presenting same paper at multiple conferences?

[georgestrait1982]

Title pretty much says it all. I've gotten conflicting advice and would like to hear what people specifically in English have to say. What about presenting a paper, getting comments, revising, and presenting elsewhere? Even if the main thrust of your thesis is the same? Any and all thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[ComeBackZinc]

Exact same paper? I wouldn't, particularly given that you would ideally be matching your paper to the conference's theme. Same research? Happens all the time. Revise it enough that you can credibly say that you're making some new insights or claims.

 

If you've got a good horse, you might as well ride.

[Roquentin]

The only time when this is justified, in my opinion, is when the presentations relate to a major research project being undertaken by a group over a number of years. Attending multiple presentations on the same large-scale project over the course of its development can be genuinely worthwhile. However, these presentations are likely more varied from year to year than the ones that you have in mind.

 

I went to a gathering last summer that held a work-in-progress presentation series for a few days, followed by a larger, traditional conference. One of the attendees, an MA in my cohort, used this format to present the same paper twice. It was quite disappointing. When I asked him about it afterwards, he told me that he was glad to have two new entries to list on his CV. What a crock! I ceased to take him, and his grad student “career,” very seriously.

 

So when it comes to solo-authored research, I’m not sure what the point would be (besides empty, cynical, and potentially dishonest CV-padding). Just because you can get away with it, and just because other people do it, doesn’t make it a good use of your time. Presentations can be a so-so way to receive feedback and move a paper forward, but the next logical step after that is to submit the paper to a journal, not present it again. In the grand scheme of things, conferences just aren’t that big of a deal. But I’m curious OP (and others). What do you think would be achieved by presenting the same thing twice (or more, shudder)?

[ComeBackZinc]

I ceased to take him, and his grad student “career,” very seriously.

 

Truly, a fate worse than death.

[Roquentin]

I ceased to take him, and his grad student “career,” very seriously.

 

Truly, a fate worse than death.

 

Having to sit through the same half-baked presentation twice - now that's a fate worse than death!

[hashslinger]

I wouldn't recommend presenting the same paper without major revisions and a different title. People do attend multiple conferences in their field, and it's quite likely that you could see the same people. Not to mention the fact that conference schedules are readily available online; anyone googling you would be able to see that you've presented the same paper at more than one venue. It's not good to be known, to continue the equine metaphor, as a one-trick pony.

 

Just ... present a different paper.

[dramakat]

I'm an English major, since you were asking, and this topic has come up before in my grad classes. It's unethical. That's what most of my professors have said, however, I have to agree with another poster about papers from a larger project: my thesis advisor initially presented a proposal for a book at a conference, nothing flushed out, just ideas and some proof. At the same conference a year later, he presented on the same project, except this time he had a substantial amount of work done and the paper was essentially not the same as his initial presentation. His overarching aim was the same, but he presented on a scope of that larger project. I don't see the harm in this, but the same exact paper serves no purpose when you return to our discipline's crux that we contribute something to a conversation when we write, present, and publish.

[NowMoreSerious]

Question: Why would you present the same paper at multiple conferences?

If you have a good reason, then go ahead. Nobody is policing this stuff. Now if you are silly enough to put both presentations on your CV with the exact same title, then I don't know what to tell you.