Summer 2026 DUB CHI Writers Group

Key links

Other resources

Odegaard Writing & Research Center

Description

This is a weekly, in-person/hybrid writing group to support members of the DUB community in preparing manuscripts for CHI 2027 and other HCI venues. It will mix brief group discussion of key research and writing topics, sharing of helpful resources, and peer feedback.

The summer 2026 series is organized by Sean Munson and Jen Mankoff, and draws extensively (almost entirely!)—with gratitude—on materials developed by Elena Agapie and Daniel Epstein for the UC Irvine CHI Bootcamp.

Expectations

To support continuity of conversations, we expect all participants to attend and participate regularly. At the same time, it is summer, and which we know can mean time away (and the organizers will also take time away!

If you have to miss a week, that's okay. If you miss a day but want to participate in the week, feel free to use the Slack channel to asynchronously pair and with someone else for feedback and also ask any questions you have about the week's topic.

No matter whether this is your first CHI submission or your hundredth, everyone has something to contribute and something to learn. If we experience that you are using this group for feedback, without similarly giving feedback to peers, we may ask you to adjust your participation.

Please also share, even before you think you are ready. Sometimes researchers can hold on to (good!) work in pursuit of perfection, and consequently miss out on getting the feedback and interaction that supports your learning. When giving feedback, also try to do so in ways that makes the recipient glad they shared their work.

Schedule

Date & Topic	Watch / Read	Bring	Activity
24 Jun Planning writing	Schrock on How to Manage Your Time on Writing Projects ACM Authorship guidance Sean's guidance on writing papers How to Develop a Daily Writing Practice (NCFDD - free membership with UW email) How to Start a Daily Academic Writing Habit from Scratch (Katelyn Knox)	Timeline of your writing for CHI, week by week. Each week of the writing group will focus on one section of your paper (or another step in the writing process), but the writing itself is usually iterative, working back and forth between different sections. Include: What has been completed in your study: have you completed your study, how far along is your analysis, what have you written thus far What you have left to do: how much data you need to analyze, literature you need to review, etc. Add to do items week by week. Include revisions to your paper sections. Any commitments you have in different weeks that you need to account for (e.g., vacation) Upload your plan Two published CHI papers which you feel are most relevant to your work, ideally both in topic and method. An intro slide (add yours)	Intros Peer feedback on timeline for your paper.
1 Jul Writing an introduction	Catchy Titles Are Good: But Avoid Being Cute (Jake Wobbrock) Research contributions in HCI (Wobbrock & Kientz) Judy Olson's 10 Questions	Responses to Judy Olson's 10 Questions (Upload your responses here) A Blumenfeld/Guzdial Chart (add your chart here)	Peer feedback on the Judy Olson's 10 questions & your Guzdial Chart
8 Jul Methods part I	3-4 papers that use (some?) of the methods you use to make similar contributions. Read or re-read a paper or blog post giving guidance on a method you are using, or ways to make a contribution that aligns with your goals, e.g., Systems: Code and Contribution in Interactive Systems Research (James Fogarty) Reflexive Thematic Analysis: Thematic analysis in HCI (Emeline Brulé) Quantitative methods: Transparent Statistics in Human-Computer Interaction Local Standards for Sample Size in HCI (Kelly Caine)	1-2 papers that exemplify (some?) of the methods you use (a subset of the above). Be prepared to talk about what you like about them and where you wished they said more. Questions you have about your planned method and HCI audiences	Note: Sean will be out Discuss methods and norms in HCI
15 Jul Background & related work	CMU Lit Reviews Teevan Formula Schrock: How to do a literature review	Draft of your related work. Include your research questions / expected contribution at the top.	Peer feedback on related work.
22 Jul Methods part II	SJSU Methodology Section USC Methodology Section	Draft of your methods section	Peer feedback on methods
29 Jul Findings / results	Schrock: Outlining for writing results Schrock: How to write paragraphs	Draft of your findings: outline and/or a section (examples could include, for qualitative work, a memo, or for quantitative work, a RMarkdown file).	Peer feedback on findings
5 Aug Discussion	U is a beautiful shape for your journal article	Draft of your discussion	Peer feedback on discussion drafts
12 Aug Revisiting research questions and methods	--	Now that you have done some (all?) of your methods, things have likely changed from where you started. Bring an updated version of your methods section, revised research questions (as appropriate), and your top questions for the group. Note: This week is deliberately underscheduled as a buffer in case other weeks do not run to schedule.	Peer feedback focused on revised RQs and methods
19 Aug Abstracts & submission fields	Open PCS (the submission system) and see what fields it asks you to fill in for a submissions Schrock: Use of verbs, cutting length, signposting	Abstract. Beyond that, whatever you have. Put specific questions you have about how to improve your draft at the top.	Peer feedback focused on abstract
26 Aug Making a good document	Making a good figure (Jon Froehlich) How to make better tables SIGCHI Accessibility Guide for Authors Sean's scientific writing tips (UW login required)	Whatever you have!	Peer feedback on draft (perhaps focused on figures and tables)
2 Sep Paper swap	How I review papers (Dan Cosley)	A full draft Questions you have about the submission system	Note: Sean out Peer feedback
9 Sep Final paper swap	--	Your near-polished paper to swap.	Note: Sean out Swap papers for final feedback, ask any remaining questions.

FAQ

Can you organize a virtual or hybrid session?

We will organize hybrid most weeks (thanks Jen!). If you need or prefer a different format or time, you are welcome to use these materials to organize a group that meets in that format. DUB is built by the grassroots efforts of many.

Can I join if I am writing for a venue other than CHI?

Of course! Some some of the materials and conversation are most oriented toward SIGCHI and other HCI venues, though, so the further your audience is from that, the less value you may get from this.

Does following the bootcamp timeline guarantee that I will have a paper ready for CHI?

No. If you follow this timeline, you will have scaffolding to help you work through sections and the feedback that will help you assess whether you are ready to submit. Some papers just take longer–a longer study to run, some particularly thorny data analysis, or a discussion section that takes more iterations than you expected.

I'm writing two papers, can I bring both?

The session format probably works best if you focus on just one. Perhaps a co-author could focus on the other for discussions, or you could organize additional pairing and sharing beyond sessions for your additional manuscript.