation) of an innovative application or system.
• Interaction Technologies. A new technique, device, or other component of the user interface.
• Interactive Systems: Descriptions of the architecture, interface and evaluation of a new interactive system.
• Methodologies and Tools. New methods, processes, techniques, and tools for use in interactive system design, development and deployment.
• Reflective Analyses: Thought-provoking, well substantiated analyses of HCI issues.
• Results from Fieldwork and Ethnography. Findings, guidelines, etc. from studies of real world settings, or of technology use in such settings, with clear relevance to the design and deployment of interactive systems.
• Results from Laboratory Studies: Findings, techniques, methods, etc. from controlled studies of systems, techniques, and other phenomena relevant to HCI.
• Theories and Models: Descriptions and evaluation of HCI theories, models and other formal approaches.

In all cases, a paper must break new ground and its contribution must offer a clear benefit.

The form and content of submitted papers must be acceptable as received. All papers are assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Contribution and Benefit. A paper must make a clear contribution to an identified area of HCI. It should be evident how general the contribution is, and how the audience to which the paper is addressed will benefit. Papers making one clear, significant contribution are more likely to be accepted than papers making several lesser contributions.
2. Validity. To benefit from its contribution, a paper's readers must be able to make use of its results with confidence. Thus, the paper must provide evidence of the validity of its results. Methods for establishing validity vary depending on the nature of the contribution. They may involve empirical work in the laboratory or the field, the description of rationales for design decisions and approaches, applications of analytical techniques, or proof of concept system implementations.
3. Originality. The paper must cite previously published work. It should show both how it builds on previous contributions, and how, where and why it goes beyond what is currently known.
4. Clarity. The paper must be clearly and concisely written, with appropriate use of tables and figures.

Review Process

Paper submissions are reviewed by HCI researchers and practitioners who have been screened for appropriate experience and expertise. Each paper's review is managed by an Associate Chair. First, papers are reviewed by 4 to 6 reviewers. Second, the Associate Chair writes a meta- review that typically recommends acceptance or rejection based on the reviews received. Third, recommendations are reviewed at a 2-day program committee meeting; in cases where a paper has received widely divergent reviews, it is read and discussed by Associate Chairs with appropriate expertise before the final decision is made.

Mentoring is available for less-experienced authors, or for authors who have never submitted to CHI before. If you wish to request a mentor, please see the description of the mentoring program and contact the Mentoring Liaisons no later than June 7, 2002.

In addition to basic information, this section provides detailed information about the very significant changes in the CHI papers process, including the requirement to submit an abstract in advance of the paper, changes in the blind review policy, and the contribution and benefits statement.

Separate, Mandatory Abstract Submission

To provide extra time for paper preparation, CHI 2003 requires submission of abstracts (and other information including title, authors, affiliations, and keywords) a week before the papers submission deadline. This submission of abstracts, etc. is mandatory; papers which have not had abstracts submitted in advance will NOT be accepted. The abstract in the submitted paper need not correspond exactly to the previously submitted abstract, and the title can be changed later; the rest of the information will be used to assign your paper to reviewers, so it is to your benefit to be as complete and accurate as possible.

Blind Reviewing / Paper Anonymity

The CHI 2003 review process will continue with blind reviewing. However, the intent is to support a relaxed model, rather than continue with the attempt to conceal all traces of identity from the body of the paper. The goal of blind reviewing is to enable those who wish for an anonymous review to be so reviewed, while allowing those who feel that aspects of their personal or institutional identity are integral to their work to so construct their papers.

Thus, authors are expected to remove author and institutional identities from the title and header areas of the paper, as noted in the submission instructions. Further suppression of identity in the body of the paper is left to the authors' discretion. Authors who wish to further anonymize their submissions may find these guidelines helpful.

Contribution and Benefit Statements

CHI 1999 began a process of emphasizing the contribution and benefits of papers; CHI 2002 introduced the idea of including short 30 word statements of each paper's contributions and benefits in the Table of Contents of the CHI Proceedings. CHI 2003 continues both of these initiatives. CHI authors are expected to develop a 30-word contribution and benefits statement (hereafter the C&B statement) for their paper. This statement will be entered when the paper is submitted, and will be seen and assessed by reviewers along with the paper, and, for accepted papers, will be edited for clarity and accuracy by the Chairs and Associate Chairs of the Papers Committee, as the final C&B statement will appear in the Table of Contents of the CHI Proceedings. See the Guide to Successful Papers for more information on C&B Statements, and see the Table of Contents of the CHI 2002 Proceedings to view examples of C&B statements.

CHI Paper Format

Each paper must be in the Conference Publications Format. Papers must be absolutely no longer than eight pages, including references, appendices, and figures. They must include title, sufficient space for the author names, contacts and affiliations, abstract, keywords, body, and references. The abstract must be 150 words or less and must be included in the paper; it must clearly state the paper’s contribution to the field of HCI. All references must be complete, accurate, accessible to the HCI public, and conform to the Conference Publications Format.

Note that the process of producing a PDF file of your submission can sometimes cause changes in the length of the papers. Authors are advised to generate and check PDFs of their submissions to verify that their final submission stays within the length (8 pages) and file size (4 megabytes) limits of the papers submission process.

Color and Video Figures

Color figures must be provided on separate pages at the end of the manuscript and are included in the page count. Paper acceptance does not guarantee publication of a color figure.

The paper may be accompanied by a short video figure up to two minutes in length. However, the paper should stand on its own without the video figure, as the video may not be available to everyone who reads the paper. Acceptance of a paper does not guarantee acceptance of a video figure.

To Produce and Test PDF Files

We recommend that you produce a PDF version of your submission well before the final deadline. Besides making sure that you are able to produce a PDF, you will need to check that (a) the length of the file remains 8 pages or less, (b) the PDF file size is 4 megabytes or less, and (c) that the file can be read and printed using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Test your PDF file by viewing or printing it with the same software we will use when we receive it, Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 5. This is widely used and available at no cost from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html. Note that documents containing non-North American or non-European fonts (e.g. Asian fonts) can not be read with the version of Acrobat that will be used by most reviewers. Please do not use Asian fonts, and verify this by testing with a North American/European version of Acrobat reader (obtainable as above). Something as minor as including a space or punctuation character in a two-byte font can render a file unreadable.

Please consult the information on Producing and Testing PDFs. If you do not currently have software to make PDF files, you can obtain shareware software to do this from http://www.this.net/~frank/pstill.html or http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost as well as commercial software Adobe Acrobat, from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html.

Confidentiality of Submissions

The confidentiality of your submission will be maintained throughout the review process.

Submission Requirements

• Your submission must be original work. It can not have been published elsewhere; nor can it be under concurrent review for publication by another conference or journal.
• Your submission must conform to the CHI Papers format.
• Your submission must be in the PDF file format, and be no larger than 4 megabytes in size.
• Your submission must be in English.
• Submissions should contain no information or materials that will be proprietary or confidential at the time of publication, and should cite no publications that are proprietary or confidential at the time of publication.
• Submissions arriving after the deadline will never be considered.
• Your abstract must be submitted no later that 5pm, your local time, on Monday, September 16, 2002 at the CHI 2003 Submission web page. Abstract submission is mandatory; papers that have not had abstracts submitted for them will not be accepted.
• Your complete paper must be submitted by no later than 5pm, your local time, on Monday, September 23, 2002 at the CHI 2003 Submission web page. It must be in PDF format. If you are unable to produce PDF files by any of the methods described below, you must contact the paper chairs by September 1, 2002, to explore alternative means of submissions.

Failure to meet any of these requirements are grounds for the rejection of your submission without further review.

All abstracts and papers must be submitted via the CHI 2003 Electronic Submission Web Page. Submissions of abstracts and papers will not be accepted by mail, fax or email.

Abstracts and related information (title, authors, authors' affiliations, and keywords) are due 16 September, 2002, by 5pm your local time. This deadline is mandatory; papers without abstracts, etc. submitted by this date will not be accepted. Abstracts,etc. must be entered as text at the submission web site.

Full papers, contribution and benefits statements, and the final version of the paper's title is due 23 September, 2002, by 5pm your local time.Papers must be submitted in the PDF file format, and must be no larger than 4 megabytes in size. If you are unable to produce PDF files by any of the methods described elsewhere on this site, you must contact the paper chairs by September 1, 2002, to explore alternative means of submission.

Video Figures

CHI 2003 requires that video figures accompanying a paper be submitted separately on video tape; we do not support submission of digital video. If your paper has an accompanying video figure, be sure to check the box for an accompanying video figure when you electronically submit your paper, note your submission number on the videotape, and send the video-tape, along with a printout of the submission summary page you obtained from the electronic submission web site, to arrive at the conference office by 23 September 2002, 17:00 (5:00 p.m. EST):

CHI 2003 Conference Office
401 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
USA
Tel: +1 312 321-4096

Notification Date

Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by email sent on or before November 15, 2002. Authors of accepted papers will have until January 10, 2003 to submit a final, publication-ready version.

Preparing Publication-Ready Copy

Papers that are accepted will need to be revised before publication. The primary author of each paper will receive an Author's Kit with instructions on how to prepare and submit publication-ready copy.

Note that:

• Papers will not be published without signed copyright release forms.
• Responsibility for permissions to use video, audio, or pictures of identifiable people rests with the author, not CHI 2003.

Authors will present their work in a scheduled session with other papers. Presentations of papers are generally 28 minutes (a 20-minute talk and 8 minutes for questions).

Your paper will become and remain accessible to thousands of computing researchers and practitioners world-wide as part of the ACM Digital Library.

Well in advance of the deadline

• If you wish to request a mentor, please see the description of the mentoring program and contact the Mentoring Liaisons no later than June 7, 2002.
• Read the Conference Overview, CHI Submissions: Process & Formats, and the Guide to Successful Papers Submission.
• If your paper submission contains a video figure, read the additional information on video submissions on this web site.
• Generate a test PDF file of your submission and check it as described above.

Prepare and submit your abstract

• Write the 150-word abstract, clearly stating the paper's contribution to HCI.
• Submit the text of your abstract, and your title, authors, authors' affiliations, and keywords by 5pm (your local time) 16 September 2002 at the CHI 2003 Electronic Submission Web Page: https://precisionconference.com/~sigchi/cgi-bin/FormWizard?/templates/preLogin.tmpl.
• If you wish, you may also submit your paper at the same time.

Prepare and submit a video figure, if you have one

• If your submission includes a video figure, prepare up to 2 minutes of video suitable for publication, and see the instructions for video figures.
• Note that the video figure must be on video tape (digital submission is not supported), and must have been received by the CHI 2003 Conference office by 5pm EST on Monday, September 23, 2002, at the address given above.

Prepare and submit your paper and your contribution and benefits statement

• Prepare a version of your paper in the Conference Publications Format; note that the body of the paper must contain an abstract as per the CHI paper format guidelines.
• Make sure that the paper is anonymous, and conforms to the other submission requirements, as described above
• Create a PDF file of your paper that is no more than 4 megabytes in size (see instructions above).
• Test your PDF file (see instructions above).
• Prepare a 30 word contribution and benefits statement (described earlier); this will be entered when you upload the PDF of your paper
• Go to the CHI 2003 Electronic Submission Web Page:
  https://precisionconference.com/~sigchi/cgi-bin/FormWizard?/templates/preLogin.tmpl, and follow the instructions to submit the PDF file and contribution and benefit statement by 5pm (your local time) on Monday, September 23, 2002. You may also make final changes to your title, at this time.