FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

If so, you are in great company. Each year, nearly fifty percent (50%) of the attendees are at the conference for the first time.

The organizers are happy to assist you with session selection, networking with other attendees and dinner plans if you like. A favorite of all conference attendees is our “Random Digit Dining” lunches. This is a great way to meet new people, and network. There is a Happy Hour in The Green Bar on the 7th floor on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 6:00 p.m.. We want you to enjoy the conference so please be sure to let a conference organizer know if you need anything.

Yes! No ties, very few people wear jackets and even as a presenter, open collar and relaxed clothing is welcomed.

The IFD&TC is designed to provide an opportunity for survey research personnel to exchange ideas and information in an informal, relaxed setting. We try to foster the informal exchange of practical ideas by arranging lots of small groups, plenty of time for talking with your colleagues, and by encouraging you to ask questions.

Yes! Attendees from larger shops often mention the creative ideas they learn from the smaller shops not quite as encumbered with bureaucratic processes and division of labor.

Yes, light hors d’oeuvres are served at the Sunday evening reception, breakfast is served Monday through Wednesday, and lunch is served on Monday and Tuesday.  See the program for location of meals.

Included meals are for registered conference attendees only. Please see a conference co-registrar if you wish to bring a guest.

When conferences are held in the same city, IFD&TC registered attendees may attend up to 4 sessions of the AAPOR conference at no charge, and may sign up and pay for a short course directly on the AAPOR website. Please remember that AAPOR and IFD&TC are NOT in the same hotel, and most years you will need transportation from AAPOR to IFD&TC.  To attend up to 4 free sessions, simply bring your IFD&TC Registration Confirmation Letter to the registration desk at AAPOR to be issued a guest pass.  You may sign up and pay for AAPOR short courses on the AAPOR website.  Free sessions are not offered in years where the conferences are virtual.

Yes, it’s a relaxed time and a comfortable opportunity to mix with others. The sooner you can get acquainted with others the more you will enjoy the conference.

This is where IFD&TC elects organizers and plans for future conferences, and anyone who attends the conference from a member organization is welcome and encouraged to attend and participate. The business meeting usually lasts less than an hour.

You will want to attend the entire conference. Arrive on Sunday and stay until the conference closes on Wednesday. Networking opportunities increase every day. The informal dialogue is as important as any session. If you are not meeting people, or attending sessions that meet your needs, please come to one of the organizers and let us know. Every effort will be made to connect you with people and sessions of common interest.

From our website’s main menu, click “Log In” (at the top of the page).  If you are new to IFD&TC, create a user account at this time and then log in, as everyone must be logged in to submit an abstract.  Once you have logged in, please click on How to Submit an Abstract to begin the submission process. Please note that this menu item will only be visible during the time we are actively accepting abstract submissions, which is announced on the home page.

All the information you may need (recommended length of abstracts, which fields to fill out and how, etc.) is included on the How to Submit an Abstract page, so please read that carefully.  Examples of previously accepted abstracts are available for field topics and tech topics.

You may submit more than one abstract for the conference, but the abstract for an individual presentation or panel should only be submitted once, even if multiple presenters or panelists are involved.

We recommend you choose a point-person for any abstracts with multiple presenters or panelists, and have that person submit the abstract.

Enter the name and contact information for everyone you want listed as a contributor under Authors, and all presenters or panelists who will actually attend and present under “Presenters”.  We understand that you may have more than one person presenting, and all names that appear under Presenters will be included on the IFD&TC program as presenters.   For most people, the name in Presenters and Authors section will be the same, we apologize that you must enter this information twice under our current system.  Finally, remember that you will be able to come back to this submission and edit it until the abstract window closes in mid December, so if you need to add additional presenters and authors or delete presenters and authors later, you may do so until that time.

Please note that the majority of IFD&TC submissions are accepted! For this reason, we recommend that you do not submit multiple abstracts just to be sure one is accepted, or you may find yourself presenting many more times than you were expecting!  We encourage those from small and large organizations to submit abstracts and present.  When you submit an abstract, you should be as certain as possible of your ability to attend the conference.  If you do find you are unable to attend after your abstract has been accepted, please notify one of the registrars as soon as possible.  We can assist you in finding an alternate speaker to take your place on the program.

The majority of our website is open to the public and does not require you to log in.

Our Login Control provides you the ability to safely submit an abstract and register for the conference.

Click on “Log In” on the main menu on every page.  If you try to go to any of the pages that require you to be logged in on our site, you’ll also see the Login Control with a message to “Please log in” if you have not yet done so.

If this is your first time logging into our website, you’ll have to create a new account. Please click  the Register link at the bottom of the Login Control and create a Username and enter your valid email address. The website will send an email with your new password from the IFD&TC Website Administrator (webadmin@ifdtc.org).

If you don’t receive the e-mail within a few minutes, be sure to check your spam folder. Search your email for “webadmin@ifdtc.org”. 

Once you’ve created your new account, you will use that account now and in the future to submit and review your abstract submissions and later to register for the conference.

On any of the pages that require you to log onto our site, you’ll see the Login Control with a message to “Log in if you already have an account with us”. 

To change your password:

  1. Click the Lost your password? link at the bottom of this control (below the white box) to open the Get New Password page.
  2. Enter either your username or email address associated with the IFD&TC website, and click the Get New Password button.
  3. You’ll receive an email with a link to open the Reset Password page. If you don’t receive an email in your InBox, please check your spam folder. Search your files for “webadmin@ifdtc.org”.  Open this e-mail, and click on the link provided there.
  4. When you click the link in this e-mail, a page will come up that shows a new, randomly generated password.  You may keep that password, (please note it for your records), or highlight it and type over it with your own preferred password, then click the Reset Password button to change your password.

Registration is completed through our web site.  Past attendees, as well as those who have submitted an abstract will receive e-mail notification when registration opens.  Each attendee should create their own user name and password and must supply their preferred e-mail address. You will need access to the site before and during the conference, so we do not recommend having an assistant set up your account. If you need to pay by check, or have an assistant add credit card information at a later time, please choose “Pay Offline” during registration, and contact Kevin Tharp as soon as possible. If you have someone else register for you, they should be notified that they cannot access the website to register for you without YOUR user name and password. If your e-mail address has changed since the last time you registered, you will need to set up a new account.

Remember you will need to create an account if you have not already done so to be able to register.

Using a credit card to pay for registration is highly recommended, but if you are unable to use a credit card, choose “Pay Offline” during registration, and e-mail conference registrar Kevin Tharp to arrange for an alternate payment mode. Note, your registration is NOT complete until payment is received. IFD&TC CANNOT accept purchase orders or requisitions, only credit cards or checks. Pay Pal is also not accepted at this time.

Please be aware the receipt for your registration will be sent from the following address:
noreply@mail.authorize.net
If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, check your spam or clutter folder.

During registration for the conference, you will be asked to sign up for break out sessions only. You can change your mind later and attend a different session; we ask for this information during registration to help us plan the size of meeting rooms needed for each session.