Psychology and Education Sciences Section

Call for Papers
National Student Research Conference
Psychology and Education Sciences Section

1. General Information, Organizers

Organizer of the event:

Pázmány Péter Catholic University
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Address: 2500 Esztergom, Majer István út 1-3.
Website: www.btk.ppke.hu

Section website address: www.btk.ppke.hu/otdk2027
Section email address: otdk2027@btk.ppke.hu
Date of the event: March 21 – April 2, 2027.
Venue of the event: 2500 Esztergom, Majer István út 1-3.

The National Association for Student Research, the Psychology and Education Sciences Section Committee of the OTDT and the organizing Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences hereby announce the Psychology and Education Sciences Section of the 38th National Student Research Conference under the conditions of the following call.

The conditions for participation and registration in the Psychology and Education Sciences Section of the 38th OTDK are set out in the General Call of the 38th OTDK and in this Call of the OTDT Psychology and Education Sciences Section Committee.

2. Eligibility Criteria

2.1 Who is eligible to participate

In the 38th National Student Research Conference (OTDK), TDK papers and authors (in the case of multi-author TDK papers, all authors) may participate that meet the conditions specified in the General Call for the 38th National Student Research Conference (details are provided in Supplement 2 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK.)

A thesis/diploma work written within a BA/BSc program and presented at an institutional TDK conference within the same BA/BSc program – provided it has not yet been defended at the time of the institutional TDK conference – may be submitted to the 38th OTDK, provided that it meets the requirements set out in the call and its supplement.

The conditions for submitting bachelor’s theses, master’s theses, and theses written within integrated master’s programs are set out in Section 2.1 of Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

Study circle students from cross-border universities and colleges can participate in the 38th OTDK under the same professional conditions as those in Hungary. Details are available in the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

The conference is also open to secondary school students in Hungary and across borders who document their research results at conferences of higher education institutions or national high school science student conferences (for details see Supplement 4 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK) and are nominated for the 38th OTDK. A detailed description of the participation of secondary school students is available in the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

2.2. Requirements for TDK papers and evaluation

Supplement 1 to the Section Call includes:

• the content and format requirements for TDK papers and abstracts
• rules for the presentation of TDK papers in foreign languages
• evaluation criteria of the TDK paper and the presentation.

3. Sessions/topics

3.1. Planned sessions/topics

A. The PSYCHOLOGY SUBSECTION welcomes TDK papers in the following categories:

In the sessions of APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, we welcome TDK papers presenting practical applications of psychological knowledge, including, among others: counselling and career psychology; educational and school psychology; work, organizational and HR psychology; sport and performance psychology, coaching; economic, consumer and marketing psychology; forensic and criminal psychology; environmental psychology; psychology of religion; as well as technology psychology, user experience (UX), and human–computer interaction (HCI).

In the sessions of GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY, we welcome TDK papers from various subfields of experimental psychology, including, for example: biology and neurophysiology; sensation and perception; attention, consciousness and states of consciousness; learning, memory, thinking, language, communication, problem-solving and decision-making; motivation and emotion; as well as papers addressing issues of reliability and validity, and the psychological aspects of artificial intelligence.

In the sessions of DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, we welcome TDK papers examining human development across the entire lifespan, including infant and early childhood development; the cognitive, emotional and social development of preschool and school-age children, as well as adolescence; topics related to atypical development and developmental disorders (e.g. ASD, ADHD, learning disorders); the psychological characteristics of young adulthood, midlife and old age; as well as studies focusing on the life course, identity and family relationships.

In the sessions of PERSONALITY, HEALTH AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, we welcome TDK papers addressing topics related to personality, individual differences, and clinical and health psychology, including: personality theories and trait research; temperament, emotional style and self-regulation; intelligence, creativity and motivational characteristics; stress, coping and resilience; health behavior and lifestyle; psychological aspects of psychosomatic and chronic illnesses; promotion of mental health; mental hygiene; psychological aspects of psychiatric disorders; as well as the study of health promotion, prevention and intervention programs.

In the sessions of SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, we welcome TDK papers analyzing social behavior and social processes, including, among others: social cognition and attitudes; group processes, leadership and cooperation; intergroup relations, prejudice and discrimination; communication, media and online social psychology; close relationships, attraction and intimacy; social norms, values and collective behavior; as well as community and political social psychology, and research addressing social issues (e.g. poverty, migration, climate change).

B. The EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE SUBSECTION welcomes TDK papers in the following categories:

In the sessions of PEDAGOGY, we welcome papers covering research in educational theory, philosophy of education, instructional theory (didactics), the history of education and schools, comparative pedagogy, social pedagogy, child protection, public and higher education policy, educational economics, education law, education administration, and sociology of education. Additionally, we invite TDK papers on theoretical and historical topics in special education, understood within its broader interdisciplinary context.

In the sessions of ANDRAGOGY, we welcome TDK papers addressing pedagogical and psychological issues of andragogy, adult education and training, adult learning, public education and cultural activities, lifelong learning, sociology of culture, community organization, aesthetic awareness and education, leadership theory and institutional systems, human resource consulting, cultural mediation, cultural tourism, museum mediation, theory of culture, cultural policy, and communication theory (excluding works that are explicitly mathematical, epistemological, or sociological).

TDK papers that are predominantly subject-specific methodological (subject pedagogy) or educational technology-oriented in focus and content do not fall within the Psychology and Education Sciences Section; such papers may be submitted to the Education and Learning Methodology Section of the 38th OTDK.

During the application process, when selecting the “Most suitable session,” students indicate the broader area in which they wish to present their TDK paper. The Executive Board, in cooperation with the leadership of the Section Committee, then assigns the submitted TDK papers to the final sessions.

3.2. Rules for the establishment of the final session assignment

The fundamental rules for the establishment of the final session assignment are included in the General Call of the 38th OTDK. The Psychology and Education Sciences Section Committee may, based on the number of TDK papers received and their topic, merge some of the planned sessions/topics or create additional ones, so that the TDK paper may be assigned to the session of a different subsection than the one indicated by the author(s) during registration. The condition for starting an independent session is the receipt of at least 6 TDK papers in the given topic, on the condition that at least 5 of the 6 to 15 papers will be presented at the 38th OTDK. If the number of TDK papers to be presented in a given session is fewer than 5, that session may be merged with another session at the discretion of the Chair of the Psychology and Education Sciences Section Committee. The organizing institution, with the agreement of the Psychology and Education Sciences Section Committee, reserves the right to redirect TDK papers with content that does not align with the Psychology and Education Sciences Section’s field of study, thanking the applicants and transferring the paper to the appropriate section of the 38th National Student Research Conference.

The final sessions and the classification of TDK papers are determined by the OTDT Psychology and Education Sciences Section Committee, and students will be informed via the OTDT online system no later than two weeks before the start of the conference.

4. Application procedure

Point 4 of Supplement 2 to the 38th OTDK General Call sets out in detail the tasks of students in connection with participation in the 38th OTDK; careful study of this is recommended.

4.1. Steps of registration for applicants

1. Pre-registration of TDK papers

Following the institutional student research conference, the upload of the TDK paper and selection of the section must be completed within 30 days of the email specified in point 4 of Supplement No. 2 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK. Participants who will be eligible to submit a TDK paper at a student research conference held within 30 days before the application deadline for the Psychology and Education Sciences Section of the 38th OTDK must upload their TDK paper to the OTDT online system by the application deadline.

ATTENTION! Please note that uploading a TDK paper does not constitute an automatic entry to the 38th OTDK.

Applications must be submitted during the registration period, following the steps described in the next section.

2. The application

Registration period: November 16, 2026 – January 13, 2027 (Wednesday), 16:00 (CET)

Students’ tasks during this period are:

• Filling in the information related to the uploaded application.
• Uploading the Hungarian-language abstract. If the authors of the TDK paper are non-Hungarian native speakers, they may also upload the abstract in English. If at least 50% of the authors are Hungarian native speakers, the abstract must be uploaded in Hungarian.
• On the abstract upload page, providing five keywords that do not appear in the title of the paper.
• After completing the data entry and uploading the abstract, finalizing the registration in the OTDT online system.

After the registration deadline for students – 13 January 2027 (Wednesday), 16:00 (CET) – it will no longer be possible for students to upload application documents in the OTDT online system.

According to Supplement 2 to the General Call, students (authors) must, at the time of submitting their paper, provide a written declaration in the online system confirming compliance with the rules of research ethics. These are detailed in the OTDT Code of Ethics.

4.2. Additional registration tasks for students who have obtained a pre-degree certificate

Students who obtained a pre-degree certificate between the qualifying institutional TDK conference and the 38th OTDK must declare the date of obtaining their pre-degree certificate in the OTDT online system during the application process (those who are expected to obtain their pre-degree certificate in the semester of application, after the application deadline, must indicate that they are expected to obtain it in the semester of application). For students who have qualified at the ETDK, FTDK, KTDK, and VMTDK, in accordance with Section 2.1 of Appendix 2 to the General Call for the 38th OTDK, the expected date of finalization of registration for the 38th OTDK must be provided as the date of the certificate of completion, because in their case, this was already verified upon admission to the qualifying conference.

5. Tasks of the TDT Chair in relation to the 38th OTDK

5.1. Following the student research conference:

Uploading the documents of the student research conference and sending them to the OTDT Office according to point 5 of Supplement 2 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK.

5.2. Following the participants’ registration deadline:

Approval of participant registrations in the OTDT online system (all registrations are automatically approved in the system, so action is only required if the institution/faculty does not wish to delegate a submitted TDK paper to the OTDK). All further tasks are detailed in Supplement 2 to the 38th OTDK General Call; there are no deviations from these for this Section. We are unable to accept TDK papers that do not meet the requirements outlined in the Psychology and Education Sciences Section Call; such applications will be rejected.

Deadline for institutional and faculty TDT Chairs to upload documents to the OTDT online system: 18 January 2027 (Monday) 16:00 (CET). After the deadline it will no longer be possible to upload application documents in the OTDT online system. Applications submitted individually are invalid.

6. Registration fee

The registration fees for the 38th OTDK will be determined at a later stage, subject to the availability of resources.

7. Presentation of the TDK paper

TDK papers are presented orally before the session juries in person; online presentations are not permitted.

8. The awards and Special Prizes that can be granted at the OTDK

At the 38th OTDK, ranked awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) based on the written reviews and oral performance may be granted, as well as a Session Panel special award following these in rank. At most one 1st place may be awarded per session, and the total number of ranked awards may not exceed one third of the number of TDK papers presented in the Psychology and Education Sciences Section. The total number of TDK papers awarded a ranked place or a special prize by the Session Panel may not exceed 50% of the number of TDK papers presented. Further regulations on professional recognition are set out in Supplement 3 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

9. Submission of Pro Scientia Gold Medal application

The authors of TDK papers that have been awarded first place at the national conference may apply for the Pro Scientia Gold Medal, provided they meet the additional criteria set out in the call. Details are given in Supplement 5 of the 38th OTDK General Call.

We invite and welcome all interested students and their masters!

Budapest, 21 April 2026.

SUPPLEMENT 1
TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS, 38TH OTDK
PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION SCIENCES SECTION

1. The language of the TDK paper and the presentation:

In this section, TDK papers can primarily be submitted in Hungarian. If the authors are enrolled in an English-language program, the TDK paper may also be submitted in English. For these English-language TDK papers, if at least 50% of the authors are Hungarian native speakers, the abstract must also be uploaded in Hungarian, and the TDK paper must be presented in Hungarian at the conference.

2. Content requirements for the TDK paper:

The Section’s program allows for the presentation of TDK papers based on independent research with scientific rigor in the fields of educational science, psychology, andragogy, and related disciplines. Each TDK paper must contain independent and original research findings.

Further content requirements: all TDK papers submitted to the OTDK will be subject to a plagiarism check. The decision regarding plagiarism is made by a three-member body established by the Section Committee, chaired by the Chair of the Section Committee. The guidelines regarding plagiarism are based on the information provided in the General Call of the OTDT. TDK papers that are proven to infringe copyright will be excluded from the OTDK by the OTDT, with simultaneous notification to the nominating institution.

The principles and rules governing the use of artificial intelligence are set out in the 38th OTDK General Call.

We draw attention to the guidelines on the ethical use of artificial intelligence set out in Supplement 6 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK. At the 38th OTDK, any AI used must be declared in a separate statement during the application process in the OTDT online system, in a manner that allows for subsequent identification.

3. Formal requirements for the TDK paper:

General requirements:

Time for uploading: within 30 days after the acceptance of the student research conference (as described in Supplement 2, point 4 of the General Call of the 38th OTDK). Students who qualify with their TDK papers at a student research conference held within 30 days before the registration deadline for the relevant section of the 38th OTDK must upload their TDK papers to the online system by the registration deadline at the latest.

All TDK papers must include the closing date.

TDK papers that do not meet the minimum page limit set by Section or exceed the maximum number of pages cannot be uploaded to the OTDT online system.

TDK papers must be uploaded in PDF format. The maximum file size is 10 MB.

General formal requirements:

Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 12 pt
Line spacing: 1.5
Margin: 2.5

Section-specific requirements: the minimum length of the TDK paper is 20 pages and the maximum 40 pages. This includes the table of contents, the abstract and the bibliography. It is also recommended to place charts and tables necessary for understanding the main text within the body of the paper. If additional tables or charts are desired by the author but are not essential for understanding the main content, they can be included in a supplement. All charts and tables in the TDK paper must be numbered and referenced accordingly within the text. The appendix, which does not count toward the 20–40 pages main body length, should be uploaded as a separate, supplementary document (however, if the supplement and main document together do not exceed 40 pages, they may be uploaded as a single file). The upload of a supplementary document is therefore permitted. This document must be a single file with a maximum size of 10 MB.

Method of referencing: The format for references and the bibliography must follow the APA citation style. Detailed guidelines are available on the Childhood Education Scientific Journal website, accessible via the following link: http://ojs.elte.hu/gyermekneveles/stylesheet

In English, a detailed guide is available at https://apastyle.apa.org/.

Please also ensure that the title page includes the name(s) of the author(s), their institution(s), and the name(s) of their supervisor(s).

4. Submitting a printed TDK paper is not required

The TDK paper and the abstract must be uploaded to the OTDT online system only.

5. Rules for the abstract:

Only the main text needs to be uploaded to the OTDT online system (the other data: name(s) of author(s), institution, supervisor, etc. are generated by the online system).

The language of the abstract is Hungarian. For English-language TDK papers, if at least 50% of the authors are Hungarian native speakers, the abstract must also be uploaded in Hungarian, in other cases in English.

The length of the abstract is minimum 500 and maximum 2500 characters. Tables or figures are not allowed within the abstract, and any special characters must be represented as symbols.

The abstract must also include a summary (up to 500 characters) of the results attributed specifically to the student.

6. Evaluation rules for the TDK paper:

TDK papers that have obtained eligibility at the institutional TDK conference and meet the formal requirements set out in Section 3 are evaluated by a professional Session Panel in two stages, based on the submitted written paper and the oral presentation.

1. Stage 1: evaluation of the written paper, which accounts for half of the total 100 points, i.e. a maximum of 50 written points.
2. Stage 2: evaluation based on the oral presentation of the TDK paper at the National Student Research Conference, which accounts for the other half of the total 100 points, i.e. a maximum of 50 oral points.

6.1. Procedure and criteria for the evaluation of the written paper

The written TDK papers are evaluated independently by two reviewers of the professional jury. If there is a point difference greater than 15 between the reviewers’ evaluations, a third reviewer will also evaluate the paper. The written score is the arithmetic mean of the two closer scores, rounded to a whole number according to standard mathematical rules. The completed reviews (scores and written evaluations) will be published by the Section organizers in the OTDT online system 10 days before the conference at the latest. Based on the mandatory plagiarism check or other ethical or professional considerations, the TDK paper may be excluded by decision of the Chair of the Section Committee, in which case no oral presentation will take place. The evaluation criteria for written TDK papers are independent of the type of work (theoretical research, empirical research, innovation and/or development).

The AI Declaration submitted by the author regarding the use of AI may not be evaluated negatively (as a disadvantage) compared to papers that do not use AI. If, in the opinion of the reviewer or the jury, the use of AI determines the quality of the paper to such an extent that it can no longer be regarded as the author’s intellectual work, the Chair of the Section Committee is entitled to decide – based on the Session Panel’s recommendation and the submission of the ethics body of the Section Committee – whether the paper meets the fundamental professional and ethical requirements of the TDK. The same procedure applies if, in the opinion of the reviewer or the Session Panel, the author has made a false AI declaration.

Theoretical background and contribution to the literature (0–10 points)

• Is the topic important and current in terms of the given field and methodology?
• Does the TDK paper clearly situate the topic within the relevant scholarly and/or practical context? Are the presentation of relevant concepts, models and theories professional and coherent?
• Is the main problem, research question, objective or innovation aim clearly identified? In the case of empirical research, are the examined hypothesis(es) clear, professionally justified, and directed at essential relationships of the topic?
• Is it clearly demonstrated what the paper contributes to the existing knowledge of the field (e.g. new empirical results, theoretical synthesis, methodological/innovative contribution, etc.)?

 Methods and approach (0–10 Points)

• Does the chosen methodological approach (empirical research, theoretical comparative work, case study, method or program description, innovation, etc.) fit the stated objective/question?
• Are the methods (e.g. sample, measurement tools, analytical procedures; theoretical perspectives, source selection; development steps) presented in sufficient transparency and detail to allow the work to be assessed and reproduced?
• Is the process (research, analysis, development, implementation) professionally sound, justified and consistent?
• Was the research/analysis/innovation conducted appropriately (e.g. sample size and suitability, sampling method, ethical approval where necessary)?

Results/product and their presentation (0–10 points)

• Is it clearly identifiable what the concrete result or product of the paper is?
  • in empirical work: data, findings, statistical/qualitative outputs;
  • in theoretical work: new model, synthesis, conceptual framework;
  • in methodological/innovative work: new or adapted method, tool, program, protocol, etc.
• Is the presentation of results logical, clear and focused? Do figures, tables, diagrams, flowcharts, etc. support understanding?
• Do the results clearly relate to the previously formulated objectives/questions/hypotheses?
• What is the scientific value of the presented results?  The paper must contain independent and novel research results.

Interpretation and broader context (0–10 points)

• Does the author not only describe but also interpret the results/product (what they mean and why they are important)? Are independent conclusions and recommendations based on analytical work presented? The conclusions are grounded in the hypotheses and well-founded: does the author draw only those conclusions that are supported by the collected data?
• Is the connection to the broader scholarly, theoretical, practical or social context established?
• Does the author realistically and critically indicate the limitations of the work (e.g. sample, methods, generalizability, implementation constraints, potential biases)?  Are these limitations considered when formulating conclusions?
• Are practical recommendations and directions for further research or development provided?

Structure and style (0–10 points)

• Is the structure of the paper logical and clear, and appropriate to the type of work (e.g. introduction – theoretical background – methods/approach – results/product – interpretation – conclusion)?
• Are the proportions, structure and progression of sections balanced and easy to follow? Is the title consistent with the content? Do subheadings accurately reflect their sections?
• Is the style scientific/professional yet understandable? How precise, linguistically refined and free from errors is the text?
• Do figures, tables, appendices and references conform to academic standards, are they consistently formatted and properly cited, and do they effectively complement the main text?

7. Evaluation of the presentation of the TDK paper

At the conference, participants will have a maximum of 15 minutes to present their TDK paper (presentation), followed by a discussion. The presentation will be evaluated by a Session Panel of recognized members of the field. Evaluation criteria and scoring for the oral presentation of the TDK papers:

• content of the presentation, including the novelty, scientific value and level of elaboration of the results: 0–25 points
• style of the presentation (delivered freely without reading, concise, complete and time-proportionate), language accuracy, clarity, use of visual aids, logical structure and adherence to time limits: 0–10 points
• the presenter’s scientific debating skills (responses to questions revealing the author’s research and creative abilities): 0–15 points

• 38th OTDK Psychology and Education Sciences Section Call
• Supplement 1