FAQ

What is the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI)?

It is a congress held annually at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Its mission is to facilitate the development of qualitative research methods across a wide variety of academic disciplines. In addition, it provides leadership to demonstrate the promise of qualitative inquiry as a form of democratic practice, to show how qualitative inquiry can be used to directly engage pressing social issues at the level of local, state, national and global communities.

Where is ICQI located?

ICQI is located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The vast majority of the Congress takes place at the Illini Union (1401 W Green St., Urbana, IL 61801) or Lincoln Hall (702 S. Wright St., Urbana, IL 61801). All locales are within a short walk of one another.

Where do I check in?

Check in at The Illini Union, located at 1401 West Green Street in Urbana, Illinois, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Registration hours will be 3-5 pm Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 5 pm Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 8am to noon Saturday.

What is the schedule of ICQI?

Wednesday is reserved for our Special Interest Groups (SIGs). On Thursday, workshops, poster sessions, keynote speeches, and a complimentary BBQ all take place. The General Congress takes place on Friday and Saturday (the majority of panels and presentations take place on these two days.)

How do I get to ICQI?

There are a variety of options to travel to Urbana-Champaign. You may fly into the Champaign airport (CMI). In the surrounding areas, there are the Chicago airports (ORD and MDW); Bloomington, IL airport (BMI); Indianapolis, IN airport (IND) and the St. Louis, MO airport (STL). They are all within 2.5 hours of Urbana-Champaign. You can rent a car to drive to Urbana-Champaign. You may also take a bus or train, such as Greyhound, Amtrak or MegaBus. This is only a short list of travel options and we do not endorse any company or mode of transportation for your arrival. You are responsible for your travel arrangements.

How do I get around Urbana-Champaign?

The Urbana-Champaign area has a public transportation system (http://www.cumtd.com/). You may also want to rent a car. Visit our local transit page for more information: https://icqi.org/travel/local-transit/

Where can I stay?

We have arranged to block hotel rooms at surrounding hotels in the area. Please see our page for more details about these arrangements: https://icqi.org/travel/hotel/

You are responsible for arranging your own accommodations. These options do change from year to year. If an option you booked in the past is not on this list, it indicates we were not able to renew reservations with that entity or company. We do not have any more information besides what is listed on our webpage.

Please use Google Maps (maps.google.com) to find out how far your hotel is from the UIUC campus and how you may get around.

Where can I eat?

The most important question! There are a variety of options in town. We recommend that you visit a variety of travel websites that list eating options, such as: http://wikitravel.org/en/Chambana#Eat.

The Illini Union has various eating options and its close proximity to Green Street in Campustown provides our delegates with a variety of options for eating. A good one option for vegans on campus is The Red Herring.

What languages are spoken at ICQI?

The official language of the Congress is English. We do have panels for our Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish speakers as well.

I have a disability, are there any available resources?

Please see the resources that UIUC provides: http://www.disability.illinois.edu/

We would be happy to coordinate with you to make your experience here as easy as possible. To ensure that we can accommodate your request, please make any requests by 1 March.

SUBMISSIONS

How do I submit to ICQI?

Please go to our webpage (https://icqi.org/home/submission/) and click on the submit button at the top of the page. It will direct you to our submission system. You will need to create a new account every year. Please note that how you enter your name, affiliation and university will be how it will appear in the program. For example, we do not assume that everyone capitalizes the first letter in his or her names, like bell hooks. Please review the submission guidelines on this webpage as well.

We would also like to note that when submitting, be sure to click on the “Accept & Continue” button at the bottom of every page until you no longer can. That will indicate that you have completed you submission. Failure to do so will result in your abstract not being submitted for review.

What do I need to submit for ICQI?

You need to submit a 150 word abstract. You do not need to submit a paper for submission or before the Congress.

How long are sessions?

Sessions are 75 minutes. Each presentation should be between 12-15 minutes. We strongly suggest reserving the remaining minutes for a question and answer session.

What are the dimensions of a poster presentation?

A poster should be no larger than 1.5 meters long x 1 meter wide.

What are the responsibilities of the chair?

A chair is responsible for brief introductions, timekeeping, and directing the Q&A session. We do not require anything further. We support the Q&A session as a means to bring the presentations together and to discuss the themes across the presentations.

Why can’t I access my account from last year?

Our accounts are reset every year. You may use last year’s Username and Password again, however.

How do I know I successfully submitted?

You will receive an email confirmation. Please make sure it does not go into your spam or junk folder.

What types of special requests can I make?

Special requests are available for people who need wheelchair access, sign language interpreters, or scheduling accommodations due to religious practices. Special requests are not for requesting A/V equipment or preference for scheduling your presentation. Please plan to attend for the full Congress.

What if I have a co-author?

After you enter your abstract information, you will be prompted to whether or not you would like to add a co-author. Enter their name in the search box in the bottom left corner and click “Search for Author”. If they have created an account, you may add them as a “Presenter” or a “Non-Presenting Co-Author” (the latter for if they are not able to come).

If your co-author(s) has not created an account for submission, you may add them by clicking on the “Add Unlisted Author” link on the bottom left of the page. You will be prompted to fill in their information for them. Be sure to enter it in correctly. When you click “Accept & Continue”, an email will be sent to your co-author(s) for them to create a username and password for their account. Inform them to review their information to ensure its accuracy.

You may also change the order of authors on the “Select Author(s) For” page. To do so, click on the “Up” or “Down” links. They are located for each author between the “Affiliation” and “Role” column.

Every presenter needs to register for ICQI.

Again, be sure to click on “Accept and Continue” on the bottom right until you reach your summary page. You will know it is the summary page when there is no “Accept and Continue” link in the bottom right corner of the page.

What if I need to edit my abstract or account before it is reviewed?

You may edit your abstract or account information by logging back in. You can edit your submission(s) by clicking on the “Submit or Edit a Submission” and selecting the submission you wish to edit. You will need to go through each page of the submission process and be sure to click on “Accept and Continue” until you no longer can. You may also select on the top header the page you would like to edit. Choose from “Individual/Panel Submission” or “Select Author”. Be sure to always click on the “Accept

and Continue” link at the bottom of every page.

From the main menu, you may edit your account information by clicking on the “Editing Personal Contact Information” link. Be sure to always click on the “Accept & Continue” link at the bottom right corner of the page.

In general, we do NOT recommend saving a draft of your submission. Only input your final submission.

What exactly is my affiliation?

In most cases, it will be your university and/or your department. We use affiliation for those who work for non-profit organizations, school boards and institutes. Independent scholars & artists can note their own specific affiliations.

Why can I not find my individual abstract as a panel participant in my All Academic account?

If you are not the session organizer of your panel, then you will not be able to find your abstract in your All Academic account. This is because you did not submit it, but rather your session organizer did. Your session organizer does have access to it and can verify that it has been submitted.

How do I submit a panel?

To submit a panel, click on “Submit or Edit a Submission” from the Main Menu of All Academic. Click on “Panel”. The next page will ask you to select your track and input your abstract. Click on “Accept & Continue”. The next page will prompt you to add each paper. You will input the title and abstract of the paper. Click on “Accept & Continue”. Select the author by searching for them by their last name on the left hand side of the webpage. The process for adding an author for a panel is the same as adding a co-author for an individual submission. Please reference that question for more information. Repeat until you have inputted every paper.

You may also add a chair, discussant or a panelist to your panel. If someone is a chair and a presenter, they NEED to be added twice: once as a chair and once as a presenter. You can move around the order of the papers, chairs and session organizers. Note that the session organizer is the one who submits the panel. This is different from the chair. You may have no more than five (5) participants and no less than four (4).

As the session organizer, you will be the only one able to review the submissions in your All Academic account. Please notify your panel participants that their submissions have been submitted as they will not be able to view them because they are not the ones who submitted. Furthermore, please share all correspondence you receive from ICQI with them as well.

How can I submit a roundtable? 

We welcome roundtable discussions. You must have four to five participants.

Can I submit a plenary performance?

Plenary performances are by invitation only.

May I do a performance piece?

You may, but you must do it within your allotted time slot of 12-15 minutes. We do not provide a stage, a microphone, or other audio equipment.

What if I am submitting to a Special Interest Group (SIG)?

You will use the same submission process as if you were submitting to the General Congress. There will be a “Track” you can select when inputting the initial information of your submission. Please note that you may submit each proposal only once. You cannot submit it to a SIG and the General Congress. Each SIG has its own coordinator who creates panels for ICQI. These submissions are not included in the preliminary program.

When will I hear back about my submission?

Provided that you submit by the 1 December deadline, you will hear from us by 15 December with a decision. If we open up submission on a rolling basis afterwards, it can take up to four weeks to receive a decision.

Do you index abstracts online?

Yes.

Why do I not see my submission in the preliminary program?

You may have submitted to a Special Interest Group (SIG). The preliminary program is for the General Congress only. SIG’s are organized by outside organizers. While a crucial aspect of ICQI, SIG’s operate with autonomy in relation to ICQI. You need to contact each respective organizer about your submission.

Another possible reason is that you submitted after the deadline. Therefore, it should be included in the following preliminary program or the final program.

What if I need a visa letter or a letter of acceptance?

If you need a visa letter or a letter of acceptance, you will be able to download it from your main menu in the All Academic submission system once you have been accepted. Each letter is assigned to one person. Therefore if your co-author needs a visa letter as well, it is CRITICAL that they create an account as well. If you need a visa letter or a letter of acceptance, you will need to submit as early as possible. As the congress gets closer, we are not always able to generate those letters in a timely fashion. Do not wait until the last second to review your visa letter and contact us immediately if there is an issue. Failure to do so may result in a delay to obtain your visa letter in time to obtain a visa from a U.S. consulate.

Your visa letter and letter of acceptance will use your personal information that you inputted into your All Academic account. Any errors will be reflected in your visa letter and letter of acceptance. Therefore, review your personal contact information to ensure its accuracy. ICQI will not be held responsible for errors on your part in your visa letter.

REGISTRATION

How do I register?

Go to our webpage: https://icqi.org/registration/ to register for ICQI once your abstract has been submitted. Be sure to note if you would like a certificate of participation and if you would like to participate in any of the workshops. You may also edit this information by clicking on the following link: View or Edit Your Registration.

When are registration hours?

Registration will be in the Pine Lounge of the Illini Union Registration during 3-5pm Tuesday, 8am to 5pm Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 8am to noon Saturday.

Can I register onsite?

It is possible to register onsite but not recommended: It is more expensive than registering in advance, takes more time than registering online, and certificates of participation will not be sent before the fall. You can register online, on our website, before you check-in (www.icqi.org/registration)

How much is registration?

Our fees are listed on our registration page: https://icqi.org/registration/

What if I need to cancel my registration?

In the unfortunate event that you must cancel, we will fully refund your fees for cancellations made BEFORE March 16. Starting March 16, a $40 fee will be charged. After April 1, no refunds will be made. After that date the program is finalized and the Congress expenses are made based on the number of registrations at that time.

Do I register as a student, guest, delegate or benefactor?

You may only register as a guest if you are the partner of a presenter and you do not present yourself. You will need a password from ICQI staff to register as such. If you would like to register as a guest, please email us at: [email protected] with the name of your registered partner and proof that they are already registered.

Students registering for the Congress will need to show their student ID. We define student as someone who has not defended their Ph.D. Please visit our registration page for further details about our rates.

Are there volunteering opportunities?

You may volunteer at ICQI in lieu of registration only if you are a UIUC doctoral student.

What does my registration include?

In addition to regular congress expenses like facilities, your registration also includes a copy of the International Review of Qualitative Research journal; the book, Qualitative Inquiry and the Politics of Research; a tote bag, and dinner at two BBQ’s.

How can I sign up for a workshop?

You can sign up for a workshop when you register for ICQI. You may add a workshop up until the day of the workshops. Workshops take place on the Thursday of the congress. The price on our registration page is for each workshop.

What forms of payment does ICQI accept?

ICQI accepts all major credit cards for registration. We do not accept checks. Cash and bank transfers are an option if credit card payment is not possible, and carry a $15 processing fee.

How can I obtain a registration confirmation?

You will receive an email with the subject “Registration Confirmation” . Please make sure your email server does not place it in your junk or spam folders.

How can I obtain a receipt for registration?

Many of our delegates require a receipt to be reimbursed by their universities or institutions. To obtain one, go to our registration page. Click on the “Register” button. Click on “View or Change Your Existing Registration”. Log in. Click on “View, Print, or Email Registration Record under Receipt”. Scroll down and click on the link that say “Receipt” under documents. A new tab or window will appear. Select whether you would like to print it or email it to someone. ICQI will not email or print your registration for you.

Can my institution or department pay for my registration directly?

Yes. They still need to pay via a credit card. However, you will need to provide them with all the necessary details for your registration: email address, password, Congress status (e.g., delegate, student, etc), your address, if you want a certificate of participation, whether you will attend either or both BBQ’s, and which workshops you would like to attend. In effect, they will register you for the Congress. Our RegOnline online platform does not permit us to accept payment outside of registration. We are not responsible for institutions or departments not registering you properly. However, we are happy to try and fix any errors made in your registration made by your department or institution.

What if I need a certificate of participation?

We are happy to provide certificates of participation. However, we do require that you register by 1 May, and check the “Certificate of Participation” box on the second page of registering with RegOnline (on the “Personal Information” step) so that we have time to prepare a certificate for you. If you register on site, this will create a delay in processing your certificate. As ICQI occurs at the beginning of UIUC’s summer semester, our office staff is limited in the summer to handle these requests. This may result in a delay in receiving your certificate into the middle of the summer to early fall.

Certificates of participation will only be distributed in person during check-in (or mailed to the late registrants who sign the certificate form during check-in). Certificates of participation will not be given to someone else, such as a friend or colleague, nor will they be mailed or e-mailed (except for late registrants who signed up during check-in). You must be present at the congress, not just registered, to obtain a certificate of participation. In addition, we will not accommodate requests for certificates of participation after the congress.

GENERAL

What equipment does ICQI provide?

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide any audio equipment for presentations. Each room will have an LCD projector.

How can I access the Internet?

We will have wifi access codes for delegates at the Congress.

Where can I print at ICQI?

ICQI staff will not be able to print your papers, presentations or slides for you. In addition, UIUC does not provide printing for anyone who is not affiliated with the university. Thus if you need to print something, we recommend that you print it before you arrive or go to the FedEx Kinko’s to print. The local FedEx Kinko’s is located at 613 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820.

Will there be opportunities to purchase books about Qualitative Inquiry?

We will have a handful of publishers selling the recent innovations in the field of Qualitative Inquiry. Many of the classics will be sold there as well. Many of those authors will be presenting at ICQI. Some publishers will offer a discount off the retail price if you purchase it at ICQI.

What if I still have questions?

Feel free to email us at [email protected]. To process your emails with efficiency, please email us with as much detail as possible. For example, please include your title, the email you used for your account, what type of submission (paper, poster, panel), if you submitted to a SIG or the General Congress, etc etc