Frequently Asked Questions
I have never been to Quint State or any other conference on Human Development/Family Studies. What should I expect?
I have never presented at Quint State or any other conference. How do I know if what I have prepared is good enough?
Can I present something that I have previously presented at another conference?
How important is it to address the conference theme in my proposal?
What if I do not know if my schedule will permit me to attend or present at the Quint State conference?
Who will I be staying with at Quint State?
What should I wear to Quint State?
Other questions?
- Quint State is similar to other academic conferences in that there are keynote addresses, professional development workshops, and various concurrent session in which students and faculty present and discuss their research projects, provide feedback, and network. However, Quint State is a unique experience for the following reasons: (1) graduate students are the primary organizers and participants at the conference, (2) the entire conference is designed to be free for participants (i.e., no registration fees, housing and meals are provided), (3) Quint State exclusively involves graduate students from five universities, which limits the field of participants to students who are having similar experiences in their graduate training.
I have never presented at Quint State or any other conference. How do I know if what I have prepared is good enough?
- Students are encouraged to submit work at any stage of development to whatever format sounds preferable. If you enjoy speaking to a group using PowerPoint or Prezi, you are encouraged to submit your work as a paper presentation. If you would prefer to prepare a graphic display of your work for people to come look at while you stand back and answer questions, you can choose the poster presentation format. If you would like to present and get feedback on an idea and for a Master's Thesis, Doctoral Dissertation, or any other project you are working on, you may want to submit your proposal as a roundtable format. Regardless of which format you choose, we hope that you are willing to share your work with us. Note: Quint State is an inclusive, non-competitive conference, meaning that there are no scoring procedures involved and that all coherent submissions will be accepted to the conference.
Can I present something that I have previously presented at another conference?
- Participants may present whatever they would like, as long as it is deemed suitable for the conference and fits one of the presentation formats (i.e., roundtable discussion, paper presentation, or poster). If, for example, you presented a paper or poster at a conference like NCFR or SRCD and would like to share the same presentation at Quint State, you are by all means invited to do so.
How important is it to address the conference theme in my proposal?
- The conference theme will be used to deliver a cohesive message and highlight the various on-going research projects in the Child and Family Studies (CFS) department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Conference participants should not feel the need to address the conference theme in their proposals or presentations. However, if you see ways to incorporate the conference theme into your proposal, you are encouraged to do so.
What if I do not know if my schedule will permit me to attend or present at the Quint State conference?
- We are willing to do anything and everything we can to accommodate the various needs of those who would like to attend the conference. However, we are utilizing registration and submission deadlines so that we can be prepared and plan ahead for everyone to have free housing. We are willing to accept late participants, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet their needs when it comes to housing and food.
Who will I be staying with at Quint State?
- Because the CFS department at UTK is slightly smaller than its counterparts at the other universities participating at Quint State, we have asked our faculty to also be willing to host participants. Whatever the case is, we will do our best to meet the needs you may have based on your responses on the registration form.
What should I wear to Quint State?
- Participants are encouraged to dress comfortably, but also professionally. In particular, the Friday portion of the conference will be slightly more formal than the Saturday morning portion. In general, business and business casual attire should be appropriate for the conference.
Other questions?
- Please contact Rhett Billen at [email protected]