Track Submission Guidelines: Selected abstracts will have the opportunity to be presented as oral or poster presentations at the 2026 MAS Convention in Chicago, IL (link). Submittors must be able and willing to present in-person at the convention if their abstract is selected for presentation. The convention will not provide any financial assistance or letters of invitation (for visas) to presenters of accepted abstracts.

Abstract submission guidelines are outlined below. Abstracts that do not meet these guidelines will not be reviewed. Authors must disclose non-financial and financial conflicts of interest during the submission process.

New Guidelines for 2026 (Please Read Carefully): 

Research Highlights and Societal Impact:

The audience at the conference is a mix of the general public and researchers from multiple disciplines. Therefore, all accepted submissions must include a single slide titled “Research Highlights Section” at the beginning of the presentation and a single slide titled “Societal Impact Section” at the end of the presentation. These sections must be written in plain and easy to understand language for the general public.

The Research Highlights Section must include 3 to 5 bullet points summarizing the most important contributions of the research, such as study objectives, main methods, and major findings or contributions.

The Societal Impact Section must include 3 to 5 bullet points on why the findings of the research are relevant, practical, and important for the American Muslim community and society at large.

3 Full-day Sessions: Building on the amazing turnout in 2025, there will be 3 full days of sessions for this track (last year it was 2 days only).

Registration: Presenters of accepted abstracts are required to register for the Convention by purchasing a regular attendee ticket on their own. This registration provides presenters full access to all Convention activities, in addition to the opportunity to present their research.

Student Session: Students at all levels of education are encouraged to apply this year. Depending on the number of submissions received, there may be a “Student Session” with opportunity for feedback from experienced researchers.

Word limit: 250 words

Abstract format: Structured abstract with the following headings: Background/Introduction, Objectives/Aims, Methods, Results, Conclusions.

Authorship: All submissions are expected to follow as closely as possible the authorship guidelines from the ICMJE (link, Section 2: Who is an Author?).

Review criteria: Submitted abstracts will be screened by the Research Track Committee to ensure they are in scope and follow submission guidelines. Approved abstracts will be reviewed by a committee of scholars for being purposeful, collaborative, or practical research that benefits the American Muslim community. Corresponding authors of accepted abstracts will be contacted by the Research Track Committee based on the timeline below. 

Artificial Intelligence Tools and Technologies

The guidelines below are  based on a similar policy at PLOS One.

The Research Track Committee expects that submissions (abstract and presentation/poster content) should report the listed authors’ own work and ideas. Any contributions made by other sources must be clearly and correctly attributed.

Contributions by artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies to a submission’s contents must be clearly reported in a dedicated section in the submission (a separate slide for oral presentations and the Methods Section for poster presentations). This section should include the name(s) of any tools used, a description of how the authors used the tool(s) and evaluated the validity of the tool’s outputs, and a clear statement of which aspects of the submission, submission contents, data, or supporting files were affected/generated by AI tool usage.

In cases where Large Language Model (LLM) AI tools or technologies contribute to generating text content for a submission, the submission’s authors are responsible for ensuring that:

• the content is accurate and valid,
• there are no concerns about potential plagiarism,
• all relevant sources are cited, 
• all statements in the submission reporting hypotheses, interpretations, results, conclusions, limitations, and implications of the study represent the authors’ own ideas.
• The use of AI tools and technologies to fabricate or otherwise misrepresent primary research data is unacceptable.

Noncompliance with any aspect of this policy will be considered misrepresentation of methods, contributions, and/or results. If concerns arise about noncompliance with this policy, the Research Track Committee may notify the authors’ institution(s) and may reject (pre-acceptance), retract (post-acceptance), or publish an editorial notice on the submission.

Important Dates

• Submissions due – October 2, 2026 (11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time)
• Notification of acceptance – November 9, 2026 
• Research Track sessions at the MAS Conference are planned for December 26, 27 and 28, 2026.
• Due dates are subject to change. Please check this website for the most up-to-date information.

All submissions must be through the link below. Submissions after the due date will not be reviewed (no exceptions).

Submit your abstract at this URL: https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/82883/submitter You must create an account on the submission platform website to submit your abstract. Questions related to the submission process can be directed to Dr. Ayaz Hyder at researchconference@mascon.org.