mindforge-cc 11.5.1 → 11.6.0

package/.agent/skills/research-paper-writing/references/checklists.md

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+# Conference Paper Checklists
+
+This reference documents the mandatory checklist requirements for major ML/AI conferences. All major venues now require paper checklists—missing them results in desk rejection.
+
+---
+
+## Contents
+
+- [NeurIPS Paper Checklist](#neurips-paper-checklist)
+- [ICML Paper Checklist](#icml-paper-checklist)
+- [ICLR Requirements](#iclr-requirements)
+- [ACL Requirements](#acl-requirements)
+- [AAAI Requirements](#aaai-requirements)
+- [COLM Requirements](#colm-requirements)
+- [Universal Pre-Submission Checklist](#universal-pre-submission-checklist)
+
+---
+
+## NeurIPS Paper Checklist
+
+### Mandatory Components
+
+All NeurIPS submissions must include a completed paper checklist. Papers lacking this element face **automatic desk rejection**. The checklist appears after references and supplemental material, outside the page limit.
+
+### 16 Required Checklist Items
+
+#### 1. Claims Alignment
+Authors must verify that abstract and introduction claims match theoretical and experimental results, with clearly stated contributions, assumptions, and limitations.
+
+**What to check:**
+- [ ] Abstract claims match actual results
+- [ ] Introduction doesn't overclaim
+- [ ] Contributions are specific and falsifiable
+
+#### 2. Limitations Discussion
+Papers should include a dedicated "Limitations" section addressing strong assumptions, robustness to violations, scope constraints, and performance-influencing factors.
+
+**What to include:**
+- [ ] Dedicated Limitations section
+- [ ] Honest assessment of scope
+- [ ] Conditions where method may fail
+
+#### 3. Theory & Proofs
+Theoretical contributions require full assumption statements and complete proofs (main paper or appendix with proof sketches for intuition).
+
+**What to check:**
+- [ ] All assumptions stated formally
+- [ ] Complete proofs provided (main text or appendix)
+- [ ] Proof sketches for intuition in main text
+
+#### 4. Reproducibility
+Authors must describe steps ensuring results verification through code release, detailed instructions, model access, or checkpoints appropriate to their contribution type.
+
+**What to provide:**
+- [ ] Clear reproducibility statement
+- [ ] Code availability information
+- [ ] Model checkpoints if applicable
+
+#### 5. Data & Code Access
+Instructions for reproducing main experimental results should be provided (supplemental material or URLs), including exact commands and environment specifications.
+
+**What to include:**
+- [ ] Exact commands to run experiments
+- [ ] Environment specifications (requirements.txt, conda env)
+- [ ] Data access instructions
+
+#### 6. Experimental Details
+Papers must specify training details: data splits, hyperparameters, and selection methods in the main paper or supplementary materials.
+
+**What to document:**
+- [ ] Train/val/test split details
+- [ ] All hyperparameters used
+- [ ] Hyperparameter selection method
+
+#### 7. Statistical Significance
+Results require error bars, confidence intervals, or statistical tests with clearly stated calculation methods and underlying assumptions.
+
+**What to include:**
+- [ ] Error bars or confidence intervals
+- [ ] Number of runs/seeds
+- [ ] Calculation method (std dev vs std error)
+
+#### 8. Compute Resources
+Specifications needed: compute worker types (CPU/GPU), memory, storage, execution time per run, and total project compute requirements.
+
+**What to document:**
+- [ ] GPU type and count
+- [ ] Training time per run
+- [ ] Total compute used
+
+#### 9. Ethics Code Compliance
+Authors confirm adherence to the NeurIPS Code of Ethics, noting any necessary deviations.
+
+**What to verify:**
+- [ ] Read NeurIPS Code of Ethics
+- [ ] Confirm compliance
+- [ ] Note any deviations with justification
+
+#### 10. Broader Impacts
+Discussion of potential negative societal applications, fairness concerns, privacy risks, and possible mitigation strategies when applicable.
+
+**What to address:**
+- [ ] Potential negative applications
+- [ ] Fairness considerations
+- [ ] Privacy implications
+- [ ] Mitigation strategies
+
+#### 11. Safeguards
+High-risk models (language models, internet-scraped datasets) require controlled release mechanisms and usage guidelines.
+
+**What to consider:**
+- [ ] Release strategy for sensitive models
+- [ ] Usage guidelines if needed
+- [ ] Access controls if appropriate
+
+#### 12. License Respect
+All existing assets require creator citations, license names, URLs, version numbers, and terms-of-service acknowledgment.
+
+**What to document:**
+- [ ] Dataset licenses cited
+- [ ] Code licenses respected
+- [ ] Version numbers included
+
+#### 13. Asset Documentation
+New releases need structured templates documenting training details, limitations, consent procedures, and licensing information.
+
+**For new datasets/models:**
+- [ ] Datasheet or model card
+- [ ] Training data documentation
+- [ ] Known limitations
+
+#### 14. Human Subjects
+Crowdsourcing studies must include participant instructions, screenshots, compensation details, and comply with minimum wage requirements.
+
+**What to include:**
+- [ ] Task instructions
+- [ ] Compensation details
+- [ ] Time estimates
+
+#### 15. IRB Approvals
+Human subjects research requires documented institutional review board approval or equivalent, with risk descriptions disclosed (maintaining anonymity at submission).
+
+**What to verify:**
+- [ ] IRB approval obtained
+- [ ] Risk assessment completed
+- [ ] Anonymized at submission
+
+#### 16. LLM Declaration
+Usage of large language models as core methodology components requires disclosure; writing/editing use doesn't require declaration.
+
+**What to disclose:**
+- [ ] LLM used as core methodology component
+- [ ] How LLM was used
+- [ ] (Writing assistance doesn't require disclosure)
+
+### Response Format
+
+Authors select "yes," "no," or "N/A" per question, with optional 1-2 sentence justifications.
+
+**Important:** Reviewers are explicitly instructed not to penalize honest limitation acknowledgment.
+
+---
+
+## ICML Paper Checklist
+
+### Broader Impact Statement
+
+ICML requires a Broader Impact Statement at the end of the paper, before references. This does NOT count toward the page limit.
+
+**Required elements:**
+- Potential positive impacts
+- Potential negative impacts
+- Mitigation strategies
+- Who may be affected
+
+### ICML Specific Requirements
+
+#### Reproducibility Checklist
+
+- [ ] Data splits clearly specified
+- [ ] Hyperparameters listed
+- [ ] Search ranges documented
+- [ ] Selection method explained
+- [ ] Compute resources specified
+- [ ] Code availability stated
+
+#### Statistical Reporting
+
+- [ ] Error bars on all figures
+- [ ] Standard deviation vs standard error specified
+- [ ] Number of runs stated
+- [ ] Significance tests if comparing methods
+
+#### Anonymization
+
+- [ ] No author names in paper
+- [ ] No acknowledgments
+- [ ] No grant numbers
+- [ ] Prior work cited in third person
+- [ ] No identifiable repository URLs
+
+---
+
+## ICLR Requirements
+
+### LLM Disclosure Policy (New for 2026)
+
+ICLR has a specific LLM disclosure requirement:
+
+> "If LLMs played a significant role in research ideation and/or writing to the extent that they could be regarded as a contributor, authors must describe their precise role in a separate appendix section."
+
+**When disclosure is required:**
+- LLM used for significant research ideation
+- LLM used for substantial writing
+- LLM could be considered a contributor
+
+**When disclosure is NOT required:**
+- Grammar checking
+- Minor editing assistance
+- Code completion tools
+
+**Consequences of non-disclosure:**
+- Desk rejection
+- Potential post-publication issues
+
+### ICLR Specific Requirements
+
+#### Reproducibility Statement (Optional but Recommended)
+
+Add a statement referencing:
+- Supporting materials
+- Code availability
+- Data availability
+- Model checkpoints
+
+#### Ethics Statement (Optional)
+
+Address potential concerns in ≤1 page. Does not count toward page limit.
+
+#### Reciprocal Reviewing
+
+- Authors on 3+ papers must serve as reviewers for ≥6 papers
+- Each submission needs ≥1 author registered to review ≥3 papers
+
+---
+
+## ACL Requirements
+
+### Limitations Section (Mandatory)
+
+ACL specifically requires a Limitations section:
+
+**What to include:**
+- Strong assumptions made
+- Scope limitations
+- When method may fail
+- Generalization concerns
+
+**Important:** The Limitations section does NOT count toward the page limit.
+
+### ACL Specific Checklist
+
+#### Responsible NLP
+
+- [ ] Bias considerations addressed
+- [ ] Fairness evaluated if applicable
+- [ ] Dual-use concerns discussed
+
+#### Multilingual Considerations
+
+If applicable:
+- [ ] Language diversity addressed
+- [ ] Non-English languages included
+- [ ] Translation quality verified
+
+#### Human Evaluation
+
+If applicable:
+- [ ] Annotator details provided
+- [ ] Agreement metrics reported
+- [ ] Compensation documented
+
+---
+
+## AAAI Requirements
+
+### Formatting (Strictest of All Venues)
+
+AAAI enforces formatting rules more strictly than any other major venue. Papers that deviate from the template are desk-rejected.
+
+- [ ] Use the **exact** AAAI style file without modification — no `\setlength`, no `\vspace` hacks, no font overrides
+- [ ] 7 pages main content (8 for camera-ready with author info)
+- [ ] Two-column format, Times font (set by template)
+- [ ] References and appendices do not count toward page limit
+- [ ] Abstract must be a single paragraph
+- [ ] Do not modify margins, column widths, or font sizes
+
+### Required Sections
+
+- [ ] Abstract (single paragraph, no math or citations)
+- [ ] Introduction with clear contribution statement
+- [ ] References in AAAI format (uses `aaai2026.bst`)
+- [ ] Appendix (optional, unlimited)
+
+### Ethics and Reproducibility
+
+- [ ] Broader impact statement (encouraged but not always mandatory — check current year's CFP)
+- [ ] Reproducibility details (datasets, code availability)
+- [ ] Acknowledge use of AI writing tools if applicable
+
+### Key Differences from Other Venues
+
+- **No separate limitations section required** (unlike ACL), but discussing limitations is recommended
+- **Strictest formatting enforcement** — the style checker will reject non-compliant PDFs
+- **No paper checklist** like NeurIPS has, but the universal checklist below still applies
+- **Unified template** covers main paper and supplementary in the same file
+
+---
+
+## COLM Requirements
+
+### Overview
+
+COLM (Conference on Language Modeling) focuses specifically on language model research. Framing must target this community.
+
+### Formatting
+
+- [ ] 9 pages main content (10 for camera-ready)
+- [ ] Use COLM template (based on ICLR template with modifications)
+- [ ] Double-blind review
+- [ ] References and appendices unlimited
+
+### Required Sections
+
+- [ ] Abstract
+- [ ] Introduction framed for language modeling community
+- [ ] Conclusion
+- [ ] References
+
+### Content Expectations
+
+- [ ] Contribution must be relevant to language models (broadly interpreted: training, evaluation, applications, theory, alignment, safety)
+- [ ] If the method is general, frame with language model examples
+- [ ] Baselines should include recent LM-specific methods where applicable
+
+### Key Differences from Other Venues
+
+- **Narrower scope** than NeurIPS/ICML — must frame for LM community
+- **Template derived from ICLR** — similar formatting rules
+- **Newer venue** — reviewer norms are still establishing; err on the side of thorough evaluation
+- **No mandatory checklist** like NeurIPS, but broader impact discussion is expected
+- **LLM disclosure**: If LLMs were used in research (code generation, data annotation, writing assistance), disclose this
+
+---
+
+## Universal Pre-Submission Checklist
+
+### Before Every Submission
+
+#### Paper Content
+
+- [ ] Abstract ≤ word limit (usually 250-300 words)
+- [ ] Main content within page limit
+- [ ] References complete and verified
+- [ ] Limitations section included
+- [ ] All figures/tables have captions
+- [ ] Captions are self-contained
+
+#### Formatting
+
+- [ ] Correct template used (venue + year specific)
+- [ ] Margins not modified
+- [ ] Font sizes not modified
+- [ ] Double-blind requirements met
+- [ ] Page numbers (for review) or none (camera-ready)
+
+#### Technical
+
+- [ ] All claims supported by evidence
+- [ ] Error bars included
+- [ ] Baselines appropriate
+- [ ] Hyperparameters documented
+- [ ] Compute resources stated
+
+#### Reproducibility
+
+- [ ] Code will be available (or justification)
+- [ ] Data will be available (or justification)
+- [ ] Environment documented
+- [ ] Commands to reproduce provided
+
+#### Ethics
+
+- [ ] Broader impacts considered
+- [ ] Limitations honestly stated
+- [ ] Licenses respected
+- [ ] IRB obtained if needed
+
+#### Final Checks
+
+- [ ] PDF compiles without errors
+- [ ] All figures render correctly
+- [ ] All citations resolve
+- [ ] Supplementary material organized
+- [ ] Conference checklist completed
+
+---
+
+## Quick Reference: Page Limits
+
+| Conference | Main Content | References | Appendix |
+|------------|-------------|------------|----------|
+| NeurIPS 2025 | 9 pages | Unlimited | Unlimited (checklist separate) |
+| ICML 2026 | 8 pages (+1 camera) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
+| ICLR 2026 | 9 pages (+1 camera) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
+| ACL 2025 | 8 pages (long) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
+| AAAI 2026 | 7 pages (+1 camera) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
+| COLM 2025 | 9 pages (+1 camera) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
+
+---
+
+## Template Locations
+
+All conference templates are in the `templates/` directory:
+
+```
+templates/
+├── icml2026/       # ICML 2026 official
+├── iclr2026/       # ICLR 2026 official
+├── neurips2025/    # NeurIPS 2025
+├── acl/            # ACL style files
+├── aaai2026/       # AAAI 2026
+└── colm2025/       # COLM 2025
+```