FAQ: Industrial Track or Main Track?

Are there two different types of paper submission for KDD-2001?

Yes. There are "main track" paper submissions and "industry track" submissions.

Is my paper appropriate as a main track submission?

Main track submissions are expected to make a significant, novel contribution to the science. We want to be clear that we urge both authors and reviewers to consider a broad range of potential contributions. For example, main track submissions may define new research problems, new problem classes, new methodologies, etc. Application papers are appropriate if they contribute to the science.

What does it mean for an applications paper to contribute to the science?

There are many different ways of contributing. For example, an applications paper can demonstrate to researchers that it is important to consider weakening an assumption they make routinely. The important thing is for authors to state clearly (i) the contribution of the paper, and (ii) how the paper supports the contribution--so that the reviewers can evaluate it. Note that if you (as an author) don't state your contribution clearly, reviewers will have to infer what you intend--often incorrectly. More on the potential contributions of applications papers and applied research can be found here: http://www.stern.nyu.edu/~fprovost/home.html#applications

Is my paper appropriate as an industry track submission?

Industrial track papers are judged primarily based on their commercial or "real world" usefulness. How interested will people (in industry and hopefully in academia) be in reading the paper? IT papers are not expected to contribute to the science, necessarily. Rather, they should serve as a bridge between researchers and industry. For example, an industry-track paper may allow practitioners to call for action by the research community, without the stringent requirements of a research-track paper. Examples of papers suitable for the IT track include