What I Learned From My First CHI Submission
I finished my master’s thesis in 2026 after 3 years straight, and honestly I did not want to see it ever again 😂. Liz, my advisor, wanted me to publish but gave me space to decide when I was ready.
Fast forward to late July 2025, a month before the first CHI 2026 deadline. In a lab meeting my labmates were all talking about their submissions, and I figured, since everyone is doing it, maybe it’s time I do it too.
The reviews came back mixed: a Revise and Resubmit from 3 reviewers, and an Accept with Minor Revisions or R&R from the 4th. I worked through their feedback, and it got accepted with no further changes requested. Literally none of the 4 asked for even the smallest change. Lowkey I was a little shocked lol. And to top it off, the paper won an honorable mention (Top 5% of 6,730 submissions).
It was my first paper submission ever, so I thought I’d share a few things I learned, in case they help someone else.
Lesson 1: Treat your first submission as practice.
There wasn’t much pressure on me to publish, so I used the CHI deadline to force myself to get a paper that was actually publishable. Even if I hadn’t finished in time, I would have made enough progress to submit somewhere else.
Lesson 2: Cut data that doesn’t earn its place.
If your quantitative data doesn’t say much, it’s ok to let it go. No need to force it. Sometimes the value is in the qualitative data instead. In my case, dropping the quantitative set me free.
Lesson 3: Presentation is part of the work.
Writing a research paper is an art. Make the application look good, the screenshots look good, the spacing look good, the paper itself look good. First impressions matter. When reviewers see that you were careful, they’re more likely to trust your work.
Lesson 4: Actually listen to your reviewers.
I believe reviewers have your best interest at heart and want your paper to get accepted. If it makes it to the second round, their feedback is basically a blueprint for getting in. Unless their notes contradict what you were trying to say, every single review made my paper better.