Abstract management software is the system a scientific society uses to receive abstracts for its meetings, send them through peer review, record the scientific committee's decisions and publish the accepted work as proceedings. In Assocializa, association management software by Softaliza, abstract management is part of the Premium plan (USD 200 per month), and it works with the same event page, registration with member pricing and check-in as the rest of your meeting.
This guide explains how the process works, how to choose between single-blind and double-blind review and what to check before you choose a tool.
What abstract management software does
A call for abstracts has more moving parts than it seems. The society publishes the rules, collects submissions, keeps reviewers from seeing what they should not see, records decisions, tells authors the outcome and turns the accepted work into proceedings, usually while registration for the same meeting is open.
Abstract management software puts these stages in one place:
- Submission: authors send their abstracts online, through the event page, instead of by email.
- Review: reviewers evaluate each abstract under a blind review model.
- Decision: the scientific committee approves the abstracts that will be presented.
- Publication: the approved abstracts are compiled into the proceedings.
When abstract management lives in the same platform as your events and member records, the call for abstracts, registration and check-in stop being spread across forms, inboxes and spreadsheets.
Why email and spreadsheets break down
Many societies still run their call for abstracts by email: a submission address, a shared spreadsheet and attachments forwarded to reviewers. It works until it does not.
- Attachments get lost, renamed or sent twice, and nobody is sure which version is final.
- Reviewers receive files with the authors' names on them, so the review is not really blind.
- The committee chases reviewers by email to find out where each abstract stands.
- Someone copies and pastes every accepted abstract into a document to build the proceedings.
Each step depends on one person remembering to do it. Abstract management software turns these steps into a process that runs the same way every year, whoever is on the committee.
How abstract management works in Assocializa
Abstract management is part of the Premium plan. Premium includes everything in the Advanced plan, so your event already has its own page, online registration and automatic member pricing.
- Create the event. The event gets its own page in your association's platform, with the information authors and attendees need.
- Agree on the rules. Before opening the call, define topics, word limit, presentation formats and the submission deadline, decide between single-blind and double-blind review and publish the rules on the event page.
- Open submissions. Authors submit their abstracts through the event page.
- Run the blind review. Reviewers evaluate the abstracts in the platform, under the review model you chose, instead of over email.
- Committee approval. The scientific committee looks at the reviews and approves the abstracts that will be presented.
- Generate the proceedings. The proceedings are generated as a PDF from the approved abstracts, ready to share with members and attendees.
- Registration and check-in. Attendees register on the same event page, members get the member price automatically and your team checks people in at the event.
Single-blind or double-blind review: how to choose
Both models are common in scientific peer review, and Assocializa supports both.
Single-blind review
In single-blind review, reviewers know who the authors are, but authors do not know who reviewed their work. It is simpler to run and common in small or very specialized fields, where reviewers would often recognize the research group anyway.
Double-blind review
In double-blind review, neither side knows the identity of the other. It reduces the weight of names and institutions in the evaluation, which matters when early-career researchers compete with well-known groups for a limited number of oral presentations or prizes.
Double-blind review only works if the abstract itself does not give the authors away. Ask authors to leave names, institutions, acknowledgments and phrases such as "in our previous study" out of the text they submit.
A practical rule
If your meeting awards prizes for the best abstracts, or if your committee has heard concerns about bias, double-blind review is usually worth the extra care. If your field is small and anonymity is hard to keep, single-blind review keeps the process simple and transparent.
Registration with member pricing and check-in
The call for abstracts is only half of a scientific meeting. The other half is getting people to the event, and this is where the connection with your member records pays off.
- Automatic member pricing. Members log in with the same account they use in the member portal and see the member price. Everyone else sees the standard price.
- One event page. Submissions, registration and event information live in the same place.
- Calendar and reminders. The event appears in the integrated calendar, with reminders.
- Certificates in the member portal. Members find their certificates next to their receipts and their digital membership card.
- Check-in. On Premium, your team checks attendees in at the event, so you know who actually came.
We cover registration in detail in our guide to event registration software with member pricing.
Abstract management vs. conference management software
The two terms overlap, but they are not the same:
- Conference management software covers the whole event: the event page, registration and payments, communication with attendees and check-in.
- Abstract management software covers the scientific part: submissions, review, committee decisions and proceedings.
Assocializa Premium brings the two together for the meetings a society runs in its own platform, such as an annual meeting, a symposium or a regional course: the event page, registration with automatic member pricing, abstract management, proceedings as a PDF, certificates in the member portal and check-in.
For large congresses that need a dedicated event website, an event app, live streaming and proceedings with DOI, ISSN or ISBN, Softaliza also offers a separate event platform for congresses.
What to check before you choose
- Both review models. Your committee should be able to choose single-blind or double-blind review.
- Committee approval in the system. Decisions should be recorded where the abstracts are, not in a separate spreadsheet.
- Proceedings without copy and paste. The proceedings should be generated from the approved abstracts.
- Connection to registration. Authors and attendees should register on the same event page, with member pricing applied automatically.
- Check-in. You need to know who attended, not only who registered.
- Languages. If your authors come from several countries, check which languages the platform offers. The Assocializa web platform, including the member portal and the admin area, is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
- Predictable cost. Check whether the price changes as your membership grows. Assocializa plans have a fixed monthly price, whatever the number of members.
What it costs
Abstract management is part of the Premium plan, USD 200 per month. Premium includes everything in Essential and Advanced, plus abstract management, event proceedings, event check-in, the Academy for recorded courses and learning paths, a native iOS and Android app with your association's name and icon, and a REST API.
Every plan includes human support, hosting, updates, data migration and a dedicated WhatsApp group with our team. There is no setup fee and no lock-in: you can cancel with 30 days' notice and export your data in an open format. Compare all plans in our pricing section.
Softaliza was founded in 2019 at the technology incubator of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), in Brazil. More than 200 organizations work with us, from the World Academy of Neurological Surgery and the Latin American Thyroid Society to national medical and scientific societies in Brazil such as SBOC, SBI and SBNI. Meet our customers.
See it before your next call for abstracts
Watch the demo: the complete presentation of Assocializa, plan by plan, including Premium.