IADMS New York 2002   [back to the Category]

Presentation Trends in IADMS Conferences   [read the french version]

Author :   Nicole Durfee, BS,

Presentation Trends in IADMS Conferences

Nicole Durfee, BS,
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
Jan Dunn, MS,
Boulder, CO, USA
Tom Welsh, PhD
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

The International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) is now in its 12th year. A review of what has been presented at past conferences will help us see where we have been and where we might want to go next. This study analyzes trends in IADMS presentations to document the topics and approaches that define our past and to reveal opportunities for refocusing our investigations to better serve our mission of enhancing dancers’ health, well-being, and performance.

This presentation will present a descriptive analysis of the types of presentations given at IADMS conferences during its 12-year history. Abstracts from past conference presentations are being evaluated to classify the presentations according to type of presentation, topic, supporting evidence, and presenter demographics. A second observer is rating approximately 25 percent of the abstracts and inter-rater reliability is exceeding 85%.


Preliminary analyses for recent conferences are suggesting that IADMS programs are well-balanced in terms of the topics covered and presenter backgrounds. Further analysis will reveal trends that can be used to identify areas ripe for further investigation.