Perspectives Track
Read on the policies and information to submit for Perspectives Track for SIGIR 2026.
The Perspectives Paper Track solicits papers containing original ideas and research visions that draw attention to the road less traveled and bold forward-looking visions.The Perspectives Track is intended to complement SIGIR Full Paper Track. The Perspectives Track especially encourages papers with a potential to create new trends or foment paradigm shifts. Kuhn argued that paradigm shifts start with a few early (promising, if not convincing) successes that leave plenty of room for the next generation to contribute and benefit by doing so. In fact, to encourage the next generation to take the next step, promising may be better than convincing, and controversial but unexplored new exciting ideas are especially welcome.
We are particularly calling for papers offering:
- Promising steps toward the next paradigm shift;
- Visions describing new/open problems in information retrieval research; and
- Novel perspectives on information retrieval research with a broader interpretation of IR than explored in the existing IR research
Submissions should be anonymized for double-blind reviewing but should include a section describing which perspective is represented.
Accepted Perspectives Track Papers will appear in the SIGIR 2026 main conference proceedings.
Important Dates (AoE)
Topics of Interest
Perspectives paper submissions are expected to be related to the wider Information Retrieval field. In addition to the relevant areas described in the Call for Full Papers, Perspective papers may also be on any topic in the general area of using AI to augment human intelligence or support user tasks via information and/or knowledge services.
Submission Guidelines
Perspective Papers are expected to be exciting, innovative, and generally off the beaten path or with a compelling anticipatory future vision. Perspective Papers should wrestle not just with where research is going in the next few years, but also where it will go in the long run or could go under different assumptions. Research is by definition novel, but the Perspectives Track particularly encourages papers that diverge from conventional wisdom and/or commonly accepted information retrieval practices, foundations, and paradigms. Perspective Papers should support their ideas with sufficient scientific argumentation, experimentation and/or proof, as appropriate. The papers also require high clarity in presentation and citations of related ideas or contrastive views.
Each Perspective Paper should include a mandatory section titled “Call for Action”. This section provides clear steps and suggestions on how the IR community could consume the paper’s new perspective and move forward in that direction.
Submissions of perspectives papers must be in English, in PDF format, and be at most 9 pages in length (including figures, tables, proofs, appendixes, acknowledgments, and any content except references), with unrestricted space for references, in the current ACM two-column conference format. Suitable LaTeX, Word, and Overleaf templates are available from the ACM Website (use sigconf proceedings template for LaTeX and the Interim Template for Word). ACM’s CCS concepts and keywords are required for review.
For LaTeX, the following should be used:
\documentclass[sigconf,natbib=true,anonymous=true]{acmart}
Difference Between Full Papers and Perspective Papers
Perspectives submissions do not require new empirical results that outperform a state-of-the-art baseline, unlike traditional SIGIR submissions. However, Perspective Paper submissions that focus on novel, exploratory solutions still need to support their ideas with sufficient experimental evidence.
Perspective paper submissions that focus on novel perspectives on existing problems, or new research vision do not require empirical results but are still expected to defend their position with solid scientific arguments based on the relevant literature. In-depth discussions and explanations of implications are also expected.
Examples of Appropriate Perspectives Submissions
- Submissions describing novel paradigms, foundations, or lenses through which to view the challenges in information retrieval research, especially those with a broader interpretation of IR beyond search engines and recommender systems.
- Submissions discussing future landscape of IR research in the context of recent advancement in Generative AI, including both how new AI technologies may impact IR research and how IR research may contribute to advancement of AI research.
- Submissions presenting novel, exploratory solutions that have never previously been applied to information retrieval tasks.
- Submissions presenting novel solutions from outside the information retrieval community that may enable fundamental, significant advances in information retrieval and augmentation of human intelligence via information or knowledge service.
- Research trajectory/agenda for a new and currently unsolved information retrieval problem, with solid support from literature demonstrating that it has not been addressed.
- A scientific critique of a core assumption underlying information retrieval research or systems, supported by relevant literature from other disciplines and/or sufficient experimental evidence.
- A proposal and analytical critique of an evaluation metric that would facilitate progress on the topics above.
Examples of Inappropriate Perspectives Submissions
- Any submission that is suitable for the SIGIR full paper track.
- A literature review without novel arguments.
- A submission without sufficient connection to information retrieval.
- A submission without sufficient supporting evidence.
Other Submission Requirements
Submitting to this track indicates your agreement to and compliance with the common ACM and SIGIR 2027 Policies and Requirements. These policies and requirements include (but are not limited to) authorship, ethics, the use of AI, ACM author open access page charges, and at least one author registering for and attending the conference.
Submission System
Submissions must be anonymous and should be made electronically via EasyChair, selecting the “SIGIR 2026 Perspectives Papers” track:
Submit here: https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=sigir2027
Perspectives Paper Chairs
perspectives@sigir2027.org
- ChengXiang Zhai, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
- Suzan Verberne, Leiden University, Netherlands