a journal for undergraduate research

An Undergraduate's Guide to Funding and Publishing Research

• URECA and other SBU Research Programs and Opportunities
• Funding Your Research
• Publishing Your Research: Why and How?
• Publishing Your Research: List of Undergraduate Journals

SBU's own publications

Note that among the journals listed here are SBU's own publications such as  SBU Brooklogue ,  Young Investigator's Review  and the Stony Brook Undergraduate History Journal . 

How do I know whether my discipline is considered a Humanities or Social Science field?

Humanities includes fields such as Art History, Classics, English, Comparative Literature, History, Musicology, and Philosophy. Sometimes History can be considered broadly as either a Humanities or Social Science discipline, but for the sake of this list, most history journals are listed in the Arts & Humanities category. Likewise, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and related fields often use methods from both Humanities and Social Science research, so you might find related topics on either the Humanities or Social Science list. Psychology is another borderline discipline that might be classified as either a social science or STEM field. For the sake of this list, Psychology is listed with the Social Sciences. STEM fields are those affiliated with science, technology, engineering, or math.

Journals that publish undergraduate research

There are many journals that focus specifically on publishing undergraduate research. The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) keeps an ever growing list of journals that feature undergraduate work . However, many of those listed by CUR are hosted by a specific institution and might only publish the work of their own students, and others might not be peer-reviewed or have publishing fees, so read the descriptions carefully. And, as always, carefully review each journal's website, published articles, and the author submission guidelines before submitting your work.

Below is a list of selected journals that SBU undergraduates are eligible to submit to, organized into the following categories:

• Broad Scope: Journals that publish research in any disciplinary area.
• Arts and Humanities : Fields such as Art History, Classics, English, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, History, Musicology, Philosophy, Theology, and Writing & Rhetoric. Sometimes History-related fields are also classified as a Social Science, but on this page, most history journals are in the Arts & Humanities category.
• Social Sciences: Fields such as Sociology, Psychology, Economics, International Affairs, Geography, Sustainability, Political Science, and Human Rights are included here.
• STEM : Fields in the hard sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Broad Scope: Journals that publish research in any discipline

• Aletheia: The Alpha Chi Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship Peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate scholarship run by the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society.
• American Journal of Undergraduate Research (AJUR) AJUR is a national, independent, faculty peer-reviewed, open-source, quarterly, multidisciplinary student research journal.
• Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research (BJUR) Submission of original, scholarly research articles is open to undergraduates from any accredited college or university. BJUR publishes scholarship across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
• Discussions: The Undergraduate Research Journal of Case Western Reserve University The journal accepts research papers written by current undergraduate students from accredited colleges and universities around the globe. The research can be on any topic.
• Inquiries: Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities An open access academic journal focusing on publishing high quality original work across a range of disciplines, especially on work in the social sciences, arts, and humanities.
• International Journal of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (IJURCA) Peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to the publication of outstanding scholarship by undergraduates and their mentors. Accepts submissions from all academic disciplines, including original research in the the form of articles and literature reviews, as well as creative work in a variety of media.
• Journal of Student Research Multidisciplinary and faculty-reviewed journal devoted to the rapid dissemination of current research done by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.
• Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research Multidisciplinary scholarly journal produced by a team of Monmouth College student editors and faculty members with peer and faculty reviewers for each article.
• SBU Brooklogue SBU's exclusively undergraduate, peer-reviewed journal for humanities and social sciences.
• Undergraduate Research Journal Double-blind, educator-reviewed print and electronic journal published annually. A forum for multidisciplinary undergraduate research and creative endeavors including case studies, conceptual pieces, creative writing, journalism writings, literature reviews, original art, photography, and scientific studies. Highlights mentored undergraduate scholarly products across all disciplines from all types of higher education institutions.
• UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity The official undergraduate journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council. Submissions are accepted from undergraduates in the following categories: STEM, Social Science, Humanities, Fine Art, and Creative Writing.

Arts and Humanities

• Animus: The Undergraduate Classical Journal of the University of Chicago Supports undergraduate scholarship in the Classics and related fields.
• Apollon Undergraduate Journal A peer-reviewed journal run by faculty and students at Fairfield University. Any undergraduate student whose research was produced through coursework in the humanities may submit.
• Archive: An Undergraduate Journal of History Accepts submissions of History scholarship, including scholarly papers, articles, book reviews, and historical essays from undergraduate students of all majors from colleges and universities in the U.S. or abroad.
• Berkeley Undergraduate Journal of Classics Original manuscripts on any topic related to Classics from undergraduate students in any major at an institution which confers a bachelor's degree are eligible to submit.
• Clio's Scroll: The Berkeley Undergraduate History Journal The journal publishes articles by undergraduates and recent graduates of any university on historical topics.
• Dies Ligibiles: An Undergraduate Journal of Medieval Studies The journal accepts research papers, book reviews, translations, and art in English, French, and Spanish from any undergraduate student at any college or university. The work must pertain to the time period 400 - 1600 CE.
• Epistemai: An Undergraduate Philosophy Journal A student-run philosophy journal at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The journal publishes short, original philosophical work done by undergraduates from universities across the country, and internationally.
• Falsafa: Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy Run by the Philosophy Club at the University of California, Irvine, this journal highlights philosophical ideas and research by undergraduates.
• Forbes & Fifth This undergraduate journal of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh considers both scholarly and creative work from students at any accredited university in the world.
• The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era Open access peer-reviewed undergraduate journal that publishes academic essays, public history essays, and book reviews on the Civil War Era.
• History Matters: An Undergraduate Journal of Historical Research An undergraduate history journal published annually by the Department of History at Appalachian State University. The journal is indexed by EBSCOhost's America: History and Life.
• Journal of Art History and Museum Studies (JAHMS) An undergraduate peer-reviewed journal that publishes undergraduate scholarship by a diverse coalition of student artists and historians.
• The Kennesaw Tower: Undergraduate Foreign Language Research Journal Annual undergraduate double blind and peer-reviewed journal publishes scholarly work of advanced undergraduates students in Chinese, FLED, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
• Mysterion: The Theology Journal of Boston College Publishes undergraduate research from around the world on topics related to theology.
• Nota Bene: Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Musicology Publishes essays written by undergraduate students from universities around the world. Topics include historical musicology, ethnomusicology, popular music studies, music theory, music education, and interdisciplinary subjects. Double blind review by professors across Canada.
• The Oswald Review: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Criticism in the Discipline of English Published annually, and requiring a faculty member's endorsement, the refereed journal in indexed in EBSCO and accepts undergraduate criticism and research in the field of English from students throughout the U.S. and abroad.
• Queen City Writers: a journal of undergraduate writing & composing Refereed journal that publishes essays and multimedia work by undergraduate students affiliated with any post-secondary institution. Topics covered include writing, rhetoric, reading, pedagogy, literacy broadly conceived, popular culture and media, community discourses and multimodal and digital composing.
• Rock Creek Review An undergraduate journal edited, produced and published at Heidelberg University in partnership with the English Department. The journal publishes literary research from schools around the world for an annual publication. Check the website for the "call for papers," which will explain the theme of the next issue.
• RhetTech Undergraduate Journal Run by students at James Madison University, this journal showcases exemplary work being done in undergraduate writing, rhetoric, and technical communication courses around the country.
• Simpliciter: Brandies Philosophy Journal Run by students at Brandeis University, this journal aims to recognize excellent works of philosophy produced by undergraduates from universities anywhere in the world.
• sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies A peer-reviewed journal devoted to the diverse voices of emerging scholar-activists, authors, and artists in Women's Gender & Queer Studies and related fields. First established at McGill University, sprinkle is now published at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and welcomes submissions from around the world.
• Stance: An International Undergraduate Philosophy Journal Peer-reviewed journal publishes original work by undergraduates from around the world.
• Stony Brook Undergraduate History Journal Peer-reviewed publication that showcases the research of SBU students writing about history at the local, national and international levels.
• UC Berkeley Comparative Literature Undergraduate Journal Publishes undergraduate research in comparative texts and media, treating a broad range of topics including theoretical literary discourse, international trends in literature, and comparisons for national literature. Showcases the best work across the U.S. and also highlight more contemplative writing by students regarding multicultural issues, culture shock, or transnational experiences such as studying abroad.
• UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Journal of History A space for undergraduates to share original research other scholarly works of history. Reviewed by graduate students with faculty mentorship.
• The Word: The Stanford Journal of Student Hiphop Research Continually solicits research papers and blog content related to hiphop culture. An open-source, open peer-refereed journal. Open to undergraduates from any college or university.
• Xchanges: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Technical Communication, Rhetoric, and Writing Across the Curriculum The fall issues publishes these and research projects of upper-level undergraduate students. Submissions may be traditional articles or multimodal "webtexts." Based in the English Department at the University of New Mexico.
• Yale Historical Review Welcomes works from undergraduates at any institution on any historically relevant topic.
• Young Scholars in Writing (YSW) An international peer-reviewed journal. Publishes original research and theoretical articles by undergraduates of all majors and years on the subjects of rhetoric, writing, writers, discourse, language, and related topics.

Social Sciences

• Afkar: The Undergraduate Journal of Middle East Studies International peer-reviewed journal that accepts research articles, essays, and book reviews that focus on the politics, history, culture, and society of the Middle East and North Africa.
• Al Noor Boston College's Middle Eastern Studies journal. It is run by undergraduates and publishes work from students around the world.
• Chicago Journal of Foreign Policy: University of Chicago's Premiere Undergraduate Journal of International Affairs Accepts submissions from undergraduates from around the world on articles related to foreign policy, international relations, and related topics, preferably pertaining to the period since 1945..
• Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas A joint project of Northern Illinois University and Arizona State University, Compass publishes work related to American democracy understood in the broad contexts of political philosophy, history, literature, economics, and culture.
• Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development To encourage an international community to think more broadly, deeply, and analytically about sustainable development, the journal publishes work by students, researchers, professors, and practitioners from a variety of academic fields and geographic regions.
• Critique: a worldwide student journal of politics Peer-reviewed journal that publishes scholarship by students of political science. The journal is recognized by the American Political Science Association and indexed by EBSCO.
• The Developing Economist Student-run undergraduate economics research journal, published with support from the Longhorn Chapter of the Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honor Society and the Department of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin.
• Issues in Political Economy Co-edited by undergraduates at Elon University and the University of Mary Washington, the journal publishes undergraduate research in the field of economics and is indexed in Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Economics and Finance.
• Journal of Integrated Social Sciences A web-based, peer-reviewed journal committed to the scholarly investigation of social phenomena. We especially encourage students and their faculty advisors to submit the results of their investigations in Psychology, Sociology, and Gender Studies.
• Journal of Interpersonal Relations, Intergroup Relations, and Identity (JIRIRI) Affiliated with the Universite de Montreal, the international peer-reviewed journal publishes the work of undergraduates on new theoretical ideas in the fields of psychology, identity, interpersonal and intergroup relations. It publishes both theoretical and empirical articles.
• Journal of Politics and Society Published by the student group Helvidius at Columbia University, the journal focuses on undergraduate interdisciplinary research in the social sciences.
• The Journal of Undergraduate Ethnic Minority Psychology (JUEMP) Open access, double blind, peer-reviewed journal devoted to publishing research authored or co-authored by undergraduates. The journal is especially interested in submissions that are from ethnic minorities perspectives, that focus on the thoughts and behaviors of ethnic minority populations, or both.
• New Errands: The Undergraduate Journal of American Studies Sponsored by The Eastern American Studies Association and the American Studies Program at Penn State Harrisburg, this journal publishes undergraduate research in the field of American Studies.
• The Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Review International undergraduate journal housed in the Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Virginia Tech. Through a double blind review process, the journal publishes original research in the humanities and social sciences from undergraduates worldwide.
• Process: Journal of Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Scholarship Published quarterly, the journal publishes undergraduate writings that rigorously engage with issues of social justice, transformative education, politics, identity, and cultural production. Publishes both critical essays and non-traditional or multimodal compositions.
• Righting Wrongs: A Journal of Human Rights Based at Webster University's Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, this peer-reviewed academic journal publishes undergraduate research papers, book reviews, opinion pieces, and photo essays that explore human rights issues.
• Social Moments: A Student Journal of Social Relations Interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal examining the social and cultural world through a social science lens. All undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit work in any social science discipline.
• Sociology between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics Undergraduates, graduates, and professionals in sociology and related fields may submit their articles, books and film reviews, and point of view essays. Double blind peer review.
• Undergraduate Economic Review (UER) Supported by the Department of Economics and The Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan University, this is an open access peer-reviewed journal that publishes undergraduate research in the field of economics from around the world.
• Undergraduate Journal of Global Citizenship Based at Fairfield University, the journal publishes undergraduate research on topics related to International Studies such as global awareness, interdependence, environmental responsibility, social justice, humanitarianism, and other themes that promote the understanding of global citizenship.
• Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning & Community-Based Research Refereed, multidisciplinary, open access undergraduate journal that publishes articles from students all around the world. Accepted articles contribute to the literature on service learning and community-based research through reflection, research, or analysis. Based at University of North Carolina Wilmington.
• The Undergraduate Research Journal of Psychology at UCLA (URJP) Based at UCLA, but accepting submissions of undergraduate research from institutions all over the world, this peer-reviewed journal aims to empower undergraduate students to engage in and with research and facilitate scientific conversation and inquiry in the field of psychology.

STEM Fields

• Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal (CUSJ) Open access science journal that publishes manuscripts resulting from significant scientific research or analysis. Each paper undergoes a double-blind peer review process and a faculty review by the CUSJ Faculty Advisory Board.
• EvoS: The Evolutional Studies Consortium A peer-reviewed open access journal, EvoS welcomes work from all academic disciplines and interdisciplinary scholarship that incorporates evolutionary theory.
• Illumin Magazine: A Review of Engineering in Everyday Life An online magazine dedicated to exploring the science and technology behind the things we encounter every day. Features the work of University of Southern California undergraduate engineers, as well as submissions from universities across the U.S.
• Impulse: The Premier Undergraduate Neuroscience Journal International online neuroscience journal for undergraduate publications.
• International Journal of Exercise Science This journal engages undergraduate and graduate students in scholarly activity as both authors and reviewers. Articles on exercise science undergo peer review.
• Intersect: The Stanford Journal of Science, Technology, and Society An open access international science, technology, and society research journal that accepts undergraduate, graduate, and PhD submissions at the intersection of history, culture, sociology, art, literature, business, law, health, and design with science and technology. Students from around the world are invited to submit.
• Involve: A Journal of Mathematics High quality mathematical research involving students from all academic levels. Submissions should include substantial faculty input; faculty co-authorship is required and the submission should come from a faculty member.
• Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research Peer-reviewed journal that publishes undergraduate students' work in chemistry, including analytical, organic, inorganic, physical, polymers, and biochemistry.
• Journal of Undergraduate Kinesiology Research Published by the Kinesiology Department at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, the peer-reviewed, journal is dedicated to original undergraduate research in Kinesiology. Currently, the research originates from students at the University of Wisconsin, but undergraduates from all institutions are invited to submit.
• Journal of Undergraduate Reports in Physics (JURP) Peer-reviewed publication of the Society of Physics Students comprised of undergraduate research, outreach, and scholarly reporting.
• Journal of Young Investigators (JYI) JYI publishes original work in the sciences written by undergraduates mentored by a faculty member. The mission of the journal is to improve undergraduate science training by providing innovative, high quality educational experiences in science writing, publication, and the peer-review process.
• Psi Chi Journal Undergraduate, graduate, and faculty submissions welcome year round to this peer-reviewed psychology journal.
• Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal Devoted entirely to papers written by undergraduates on topics in the mathematical sciences. Sponsored by the Mathematics Department at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the journal accepts submissions from undergraduates around the world and faculty co-authors are not permitted.
• RURALS: Review of Undergraduate Research in Agricultural and Life Sciences Faculty-refereed international journal devoted to the publication of high quality research by undergraduates in all agricultural research problem areas.
• SIAM Undergraduate Research Online (SIURO) Run by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), SIURO publishes articles written by undergraduates from all over the world in the field of computational mathematics. Each paper must be submitted with a letter from a faculty advisor.
• Spectrum Published by the University of Alberta, this multidisciplinary journal publishes research completed by undergraduates in a variety of formats including research articles, review articles, music, video, visual arts, and creative writing.
• Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics Published by Illinois State, this is an open access refereed research journal dedicated to publishing high quality manuscripts by undergraduate or graduate students that describe mathematical and statistical techniques to solve problems in biological settings, as well as in experimental biology. Requires an article processing charge.
• PUMP Journal of Undergraduate Research PUMP stands for Preparing Undergraduate Mathematicians for Ph.D.s, and the journal publishes articles by undergraduates students who want to pursue doctoral studies in the Mathematical Sciences. The journal especially encourages submissions by students from underrepresented groups. Topics include pure and applied mathematics and statistics and authors may submit research papers, papers containing new proofs of known results, and expository papers which propose original points of view.
• Undergraduate Journal of Experimental Microbiology and Immunology (UJEMI+) Based at the University of British Columbia, the journal has two versions -- one that publishes only UBC students (UJEMI) and the other that is open to external submissions (UJEMI+). Dedicated to the publication of undergraduate articles in fields related to microbiology and immunology, the journal requires a formal endorsement from a course instructor or researcher who mentored the student authors.
• Young Investigator's Review Stony Brook's own student-run science journal!
• << Previous: Publishing Your Research: Why and How?
• Next: Contact >>
• Last Updated: Mar 26, 2024 11:42 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.stonybrook.edu/undergraduate_research
• Request a Class
• Hours & Locations
• Ask a Librarian
• Special Collections
• Library Faculty & Staff

Library Administration: 631.632.7100

• Stony Brook Home
• Campus Maps
• Web Accessibility Information
• Accessibility Barrier Report Form

Comments or Suggestions? | Library Webmaster

Except where otherwise noted, this work by SBU Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Home > Libraries > LIBRARIESPUBLISHING > SPS > SPSOAJ > JPUR

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research has been established to publish outstanding research papers written by Purdue undergraduates from all disciplines who have completed faculty-mentored research projects. The journal is run by students, but behind the scenes is a unique partnership between Purdue University Press and other departments of Purdue University Libraries, working with Purdue Marketing and Media and the Writing Lab, based in the Department of English. Publication of JPUR is sponsored by the Office of the Provost at Purdue University.

We are now accepting submissions for Volume 14 to be published in August 2024. The final deadline for the 2024 volume is February 15, 2024 . To submit your proposal, please use the "Submit Proposal" link on the left-hand navigation bar.

Student Opportunities

JPUR is an Open Access journal. This means that it uses a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. Readers may freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. This journal is covered under the CC BY-NC-ND license. If you have concerns about the submission or publication terms for the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research , please contact the Journal Coordinator at [email protected].

Who is reading JPUR right now?

Current volume: volume 13 (2023).

Editorial Jenna Rickus

Clouds in the Ancient Lunar Atmosphere: Water Ice Nucleation on Aerosol Simulants Mariana C. Aguilar

Parentally Exposed Zebrafish Larvae Have Altered Craniofacial Measurements: Multigeneration Developmental Atrazine Toxicity Isabelle Akoro

A Computational Profile Of Invasive Lionfish In Belize: A New Insight on a Destructive Species Joshua E. Balan

Machine Learning of Big Data: A Gaussian Regression Model to Predict the Spatiotemporal Distribution of Ground Ozone Jerry Gu

Characterizing Differential Reflectivity Calibration Dependence on Environmental Temperature Using the X-band Teaching and Research Radar (XTRRA): Looking for a Relationship between Temperature and Differential Reflectivity Bias Emma Miller

Genome-Wide Mutagenesis to Investigate the N-Terminal Methylome: The Protective Effects of Hsp31 and Other Methylated Proteins in Yeast James Rooney and Jacob Lindsey

Trauma, Recovery, and Adolescent Relationships in Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower: An In-Depth Analysis Rachel Rosen

The Role of Vocal Development Patterns: Predicting Neurogenetic Risk in Infancy Using Early Vocal Development and Sex Alyssa Cregg, Rachel Siela, Olivia Battaglia, Kaylee Bobay, Madison Chin, Athena Fordwor, Conghao Gao, Deeksha Handa, Erin Lee, Tiernan McDivitt, Grace Strabala, Victoria Tuell, and Laurel Williams

Biodiesel Transesterification of Spent Coffee Grounds Using DBU as a Catalyst: Using DBU to Make Biodiesel from Coffee Grounds Christopher Stepherson, Pericles Karras, Amy Ha, Phuc Tan Nguyen, Abigail Pati, Jacob Hejazi, Soheil Hussain, Elizabeth De Young, and Shuaicheng Fu

Sales of Cage-Free Eggs: The Impact of Proposition 12 on Egg Prices and Consumer Welfare in California Mingcong Xie

Research Snapshots

Dining Out Behavior in China and the Implications in the Post-COVID-19 Era Ji Yong Kwon

Evaluating the Efficacy of IPM Strategies Against Insect Pests of Collards Elliott Masterson

Laboratory Screening of Sorghum Lines for Incompatibility: A Postattachment Resistance Mechanism to the Parasitic Weed Striga hermonthica Cameron Matthews

Gossypium hirsutum as a Study Species to Understand Plant Responses to Drought Stress Sam Schafer

Lake Michigan Shoreline Landowner Survey Colby Smock

Tourism Insights: ESG in Lodging and Hospitality Emily Cassanmagnago

Monon Neighborhood Livability Study Abigail Dimmick

UPLeft: Pick Up Leftovers, Uplift Those in Need Veronica Galles

To Innovate or Integrate: A Story of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Video Game Industry Charlie Geis and Dustin Rabin

Standard Improvements to Policy for Maintaining a High Leasing Rate on Commercial Properties Scott Morical

Microfinancing and Entrepreneurship in Cocoa Refinement in Côte d’Ivoire Erin Soro

“We Flourish”: The Role of BIPOC Parents in Diversifying Children’s Literature Kayla Neal

Liquid Nitrogen Shrink-Fitting Process Natalie Harvey

Smartphone Color Error Analysis Mackenna Hawes

Is Northwest Indiana Prepared to Be a “Climate Haven”? Luke Carl Jorgensen

Changes in Russian Media Language in Turbulent Times Evan Landau

Design and Development of an Inert Controlled Environmental Chamber for Evaluation of Contaminant Mass Transfer Brian Magnuson and Zachary Limaye

Tree Localization in a Plantation Using Ultra Wideband Signals Akshat Verma

Developmental Atrazine Exposure Modifies Expression of Synucleins Isabelle Akoro

Active Herbicide Ingredients in Roundup Ready Xtend Products, Glyphosate and Dicamba, Results in Hypoactivity in Zebrafish Larvae When Exposed During Development Ryker Bond

Analyzing Health Care Delivery Costs from 2011 to 2020 in the Emergency Departments and Overall Hospital Costs Jacob A. Corey

Formulation of Preservation Solutions for Model Generation with In Vivo Tissue Morphology Holly Pickett

Comparing Effects of Atrazine Exposure on Neuroendocrine Molecular Targets at Two Developmental Exposure Periods in the Zebrafish Jenna Swihart

Monitoring of Caucasus Heritage Sites Facing Cultural Genocide Peyton Edelbrock

Laughter and Madness: The Comic Horror of Evil Dead II David Gowan

Examining the Examiner: An Amicus Brief on Conflicts Between Forensic Technology and Indigenous Religious Freedoms in Favor of Virtual Autopsies Peyton James

Efficacy of the Pedagogical, Cultural, and Advocacy Programming at Purdue University Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center Michael Kuczajda

American Foreign Policy and Public Opinion of the Crimean War (1853–1856) Anurag Shah

The Effects of Wildfire Aerosol Emissions on Air Quality Emma Braun and Audrey Shirley

Model Selection Through Cross-Validation for Supervised Learning Tasks with Manifold Data Derek Brown

Exploring the Evolution of Callose Synthase in Green Plants Giovanna Durante

The Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Situational Association Between Accentedness and Its Impact as Rated by Speakers Makaila Groves

Toward Improved Global Food Security: Uncovering How Tomatoes Fight Root-Knot Nematodes Chingyan H. Huang

Does Having Air Conditioning Affect Friendship Formation in the First Two Months of College? Zachariah Hunt

The Impact of Accessible Data on Cyberstalking Elise Kwan

NeuroArt: Presenting a Tool for Self-Regulation Emma Niecikowski

Promises and Risks of Applying AI Medical Imaging to Early Detection of Cancers, and Regulation for AI Medical Imaging Yiyao Zhang

Out of the Box

Digitizing Delphi: Educating Audiences Through Virtual Reconstruction Kate Koury

Interview: Bethany McGowan and Matthew Hannah Catie Gilhooly

Interview: Michael Kirchner Catie Gilhooly

Alumni Spotlights

Alumni Spotlight: Chufan Gao

Alumni Spotlight: Caleb Hettinger

Alumni Spotlight: Emerald Obie

Alumni Spotlight: Emma Wallens

Cover Image Research Summary

Back Matter

Dr. Krystal R. Hans and undergraduate student researchers in the Hans Lab (courtesy of Purdue University/John Underwood).

• About This Journal
• Editorial Board
• Tips for Authors
• JPUR Stories
• Submit Article
• Most Popular Papers
• Receive Email Notices or RSS

Advanced Search

ISSN: 2158-4052

Home | About | FAQ | My Account | Accessibility Statement

Privacy Copyright

A national, peer reviewed, multidisciplinary research journal

American Journal of Undergraduate Research (AJUR) is a national, independent, faculty peer-reviewed, open-source, quarterly, multidisciplinary student research journal, established in 2002. Our mission is to peer-review, publish on the web and in print, and index scholarly and creative manuscripts written by undergraduates and with undergraduates’ participation, at no cost to authors. The journal is indexed internationally by EBSCO and Crossref , and each manuscript receives a DOI number.  AJUR ‘s entire content, by invitation, is archived by the United States Library of Congress .  AJUR makes a unique contribution because of the high standards for content, rigorous review process, and ease of accessibility to the public and professionals. It accepts submissions from outside the United States, provided the submissions would be of broad interest to US and international readers. AJUR ’s print ISSN is 1536-4585 and the web ISSN is 2375-8732. The editorial board of AJUR consists of approximately sixty professional subject editors in a wide variety of fields. Printed copies are available in the special collections section of Penfield Library . Up-to-date information about AJUR can be found at  https://ajuronline.org/ .

The submission publishing process, our expectations, and the editorial workflow are described at the “ Submissions and Review ” link button above. You may see AJUR’s   Current Issue  or Archives  by clicking the corresponding links/buttons above. Please read more about the  AJUR  and see our editorial board using the “ History and Editors ” link.

Please consider being a sponsor of AJUR , a not-for-profit organization. Thank you for your interest and for your support of undergraduate research.

Any questions? Please check our Q&A page. To reach the editor of AJUR, send an e-mail to ajureditor[at]gmail.com

The Harvard Undergraduate Research Journal

We highlight undergraduate innovation, scholarship, and discovery.

VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 1

"Economic Assimilation of Asian American Immigrants by Nationality: Aging and Cohort Effects, and the Model Minority Myth"

"qualitative histopathological analysis of bleomycin-induced lung injury", "are we alone one question, one scientist,two harvard initiatives", "the sins of memory in the digital age: an interview with professor daniel schacter", "climate change, pandemics, and the quest for environmental and social justice", "recent advances in neurotechnologies to understand and direct specific behavior of live animals".

Submit Research

Past Issues

• Editorial Board

Submission Guidelines

• Call for Papers
• READ JOURNAL
• Reviewers NEEDED!

Welcome to the Undergraduate Research Journal multidisciplinary journal

Undergraduate research.

Our Editorial Board includes nationally reknowned experts.

Get Published

Are you interested in getting your work published, or know of someone who is? Check out our call for papers.

Please see the submission guidelines to prepare your manuscript.

Call For Papers - FALL 2024 Issue

Undergraduate Research journal invites students to submit their undergraduate research!

SUBMISSION PORTAL OPENS: January 15th, 2024

PAPER SUBMISSION DEADLINE : April 15, 2024 (close of business)  

Main Website: http://undergraduateresearch.org  

Papers will be published in 

Undergraduate Research , Vol. 4(2), Fall 2024  

Additional call for Undergraduate ART WORK  &  ARTISTIC  EXPRESSION!

- front and back covers of journal-  

SUBMIT your art to [email protected] for consideration. Undergraduate Research is a national double-blind, educator-reviewed print and electronic journal published annually in the Winter. The journal is a forum for multidisciplinary undergraduate research and creative endeavors within higher education. The journal follows the Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR) strategic pillars for undergraduate research and creative endeavors.

Debuting in Winter 2021, Undergraduate Research publishes research and creative endeavors from undergraduate students enrolled in institutions of higher education from across the United States. This journal highlights the best of mentored undergraduate scholarly products across all disciplines from all types of higher education institutions.

Submission Guidelines: https://undergraduateresearch.org/submission-guidelines

 Please submit your papers here: https://undergraduateresearch.scholasticahq.com/

 Thank you for considering Undergraduate Research !  

Drop us a line!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Copyright © 2024 Undergraduate Research - All Rights Reserved.

Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder

Fall 2023 Volume 3 Issue 2

Now Available!

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• CAREER COLUMN
• 15 March 2019

A student’s guide to undergraduate research

• Shiwei Wang 0

Shiwei Wang is a junior undergraduate student studying Integrated Science and Chemistry at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Twitter: @W_Shiwei

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience working in a materials-chemistry laboratory at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, for the past two years. Being able to mix an undergraduate education with original research in a proper laboratory has been a fantastic opportunity.

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

185,98 € per year

only 3,65 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00871-x

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged. You can get in touch with the editor at [email protected].

Wang, S. et al. Preprint at ChemRxiv https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.7824707.v2 (2019).

Download references

Related Articles

Bring training forward for undergraduate researchers

Deadly diseases and inflatable suits: how I found my niche in virology research

Spotlight 17 APR 24

How young people benefit from Swiss apprenticeships

I dive for fish in the longest freshwater lake in the world

Female academics need more support — in China as elsewhere

Correspondence 16 APR 24

FACULTY POSITION IN PATHOLOGY RESEARCH

Dallas, Texas (US)

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern Medical Center)

Postdoc Fellow / Senior Scientist

The Yakoub and Sulzer labs at Harvard Medical School-Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Columbia University

Boston, Massachusetts (US)

Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital

Postdoc in Computational Genomics – Machine Learning for Multi-Omics Profiling of Cancer Evolution

Computational Postdoc - Artificial Intelligence in Oncology and Regulatory Genomics and Cancer Evolution at the DKFZ - limited to 2 years

Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg (DE)

German Cancer Research Center in the Helmholtz Association (DKFZ)

Computational Postdoc

The German Cancer Research Center is the largest biomedical research institution in Germany.

PhD / PostDoc Medical bioinformatics (m/f/d)

The Institute of Medical Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine / University of Freiburg is looking for a PhD/PostDoc Medical bioinformatics (m/w/d)

Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg (DE)

University of Freiburg

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Cornell Undergraduate Research Journal

Current Issue

The Cornell Undergraduate Research Journal is a bi-annual, peer-reviewed, independent student research publication featuring the exemplary scholarly work of Cornell undergraduates. One issue is published per semester, online and in-print.

Announcements

Spring 2023 issue.

Welcome to the Spring 2023 issue of the Cornell Undergraduate Research Journal . We are so excited to share with you the outstanding research of Cornell undergraduates.

We are now  accepting submissions for the Fall 2023 issue of CURJ.

• Student Journals
• Submissions
• Volumes and Issues
• SPUR Awards
• Cumulative Index
• Online Article Search
• Position Statements & White Papers
• Publications
• Undergraduate Research Stories
• Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research (COEUR)
• Integrating and Scaffolding Research into Undergraduate STEM Curricula
• Internship and Research Opportunities
• Paper and Presentation Opportunities
• Student Resource Center
• Advocacy Tools
• Assessment Tools
• Characteristics of Excellence
• Community Colleges
• International Collaborations

Student journals create unique avenues by which emerging scholars can engage with research more profoundly. They offer a more viable path for students to earn publication and provide valuable professional opportunities, as student leaders can experience academic publishing from a distinct vantage point and develop as leaders in research. Student journals often play an integral role in research engagement programs at the institutional level. CUR offers a Student Journals community as a place for those involved in student research journals—students, faculty, librarians, administrators, and others—to share resources, foster discussion of best practices, seek solutions to issues encountered in the operation of student journals, and provide support and networking to such individuals. There is also an impressive list of undergraduate research journals, and if you don’t see your journal posted, visit the link at the bottom of the Undergraduate Journal Catalog webpage to submit your listing.

The Case for Undergraduate Research Journals

• Special Issue: Mathematical Biology Education
• Published: 28 July 2020
• Volume 82 , article number  100 , ( 2020 )

Cite this article

• Kestutis G. Bendinskas 1 ,
• Lester Caudill 2 &
• Luis A. Melara Jr. 3  

492 Accesses

3 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

This note addresses the important role of undergraduate research journals in the undergraduate research experience. Peer review by professional researchers is identified as the most essential ingredient in establishing the relevance of these journals as venues for research dissemination. Included are examples of three such journals— Spora , SIAM Undergraduate Research Online , and the American Journal of Undergraduate Research —with demonstrated success in supporting the undergraduate research experience.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

How to Write and Publish a Research Paper for a Peer-Reviewed Journal

Clara Busse & Ella August

Why, When, Who, What, How, and Where for Trainees Writing Literature Review Articles

Gerry L. Koons, Katja Schenke-Layland & Antonios G. Mikos

Literature reviews as independent studies: guidelines for academic practice

Sascha Kraus, Matthias Breier, … João J. Ferreira

American Journal of Undergraduate Research. http://www.ajuronline.org/

Beckman Mary, Hensel Nancy (2009) Making explicit the implicit: defining undergraduate research. CUR Q 29(4):40–44

Google Scholar  

Gilbert SF (2004) Points of view: should students be encouraged to publish their research in student-run publications? A case against undergraduate-only journal publications. Cell Biol Educ 3:22–23

Article   Google Scholar  

Gilmore J, Vieyra M, Timmerman B, Feldon D, Maher M (2015) The relationship between undergraduate research participation and subsequent research performance of early career STEM graduate students. J High Educ 86(6):834–863

Intercollegiate Biomathematics Alliance. https://about.illinoisstate.edu/iba/pages/default.aspx

Jungck JR, Harris M, Mercuri R, Tusin J (2004) Points of view: should students be encouraged to publish their research in student-run publications? Undergraduates: do research, publish!. Cell Biol Educ 3:24–26

Lopatto D (2007) Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and active learning. Cell Biol Educ 6:297–306

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and others (2017) Undergraduate research experiences for STEM students: successes, challenges, and opportunities. National Academies Press

Richmond Guarantee. https://www.richmond.edu/guarantee

Russell SH, Hancock MP, McCullough J (2007) Benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Science 316(5824):548–549

Seymour E, Hunter A-B, Laursen S, DeAntoni T (2004) Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates: first findings from a three-year study. Sci Educ 88:493–594

SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Undergraduate Research Online (SIURO). https://www.siam.org/publications/siuro

SIURO: Journal Submission & Tracking System. https://siuro.siam.org/cgi-bin/main.plex

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/spora/

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Chemistry, SUNY-Oswego, Oswego, NY, 13126-3599, USA

Kestutis G. Bendinskas

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, 23173, USA

Lester Caudill

Department of Mathematics, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA, 17257-2299, USA

Luis A. Melara Jr.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luis A. Melara Jr. .

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Kestutis G. Bendinskas—Executive Editor of American Journal of Undergraduate Research, Lester Caudill—Associate Editor of Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics, Luis A. Melara Jr.—Editor-in-Chief, SIAM Undergraduate Research Online (SIURO)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Bendinskas, K.G., Caudill, L. & Melara, L.A. The Case for Undergraduate Research Journals. Bull Math Biol 82 , 100 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-020-00775-2

Download citation

Received : 22 January 2020

Accepted : 29 June 2020

Published : 28 July 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-020-00775-2

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Undergraduate research
• Undergraduate education
• Student research

Advertisement

• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

UCLA's Undergraduate Research Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences

WELCOME TO ALEPH

About us. . ..

Aleph (pronounced “ah-lef”) stands as UCLA’s only official journal dedicated to showcasing undergraduate research in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. As an initiative driven by undergraduates, we take pride in publishing select submissions both online and in print, with the support of our sponsor, the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center – Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

. . . Submit Your Research

If you’re interested in publishing your research with Aleph , our research journal provides a remarkable platform for undergraduate scholars like you. To learn more about the submission process and guidelines, please refer to our “ Submissions ” tab. We encourage a diverse range of topics and methodologies to reflect the exceptional quality and breadth of undergraduate research at UCLA.

Join Our Community. . .

UCLA is globally recognized as a research institution, where you are able to explore a variety of subjects under the guidance of its esteemed faculty. At Aleph , our mission is to foster the dissemination of a diverse array of papers that truly represents the depth and breadth of undergraduate research at UCLA.

As a student-run journal, Aleph offers all UCLA undergraduates the invaluable opportunity to contribute to our publication and gain hands-on experience in outreach, editing, design, and publishing. Whether you are already immersed in research or seeking to embark on this transformative journey, Aleph is the perfect platform to enhance your academic and professional growth. Discover how you can join Aleph here !

Acknowledgements

Aleph’s existence is made possible through the generous funding provided by both the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, as well as the Division of Undergraduate Education. We are grateful for their continued support in promoting undergraduate research excellence at UCLA.

If you have any questions, comments, or inquiries, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] !

• Skip to Content
• Skip to Main Navigation
• Skip to Search

Indiana University Indiana University IU

• Executive Board
• Public Relations
• Natural Sciences
• Applied Sciences
• Social Sciences
• VD&P Board
• Your Campus
• Latest Articles
• OJS Author account
• Rating Criteria
• Submission Options
• APA Style Guide
• Chicago Style
• Undergraduate Research
• Faculty and Graduate Students
• Join IUJUR Staff
• Impact of COVID-19 on IU
• Indiana University Journal of Undergraduate Research

OCC Features

Cómo STEPS habla el idioma de la comunidad

How STEPS fosters care that speaks the community’s language

AAPI Hate at IU: how we got here and where to go

Submitting Original Research to IUJUR

The Importance of Open Access Research Journals

Access our latest publications and discover what other undergrads are researching on campus.

Want to get published? Follow our submission guidelines here. We publish continuously throughout the academic year.

Learn how to become active in undergraduate research yourself or join our IUJUR staff.

Call for Submissions

IUJUR is accepts submissions on a rolling basis throughout the academic year. The sooner you submit, the sooner you can get published! We accept all kinds of work from the four different content areas of undergraduate research. In addition to full-length manuscripts and literature reviews, you may submit a research snapshot if your work is still in progress.

Latest Date to Submit

To ensure your article is reviewed before a semester ends, please submit two weeks in advance of the beginning of finals week.

Indiana University Journal of Undergraduate Research social media channels

Announcements:

Links to resources:   For Reviewers           For Authors           In Focus             In Action  

Brief About:

The Minnesota Undergraduate Research & Academic Journal is an academic journal dedicated to the academic research of undergraduate students. It is a student-run publication, with students as the reviewers, authors, and editorial board, that strives toward a diverse representation of work from all subjects and fields. Students are encouraged to submit research in a variety of formats and platforms, whether it be by text, photo or video. As the university’s first multi-disciplinary, undergraduate research journal, MURAJ aims to stay committed to its values of diversity and broad scope by publishing work from all areas of research and from students in all ranges of their undergraduate career.

Read more about us !

Current Issue

Vol. 5 No. 4 (2022): Minnesota Undergraduate Research & Academic Journal

Journal Cover Artist: Tony Miller 

MURAJ’s interdisciplinary annual publication compiles distinguished academic pieces composed by undergraduate authors. Each piece is subject to a rigorous peer-review process completed by our experienced University of Minnesota undergraduate reviewers. Our excellent authors demonstrate the breadth and depth of undergraduate research in Minnesota and nationwide.

Published: 2022-06-03

Letter from the Editor

Muraj 2021-2022 vol. 5 no. 4 masthead, biological, animal, and health sciences, defining a cultural context to underutilized crops in the minnesota food system a systems mapping approach, effects of ph changes on zebrafish microbiome, inhibition of mct1 to reduce tumor invasion during early malignant progression in hnscc, mesalamine and immunosuppressant treatment in crohn’s disease, the relation between the brain-gut axis and parkinson's disease, business, law and politics, an insight into the world of spac fraud, an investigation of intent and genocide in the 1930s kazakh famine, the effect of wage increases on judicial corruption, political stability and agriculture: a case study of egypt, diversified studies, constructed value systems across interpersonal relationships, finding the sun: an effort in retracting and relearning one’s past, engineering and physical science, utilizing the hamiltonian dynamics to study resonant interactions of whistler-mode waves and electrons in the solar wind, environmental, conservation, and plant science, optimizing carrot growth in static hydroponic systems, mathematics and computer science, a statistical investigation on workforce automation, muraj: in creation.

Rape Culture

Literature and History

Expanding queer indigenous traditions as a vehicle of futurity, a flame fate dares not move a sapphic reading of katherine philips, social sciences, education and communication, african americans and type 2 diabetes: social determinants of health in prevalence and outcomes, an analysis of icelandic pagan rituals and norse mythology, economic growth of the republic of armenia versus caucasus region during the period 2017– 2019: a case study, ethics and discrimination in the hiring process: an overview of gender and race, government transparency and data: foia evidence from law enforcement agencies, masculinity development, gender stereotypes, and gender equality, pandilleros y políticos: cyclical violence in el salvador, psycholinguistic indicators of anxiety during white self-reflection on racial privilege, trust in the new normal: the effect of face mask wearing on perceived trustworthiness.

The copyright of these individual works published by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing remains with the original creator or editorial team. For uses beyond those covered by law or the Creative Commons license, permission to reuse should be sought directly from the copyright owner listed on each article.

Center for Undergraduate Research and Engaged Learning

Distinguish Yourself

Undergraduate Research Journal

                                                                                                             2023 Undergraduate Research Journal

The University of California Riverside Undergraduate Research Journal provides a student-edited multi-disciplinary journal that features the very best faculty-mentored undergraduate research and scholarship accomplished on our campus. This peer-review process is managed by the Student Editorial Board (SEB) with guidance from the Faculty Advisory Board (FAB), and logistical support from the  Center for Undergraduate Research and Engaged Learning team . The Journal is sponsored by the Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education.

Prior to submission , students should review all Journal Requirements including paper requirements, guidelines, and other submission information.

Publishing workshops are provided to clarify expectations for successful article submission:

• Students interested in submitting articles to the Journal are highly encouraged to read through the Author Workshop presentation . 
• Those students who are unable to attend should carefully review the Journal Formatting Guidelines (below).
• The workshops will be presented by a member of the Student Editorial Board who outline the expectations, will provide clarification, and answer specific questions about preparing an article for submission.

Article Submission:

Fall: Oct. 13, 2023 at 5pm

Winter: Jan. 8, 2024 at 5pm 

Spring: April 5, 2024 at 5pm

Submit Article Here

Cover Art Submission:

April 20, 2024 at 5pm

Student Editorial Board Applications:

Now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 academic year! Applications are due by 11:59pm on Friday, April 19.

Submissions for Articles and Cover Design Art

Submissions will be accepted throughout the academic year, however finalized selection of articles will be determined after the April 1 deadline for the annual spring publication.

• Article Submission
• Cover Art Submission

Submitting an Article

Articles submitted to the Journal must be original work written by currently enrolled undergraduate students at UCR, who are involved in faculty-mentored research, scholarship, and/or creative activity. All articles must be approved by the student researcher's faculty mentor(s) for submission to be complete. Once the student has submitted the article online, each faculty mentor will receive notification via email.  The faculty mentor will then have the option to approve, hold the article for edits, or not approve.  It is highly recommended that students acquire verbal approval from their mentor(s) before they submit online. The student will be notified of the mentor's action and is responsible for following up with the mentor if the article was not approved.  Only those submissions approved by faculty mentors will move forward to the editorial evaluation process. If appropriate, research must have approval from institutional oversight boards or committees. 

The UCR Undergraduate Research Journal is considered a campus journal.  The Journal is housed in the Rivera Library Special Collections and can be found in the UCR Library .  The submission of a paper to the Journal does not exclude the possibility of submitting similar work to an external journal unless the external journal's submission or publication restrictions prohibit it.  Students who are published in the Undergraduate Research Journal may also submit their work for publication in other journals. 

You are encouraged to review articles previously submitted and accepted. You can view the  most recent Journal to see examples.  

• Margins must be 1-inch on all sides.
• Abstract must be single-spaced .
• Article text must be double-spaced .
• All pages must be numbered .  Place page number in the center of the page at the bottom.
• References :  Follow the citation styles of your discipline. Some examples are MLA, APA, CSE, ACS, etc. Please work with your faculty mentors to determine which should be used.
• Articles must be submitted as a Word document (.dox or .docx format).
• The final page of your article should include your faculty mentor's bio. Please consult with your faculty to ensure that you are included the most updated bio.
• Name your file as "Submission Number - (XXXXX) - First Submission" - upon submission your article will be assigned a Submission Number, please use that number for future revised submissions.
• Document size cannot exceed 5MB.
• Maximum length of the article cannot exceed 15 pages, 12-point Times New Roman , including all figures, tables, graphs, footnotes, and references. It does not include the abstract and author information.
• Journal Template

The ideal structure of any article will depend on the discipline. Please consult with your faculty mentor to determine the paper structure that is most appropriate for your submission. It is recommended that all submissions contain the following elements: 

• One author should take primary responsibility for the work as a whole. The Primary Author is responsible for submission.
• Everyone who is listed as an author must have made a substantial, direct, intellectual contribution to the work. For example, they should have contributed to the conception, design, analysis and/or interpretation of data, as well as to the actual writing of the article. 
• Please list authors in order of contribution. You are encouraged to discuss this with the team members prior to submission . The order that you provide in this submission is the order the authors will be listed.
• All authors should participate in the editing process by reviewing drafts and approving the final version before publication.
• Abstract --A single paragraph containing no more than 250 words. An abstract briefly defines the problem, purpose, or specific topic addressed by the research. It briefly indicates the methods and/or approach taken in inquiry and summarizes results or conclusion. It should be written in grammatically correct, logically connected sentences. It should be understandable by any audience with reasonable knowledge of its field. The abstract should not contain any charts, tables, graphs, figures, or spreadsheets. The abstract must be single spaced.
• Keywords -- 6-8 keywords relevant to the topic

PLEASE NOTE:   If your paper is accepted and you have photos/ graphs/images, we will ask that you submit the images in high resolution (300 DPI) for publication. For more information on each of these paper sections, please watch the Publishing in the Journal Workshop Video or attend a Submitting to the Journal workshop.  

• Is the research question clearly articulated?
• Is the research approach clearly defined?
• Does it make clear the results/relevance of this research?
• Well-defined position and motivation for research.
• Logical, step-wise method and methodology.
• Clarity of conclusions.
• Significance of results.
• Direction of study and broader implication of research.
• Grammar and spelling.
• Proper formatting and labeling of figures and graphs.
• Clarity of article presentation.
• Appropriate use of citations/references.  
• Year of Study
• Research and research mentor
• Awards/recognition (funding, research, honor societies, leadership roles)
• Future goals

It is important that care be taken with grammar and spelling in your biography, as it is considered part of your submission in the review process.

• Author: Connor Richards, Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Connor Richards is a third year Physics major. He studies physics beyond the standard model at the Large Hadron Collider. With funding from the Goldwater Scholarship, University of California Regents’ Scholarship, UC LEADS Fellowship, and Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, he has participated in research and outreach at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) for two years under the guidance of Dr. Owen Long. Currently Vice President of CNAS Science Ambassadors, Richards’ passions are research, science outreach, and STEM education. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in High-Energy Physics and a faculty position.  

Library Research Guides  (Find citation styles for your discipline)  Managing your references UCR library Workshop Schedule UCR Library Specialist  

Submitting Cover Art

The Journal Editorial Team invites original art submissions for the Journal cover.  Authors and non-authors are encouraged to submit images that represent their research and/or creative work.  Images will be selected on a competitive basis based on creativity and/or relevance to research, scholarly, or creative activity. The image must be an original, unpublished work that does not contain, incorporate, or otherwise use any content, material, or element that is owned by a third party or that violates a third party’s intellectual property rights, including but not limited to the law of copyright or trademarks.

• Submissions must be your own artwork.
• Submissions must be unpublished (unless being used in the Journal).
• No less than 300 dpi set at their required size in: Photoshop, InDesign, or high resolution PDF, CMYK color setup.
• Preferred submission size is 8.75" x 11.25" (or scalable down to this size).
• You are allowed to submit up to 3 images.
• You must provide a description of no more than 80 words.  

Each entry will be judged by a panel consisting of the Faculty Editorial Board Chair, the Editor-In-Chief, the Associate Editors-In-Chief, and the Copy Editors.  The top 3-5 covers will be voted on by the entire Editorial Team, including the Faculty Advisory Board and the Student Editorial Board.  The winning design will be used on the cover of the Journal, which will also include a half-page about the winner and his or her work.  The winner will be recognized at the Journal Unveiling Ceremony.

The judges reserve the right not to award the prize if no entry is deemed fitting. The judges’ decisions will be final and no correspondence will be had in relation to their decisions or the competition.  

Additional Information

Dr. Morris Maduro, Biology; Faculty Advisory Board Chair Dr. Monica Carson, Biomedical Sciences Dr. Erica Heinrich, Biomedical Sciences Dr. Andrea Denny-Brown, English Dr. Vorris Nunley, English Dr. James Tobias, English Dr. Jonathan Eacott, History Dr. Wendy Saltzman, Biology Dr. William Grover, Bioengineering Dr. Xiaoping Hu, Bioengineering Dr. Joshua Morgan, Bioengineering Dr. Isgouhi Kaloshian, Nematology Dr. Matthew King, Religious Studies Dr. Leonard Mueller, Chemistry Dr. Catherine Larsen, Chemistry Dr. Ruoxue Yan, Chemical and Environmental Engineering Dr. John Briggs, University Writing Program Dr. Elizabeth Davis, Psychology Dr. Weiwei Zhang, Psychology  

SEB Board Members gain hands on experience in the publication of the Journal.  They work closely with the Faculty Advisory Board members as well as several undergraduate researchers and their faculty mentors. Serving on an editorial board is a wonderful experience for students contemplating careers in research and creative scholarship.

Students who are involved in faculty mentored research, scholarly or creative projects will be invited to submit their articles for the review by the Student Editorial Board, working with guidance from the Faculty Advisory Board.  

• Student Editorial Board Job Descriptions
• Peer-Review Process

Apply for the Student Editorial Board - Application Deadline, September 30

• Angelin Simon
• Sekirou Shimono
• Nicole D'souza
• Vanessa Hua
• Katherine Morrisette
• Kashish Rai
• Trusha Bhagwat
• Matthew Dimaandal
• Tara Keezhanjil
• Bobbi Monae Mandour
• Aurchana Manickavasagan
• Nandini Mannem
• Vishruth Nagam
• Elliot Randolph

The UCR Undergraduate Research Journal was first published in 2007. All current and past volumes of the Undergraduate Research Journal can be found in Special Collections in Rivera Library. Starting in 2018, all issues will be made available on Escholarship , the open-access publication source for the University of California. 

• Volume XVI (2022)
• Volume XV (2021)
• Volume XIV (2020)
• Volume XIII (2019)
• Volume XII (2018)
• Volume XI (2017)
• Volume X (2016)
• Volume IX (2015)
• Volume VIII (2014)
• Creative Works: Mosaic Art & Literary Journal
• Honors Audeamus Journal

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dedicated to encouraging the pursuit of research.

The Journal of Undergraduate Research (JUR) is dedicated to providing the student body with intellectual perspectives from many academic disciplines. JUR serves as a forum for the presentation of original research thereby encouraging the pursuit of significant scholarly endeavors. Seeking to enhance the scholarly community on campus, JUR also reflects students' varied interests.

Join our team! We will be accepting content editor applications for the fall starting early October.

stay tuned for the FALL application!

Emails/Newsletters

Upcoming Events

[CONTENT-EVENTS_NAME_FEATURED]

There are no upcoming events..

Cat Crawford

Emily Rendek

Michael Christof

Catherine Lan

Rishika Chikoti

Wimeth Dissanayake

Adya Mohapatra

Keerthana Danasekaran

Join our group and make an impact in our campus community..

Stack offers a clean and contemporary look to suit a range of purposes from corporate, tech startup, marketing site to digital storefront.

E: [email protected] P:

Journal of Undergraduate Research United States

Loading metrics

Open Access

Ten simple rules for leading a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab

Roles Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, Cambridge and Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Biology Department, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, United States of America

• KJE Hickman, 
• Geoffrey Zahn

Published: April 11, 2024

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011994
• Reader Comments

Participating in mentored research is an enormous benefit to undergraduate students. These immersive experiences can dramatically improve retention and completion rates, especially for students from traditionally underserved populations in STEM disciplines. Scientists typically do not receive any formal training in management or group dynamics before taking on the role of a lab head. Thus, peer forums and shared wisdom are crucial for developing the vision and skills involved with mentorship and leading a successful research lab. Faculty at any institution can help improve student outcomes and the success of their labs by thoughtfully including undergraduates in their research programs. Moreover, faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions have special challenges that are not often acknowledged or addressed in public discussions about best practices for running a lab. Here, we present 10 simple rules for fostering a successful undergraduate research lab. While much of the advice herein is applicable to mentoring undergraduates in any setting, it is especially tailored to the special circumstances found at primarily undergraduate institutions.

Citation: Hickman K, Zahn G (2024) Ten simple rules for leading a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab. PLoS Comput Biol 20(4): e1011994. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011994

Editor: Russell Schwartz, Carnegie Mellon University, UNITED STATES

Copyright: © 2024 Hickman, Zahn. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This is a PLOS Computational Biology Benchmarking paper.

Introduction

Undergraduate research (UR) is a high-impact practice that has been demonstrated to benefit student learning, persistence, and career preparation [ 1 , 2 ]. Undergraduate research serves as a robust intervention for students from underrepresented groups who are at risk of dropping out of college [ 3 , 4 ]. By engaging students during their early years of study, they develop a sense of community and gain access to faculty mentors. A preliminary introduction to the research environment gives students time to develop their science identity and makes them more resilient to difficulties encountered during their educational careers [ 5 ]. The literature on positive outcomes associated with participation in UR is broad [ 6 ], encompassing large public research institutions, private institutions, and liberal arts colleges.

Faculty at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) face a unique set of challenges to maintain scholarly productivity and “successful” research programs. They often have fewer external funding opportunities [ 7 ] and far higher teaching loads than faculty at research-intensive (R1) universities. Many R1 institutions provide research opportunities for undergraduates by incorporating them into ongoing projects led by graduate students and/or postdocs, via short-term programs or with course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs, see Rule 10), which can be successful at any type of institution. However, the luxury of graduate student and postdoc labor is not available to most faculty at a PUI—instead, they must rely on the involvement of undergraduate researchers.

Working with undergraduate students themselves presents some unique challenges. Typically, graduate students have a more refined set of skills and direction when they begin mentored research. They also have more financial support and time dedicated to research. Conversely, undergraduate students generally require a high investment toward training before they can be independent researchers. This is because undergraduates are enrolled in full-time coursework and are only with the lab for a short time before they graduate and move on to careers or graduate programs.

While there is considerable overlap in practices that lead to successful labs in both R1 and PUI settings, the unique challenges of running a lab at a PUI require specialized approaches for recruiting lab members and fostering lab success. There has been rich discourse on methods to increase the health and productivity of research labs [ 8 – 11 ]. However, we note that much of the advice (even when about undergraduate students) has been geared toward R1 labs with postdocs, graduate students, and reduced teaching expectations for faculty. Here, we discuss some “rules” tailored to the specific challenges facing the principal investigators of research labs at PUIs, particularly at public universities that serve a diverse student body.

Rule 1: Determine what “success” means in your lab

The crucial first step is to decide what “success” means for your PUI research lab. Setting this down in writing and communicating it to lab members will help to set the tone and focus of the lab. While external funding and publication quantity/quality are important metrics for lab “success” in some settings, we would argue that lab success at a PUI is most usefully defined as student success ( Fig 1 ).

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

Defining lab success as student success is foundational to the 9 other rules for running a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab. This definition is informed by lab standards, training methodologies, and recruitment strategies. Cultivating the principles endemic to each rule promotes student success which, in turn, provides further opportunities to strengthen the lab’s success. These mutually reinforcing processes build lab community and facilitate successful undergraduate research labs.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011994.g001

Student success can be measured in many ways, from retention and graduation in STEM, to increased science identity and critical thinking skills, to poster presentations, internal grant awards, and placement in graduate/professional programs. Selecting and tracking these metrics of importance will help you define your lab’s role in student success and prioritize your lab’s activities and engagement. Students who join your lab will have diverse educational and career goals, so it is imperative to have a plan in place for incorporating them into your lab’s pursuits. For example, a student planning on medical school might want to attend a different conference than one planning on graduate school, or a student considering other callings (communication, law, science policy, etc.) might benefit from altogether different career-development experiences. At all points, maintain an open dialogue with lab members about how their activities will lead to their own success in the context of the lab, and solicit feedback from each of them (individually) about what they view as “success” on short-term (approximately 3 to 6 months), medium-term (approximately 1 to 2 years), and long-term (>3 to 5 years) timescales.

The diversity of skill levels and interests you encounter with undergraduate lab members may shape your lab’s research goals in ways you did not anticipate. Some students may want to simply assist on someone else’s project, while others will be eager to start their own line of original research. Keeping a flexible research agenda to accommodate student interests and skills is fine, but undergraduates may want to push the boundaries of your lab’s unique focus beyond what you are capable of effectively supporting. Having a clear statement of “lab success” and putting lab goals in writing in a formal document will help you to guide students toward activities that support both them and your lab. An example undergraduate lab handbook has been archived online via Zenodo [ 12 ].

Rule 2: Approach students early

Science is a multifaceted and often slow process. With the high training investment and heavy course loads characteristic of undergraduate students, the research process is slowed even further. Be prepared for things to take much longer than you expect. Actively recruiting early-stage students, even local high-school students, is a winning strategy to overcome this challenge. This will provide you with ample time to test mentoring strategies, train the students in relevant methodologies, and benefit from their application of this training. Moreover, allotting sufficient time for the students’ training will facilitate their development into independent scientists with the ability to generate and investigate their own questions and ideas.

Freshmen and sophomores in your courses may not be aware that undergraduate research is even an option. PIs at teaching-focused institutions usually have consistent access to early students through the courses they teach. Spend a bit of time in class discussing research opportunities and benefits at your institution, and use examples of student research to highlight course content. Invite your current research students to present their projects in class to help you recruit, and invite interested students to shadow in the lab for a day. Highlighting the availability and inclusivity of undergraduate research and its importance to student success can help raise awareness in student populations who otherwise may have never been told that they could be a scientist.

Rule 3: Structure projects for peer collaboration

As a faculty member at a PUI, teaching is typically your first priority. With such restrictions on research time, a peer-mentor model can be a useful asset in your lab. This is analogous to the peer-mentor models employed by PIs at R1 institutions, with postdocs helping mentor PhD students [ 13 ]. In an undergraduate-only setting, the time and effort spent training students to serve as peer-mentors is significantly greater. After they are trained, peer-mentoring roles can be negotiated that lead to beneficial experiences for both mentor and mentee students [ 14 ]. This model can be an especially empowering role for the student mentor, developing their self-perception as a scientist. Moreover, this model develops teamwork skills and adds an element of peer-accountability which has been shown to improve retention and enjoyment of the scientific process [ 15 ].

In a PUI research setting, most students generally benefit from rotating through projects and/or duties. This variety exposes them to ideas and processes that may eventually shape their career path. Incorporating new students into senior students’ preexisting projects facilitates a flexible lab environment, which cultivates skill exploration, preparing them for independent research [ 16 , 17 ]. Good communication between the PI and the student research teams is also important for clearly defining roles, authorship credit, and project development. A collaborative lab environment will always be more successful than a competitive one, and you should take care to model and reinforce good collaborative practices.

Rule 4: Get students’ hands dirty

Undergraduate students typically seek out research labs because they have a vision of what research looks like and a perception of themselves as part of this process. For example, students may visualize researchers in a white coat at the lab bench, knee-deep in a bog, or logging onto a supercomputer. There are many ways to conduct research and these variations may not be equally recognized among undergraduates. Consequently, students should be engaged throughout various steps in the research process in order to enrich their contextual understanding and experience. There is no substitute for hands-on experience. Engaging students in active research protocols early on increases retention and improves chances of attaining high-skill positions in STEM [ 18 ].

A few roles on research projects in which new students can easily participate range, for example, from data collection and entry, to student–student peer review, to computational analyses, depending on student background. As students progress, this list can expand to include more intensive responsibilities. Allowing students to participate in a broad range of scientific tasks will equip them with an applied understanding of the hidden processes in science and build early intuition for this work [ 19 ].

Rule 5: Encourage a well-rounded education

Science is a highly creative pursuit and meaningful STEM careers can follow myriad paths. For example, a student may take interest in science communication, policy, or advocacy. Encourage your students’ diverse interests and allow them to follow their passion. This applies to the lab, their research questions, and their academic and personal life. They may want to take a ceramics class, learn to scuba dive, or spend time volunteering with campus organizations. Extracurricular activities and experiences build well-rounded individuals and more creative scientists, as well as making them more competitive applicants for jobs and postsecondary educational programs [ 20 ].

Talking to your students about their non-research passions may inspire new research paradigms or even inform how you communicate science from your lab. Promoting a healthy work/life balance and embracing the diversity of personal interests in your lab will make you more approachable and help foster an environment where lab members feel respected and fulfilled. Happy students do better science and have a positive effect on lab success.

Rule 6: Tailor your lab to your mentorship style

Different personalities and skill sets lead to different mentorship styles. When organizing your lab, it is helpful to do some self-reflection about what sort of mentor you want to be. Developing a formal mentoring philosophy can be facilitated through mentorship training from your institution, professional societies, and government agencies. These are excellent methods to spark introspection and define your strengths, weaknesses, and goals as a mentor.

How many students can you effectively supervise? How many different ongoing projects are feasible? The right answers to these and other questions will vary for every PI. Some may be comfortable establishing a large research group with formalized peer-mentoring and defined projects. Others may do better with a small group and closer interactions with each student. It takes time to develop trust and rapport with students, and without it, they may not feel comfortable failing or asking for help. It is important to be intentional and aware of your limitations. It is also important that each student in your lab gets the individual attention that they need.

Rule 7: Collaborate early and often

Science is inherently collaborative, and collaboration is a skill [ 21 ]. This is particularly important when running an undergraduate research lab where student training and graduation timelines do not leave much room for extensive data collection. Multiyear projects that students contribute to during their short tenure can leave most participants without tangible products to show as they apply for the next steps in their career pathway. To get things done on an undergraduate timeline, collaborations with external partners can be key.

Your lab will likely have some methodological focus that could be invaluable to other research teams. For example, if your undergraduate lab focuses on computational training, you will probably have external research labs eager for you to analyze data. Colleagues at R1 institutions often see PUI partners as a benefit for funding opportunities as well (e.g., NSF Broader Impacts). Use your professional network to advertise what your students can do and actively seek out collaborative opportunities with your academic, industry, and governmental contacts. This creates opportunities for your students to participate in projects they could not do alone, builds their professional networks, and teaches them how to be good collaborators.

Rule 8: Practice radical inclusivity

Building an inclusive lab takes effort and commitment. Most of the excellent advice for establishing an inclusive and antiracist lab [ 8 , 11 , 22 ] is directly applicable to undergraduate research settings as well, so we will not repeat it here. However, special considerations should be noted for PUIs. For example, you will likely encounter a greater proportion of first-generation/low-income and underrepresented students at a public PUI, as each stage of the educational pipeline successively excludes more students from those populations.

Students who are the first generation in their family to attend college, who come from low-income backgrounds, and/or who identify with underrepresented groups in STEM are far less likely to approach and interact with faculty either formally or informally [ 23 ]. This makes it crucial for faculty to proactively initiate discussions and actively recruit undergraduate lab members rather than wait for students to approach them. Underrepresented students benefit more from faculty-mentored research than any other group [ 24 ] and inclusion in undergraduate research has been shown to improve these students’ persistence in STEM [ 25 ]. Find the time to meet with students from these groups, whether in your classroom or by attending extracurricular events geared toward these student groups. Invest in creating a lab environment that will support a diverse group of students and then actively recruit them early in their educational journey.

Rule 9: Compensate students for their contributions

One of the most impactful differences between graduate and undergraduate researchers is that the latter are primarily full-time students, typically with no expectations or compensation for research activities. Finding ways to compensate undergraduates for research equalizes who can afford to participate. Your university may have internal grant mechanisms that pay or subsidize wages for undergraduate student research labor. Be proactive in finding these and other funding sources and, if paying your students is not an option, you may be able to compensate with course credit. Aside from equalizing access, compensating your students fosters mutual respect for their work/life balance which sets a precedent for students to respect their own time, manage expectations, and not overcommit.

Rule 10: Incorporate research into your teaching

While one-on-one mentoring has the highest impact on students [ 19 ], the time investment required for this practice is not always scalable. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) offer a way to reach more students [ 6 ]. CUREs can make research participation more inclusive and available to students who may not be aware that mentored research is an option, and they reach a “captive audience” of students who may never have considered engaging in research. It also allows a wide range of students to add meaningful research experience to their professional portfolio while earning credits toward their degree. Teaching a CURE is separate from running a research lab, but it invariably extends and informs your mentoring. The pedagogical literature has many good examples of how to design and effectively manage a CURE in your classroom [ 26 – 30 ].

Conclusions

While the habits and attitudes that lead to successful research labs overlap considerably between an R1 and a PUI, there are unique features and special challenges in an undergraduate-only lab group that deserve special consideration. Here, we have tried to highlight some of the important practices that can transform those challenges into opportunities. Faculty at public PUIs play a critical role in preparing underserved students for careers in science, and often influence the types of scientists that these students will become. By teaching them how to be good scientists and collaborative community members, and how to cultivate a deep well of patience and compassion, you’re enabling their success. Framing “lab success” in terms of “student success” as a guiding principle will lead to positive outcomes for students and your lab.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Michael Rotter for constructive feedback on the original manuscript. Thanks to the bouncer at The Muddy Charles for providing invaluable feedback on the layout of Fig 1 . Finally, thanks to undergraduate researchers everywhere. This manuscript is the result of a collaboration between a PUI faculty member and a former undergraduate student.

• View Article
• Google Scholar
• PubMed/NCBI

Undergraduate Research

• Research is a Process
• Topic to Research Question
• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Evaluating Information
• Notes, Quotes, and Citing
• Organizing a Literature Review
• Building a Literature Review
• Communicating with Faculty
• Peer Review & Predators

Publishing Peer Review

• What is Peer Review?
• How does Peer Review work?
• What models does Peer Review follow?
• Are there issues with Peer Review?

According to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), "Peer review is the process by which a piece of scientific research is assessed by others - a researcher's fellow peers - who are suitable qualified and able to judge the piece of work under review in terms of novelty, soundness and significance."

Peer review helps to ensure that high-quality, accurate, and ethical work is being published. It is an integral part of the research process and a staple in the academic research community. Is is often predatory publishers and journals that exploit and deny the proper peer review process. Students can also benefit from learning the peer review process. In the book Student-Led Peer Review: A Practical Guide to Implementation Across Disciplines and Modalities , the authors state that "student-led peer review is a powerful tool for learning. It helps students master academic content, improve the quality of their work, and develop self-evaluative, interpersonal, and practical workplace skills" (Lowe et. al, 2022).

Once a manuscript is submitted to a journal for publication, an editor or editorial team collaborates with a group of peer reviewers to evaluate it. Usually the editor(s) function as the initial screening layer, through which manuscripts that are deemed within scope and of high quality are passed on to peer reviewers for commenting and review. The peer reviewers then read the manuscript, making notes or commenting as they see fit. Each journal has a set of guidelines for peer reviewers to follow that can be extensive or simple. Following the review, the annotated manuscript is then returned to the author, along with the decision of the peer reviewer. Decisions can fall under five major categories:

• Accept : the reviewer believes that the manuscript is ready for publication as is.
• Minor revision : the reviewer has made a few minor suggestions for the author that, once changed, the manuscript will be ready to publish without further review.
• Major revision : This feedback means that the manuscript needs substantial work before a decision can be made to publish it. Changes can range from "a broader literature review, additional data analysis, expanded discussion of findings, or re-writing or re-organization of text" (Meyer-Junco, 2023). A second review of the revised manuscript will then be necessary to move the pages on to publication.
• Reject & Resubmit : this decision shows that while the reviewer believes that the manuscript has potential, the author needs to make considerable revisions in order for it to be published, such as improving the quality or readability, creating more depth, or being more accurate on the topic of discussion. This decision allows the author to resubmit for publication.
• Rejection : the reviewer has deemed the manuscript unsuitable for publication, noting that even with revision or re-submission, the manuscript will still not be improved enough to publish. (Summarized from Peer Review Questions & Answers: What & Why? , Meyer-Junco, L., 2023)

While the editor(s) ultimately make the final call on accepting or rejecting a manuscript, reviewer recommendations play a major role in that decision. If you are submitting a manuscript to be published, it is necessary to take the annotations and recommendations of your peer reviewers seriously in order to ensure publication.

• Single-blind: the author's name is known to the reviewers, but the reviewers are kept anonymous to the author (unless they choose to self-identify)
• Double-blind: neither the author nor the reviewers names are made known to either party (if the research is published, reviewers will eventually know the name of the author)
• Open: both the author and reviewers names are made known to the other
• Transparent: if the manuscript is accepted for publication, the reviews are also made openly available (with the names of the reviewers redacted)
• Interactive or collaborative: this refers to a review process in which either the reviewers interact with each other or with the authors. It can be either open or anonymous at any of these levels of interaction
• Post-publication: a type of open peer review that takes place after the publication of the manuscript
• Post-publication commenting: this style of review makes the published manuscript open for public comment or annotation, which can be anonymous, open, or facilitated
• Pre-print commenting: similar to post-publication commenting, this type of review makes pubic commenting available on a pre-print archive or server

Even though peer review is still considered integral to the research process, it does not come without its own set of issues. Below are just a few:

• Timeliness: Often, the entire peer review process can take an extremely long time. Hoffman (2022) cites a study that concludes delayed reviewing time averages "168 days for accepted manuscripts". This can be caused by the influx of manuscripts to review while the pool of reviewers stays the same, as well as general burn out from doing peer review work.
• Perpetuation of systemic bias : It is unfortunately true that the publication of harmful research has used the peer review process to create legitimacy for its place in the scientific record. Harrison W. Inefuku, of Iowa State University, address this problem succinctly for The Scholarly Kitchen, stating, "Embedding anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices can make peer review, and the publishing process in general, more hospitable to marginalized communities, making it a more useful tool in upholding “research integrity"" ( We Asked the Community: Is Research Integrity Possible without Peer Review? , 2022).
• Ad hominem comments: Another prominent issue is that reviewers are not following ethical guidelines and treating the peer review process as one of collaboration for the greater good. Reviews that attack the author, instead of critiquing the scholarly work are unproductive and a general waste of everyone's time. 
• Confirmation bias: This can be described as, "confirming what we believe to be true while ignoring or de-emphasizing other existing information that may challenge our intuitive believes" (Hoffman, 2022). Reviewers should try to be impartial to the material they are reviewing, focusing more on the contribution to science and knowledge, and less on whether the manuscript proves or disproves their personal beliefs.
• Lack of training: A study from 2009 found that "over 56% of the researchers interviewed indicated that there "lacked coordination and guidance in how reviews were to be conducted" (Hoffman, 2022). In the years since this study, COPE and other organizations have released Peer Review toolkits and training programs to help ensure that reviewers have resources, even when the journal they are working for does not provide them.

Despite these issues with peer review, professionals in the field remain compassionate and hopeful. An excerpt taken from a blog post on The Scholarly Kitchen quotes Katie Duffy, Senior Director of Publications at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, stating "We also need to recognize that the pressure on our authors and referees to work quickly and produce more and more can sometimes invite shortcuts or lapses in judgement. Peer reviewer education and strong support from editorial teams is critical to ensuring that right balance between quality and speed" ( We Asked the Community: Is Research Integrity Possible without Peer Review? , 2022).

Reputable vs Predatory Journals

• << Previous: All Things Publishing
• Last Updated: Apr 17, 2024 11:23 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.txstate.edu/undergradresearch

• Request info
• Majors & Degrees
• Prospective Students
• Current Undergraduate Students
• Current Graduate Students
• Online Students
• Alumni and Friends
• Faculty and Staff

USM’s Gulf and Caribbean Research Journal Gives Undergraduate Students Publication Opportunities & Experiences

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 09:46am | By: Gabriela Shinskie

Imagine having the opportunity to publish undergraduate research in a scientific peer-reviewed journal. The University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) Gulf and Caribbean Research (GCR) Journal offers research publishing experience for anyone interested in making a scientific impact in marine and coastal sciences.

For 63 years, the journal has published peer-reviewed research to a diverse community looking to make a mark in science. Dr. Mark S. Peterson and Nancy Brown-Peterson, editors of the GCR, have been dedicated to the journal for 30 years. Mark became Editor-in-Chief in 1994 and realized the significance of the journal’s presence for USM. He later created an editorial board comprised of Associate Editors within the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) and additional external Associate Editors throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and Latin America to ignite the journal in the community. Nancy started working with the journal in 2008, first as assistant editor and then as co-editor since 2015. Despite both Nancy and Mark officially “retiring” from USM in 2016, they continue their jobs as co-editors of the journal.

Gulf and Caribbean Research receives submissions from across the globe based on research conducted within the GOM, Caribbean, and Latin America regions. With Nancy’s fluency in Spanish, she can help translate many submissions into better English to publish in the journal, once the paper is accepted by external reviewers. The journal has taken off exponentially, and since 2019, a growing partnership with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) opened the door for undergraduates to publish their own work.

“Early on in students’ careers, this partnership gets them integrated into research. It helps them to understand good science. It’s also good for the journal to work with undergraduates,” states Mark.

The DISL collaboration has resulted in GCR publishing 24 peer-reviewed short research communications by undergraduate students participating in the National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Having a student publish an article electrifies their interest in research, writing, and publishing, and gives them good experience with extensive peer reviews.

“For an undergraduate student to get a publication is huge!” said Mark.

The journal has attracted submissions from undergraduate students participating in the REU program from across the country. A renewal of the program is set to be decided in the summer.

“We are hoping to continue this program,” said Nancy.

GCR moved in 2016 to online publication with help from Josh Cromwell, Scholarly Communications Manager and Administrator of The Aquila Digital Community , USM Libraries. An online presence expedites accepted articles to be published and distributed quicker to the community. Additionally, the journal received a Scopus Citescore of 1.7 and a Web of Science impact factor of 1.1 in 2023 which encourages scientists to publish in GCR.

“We are getting a lot of submissions,” expressed Nancy.

“Having an online presence for the journal is vital because it provides the opportunity for the scholarship the journal publishes to reach a much wider community of readers and researchers than a print journal can reach,” said Cromwell. “That wider reach gives that research a greater opportunity to make a difference, both in shaping subsequent research and in broadening our understanding of the world around us.”

Learn more about the Gulf and Caribbean Research journal.

Categories: Arts and Sciences Coastal USM Research University Libraries

Recent News Articles

High school students recognized for aspirations in computing, usm veterans center hosts unique nutrition & benefits seminar, usm robotics team successful at regional competition held in atlanta.

University of South Florida

Main Navigation

Madison Dowdy, a doctoral student in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, spent 22 days in Malawi providing audiologic outreach services in remote areas alongside her mentor, Michelle Arnold, an associate professor of communication sciences and disorders. A recipient of the Trailblazers Research Scholarship, Dowdy shared her experience at the USF Sarasota-Manatee conference. | Photo by: Austin Lavoie

Tremendous turnout demonstrates USF’s growth in undergraduate research

April 16, 2024

Research and Innovation

By: Cassidy Delamarter , University Communications and Marketing

Nearly 600 undergraduate students across the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses showcased their ingenuity at the university’s OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference . The 16% increase in student participation from the last year reflected the university’s commitment to fostering collaborative discovery and the pivotal role student researchers play in shaping a brighter future.

“The Undergraduate Research Conference is an exciting opportunity to celebrate the hard work and dedication of student researchers and their faculty mentors,” Provost Prasant Mohapatra said. “The conference provides a platform for undergraduate students to showcase their research and engage meaningful discussions with their peers and mentors. Research experiences support student success through hands on learning opportunities and contribute to our mission as an AAU institution."

students talking by posters

Posters filled the Marshall Student Center Ballroom at the Tampa conference.

welcome sign at the conference

The Office of High Impact Practices and Undergraduate Research greeted students as they arrived.

students collaborating on cell phone to review presentation

Throughout the Marshall Student Center, students could be found helping their peers prepare for their research presentations. 

anna by poster

The OneUSF conference marked the second time Anna Alieva presented her research on Cold War propaganda. Now, looking ahead to the future, she is exploring ways to expand the research.

Hosted by the Office of High Impact Practices and Undergraduate Research , the conference served as a platform for students on each campus to present their research and engage in discussion with peers and mentors. The event highlighted USF’s unique effort to offer an abundance of research opportunity to students, representing almost every college.

Elliot Santaella Aguilar, who’s double majoring in psychology and biomedical sciences , fell in love with research his freshman year during an internship at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota. Now in his third year at USF, Santaella Aguilar has dedicated his research to opioid misuse in adolescents and is about to submit a research paper to a premiere scientific journal. His research is focused on examining the relationship between different types of supervised activities, such as athletics, hobby clubs and volunteer organizations, and their protective effect against opioid use among juvenile delinquents –  an area that has yet to be tested in the field.

Santaella Aguilar presenting his research at the Tampa campus conference | Photo by: Cassidy Delamarter

In addition to presenting at the Tampa campus’s conference, he plans to present this summer at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence , one of the most prestigious conferences in the field, according to his faculty mentor Micah Johnson , assistant professor in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences .

While Johnson says Santaella Aguilar is a superstar, Santaella Aguilar credits his passion and early success to the opportunities with Johnson that he found through USF’s Office of High Impact Practices and Undergraduate Research.

“I am happy that through USF HIPUR, I was able to find this opportunity and learn more about the research field that I am now very passionate about,” Santaella Aguilar said. “The research opportunities available to students at USF are extensive and diverse, making it an exciting environment for prospective students interested in research.”

“I used to think of research as something that typically happens in STEM-related fields, with physical data, gathering and examination. As a non-STEM major, I feel like this is an opportunity that makes research accessible to anyone regardless of their career interests or major and encourages students to make their hard work known.” – Anna Alieva, international studies major 

At the USF St. Petersburg conference, Victoria Drew, a first-year student majoring in biomedical sciences , shared that she has also grown to appreciate the process of research from this experience. As an aspiring anesthesiologist, Drew dedicated her project to examining the impact of various anesthetics and their roles in regulating cancer and preventing neurotoxicity in children and animals.

“Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to look at a patient’s genetic standing, their condition and demographics and create more patient-centered care using anesthetics that work best for them,” she said. Drew’s research won one of USF St. Petersburg’s awards for best project and poster.

The USF Sarasota-Manatee campus expanded the conference by welcoming graduate students. For Leah Burger, doctoral student and research assistant in the College of Education , the opportunity gave her a chance to share her work on expanding literacy and access to STEM knowledge among kids through engagement with virtual reality games – an effort that could lay the foundation for the next generation in STEM.

A recipient of the Trailblazers Research Scholarship , Burger said presenting her findings has provided hands-on experience with the research process.

“I am amazed and honored to have the freedom to see the vast depth of knowledge kids have about their interests and the way their interests can be incorporated into writing games,” she shared. “Research is knowledge creation, and that is not easy. But with this experience, I feel more confident going into my dissertation process."

For students interested in research, information on how to get started is available here , as well as free resources, such as workshops to learn citation management. Several research experiences for undergraduates in chemistry, engineering, geosciences and physics are available to provide students with practical hands-on experience, including one that allows students pursuing weather-related careers to learn about beach ecosystems and hurricane hunting .

Return to article listing

Cassidy Delamarter , MyUSF

News Archive

Learn more about USF's journey to Preeminence by viewing Newsroom articles from past years.

USF in the News

Washington post: how did life on earth begin cracks may have been the key., wall street journal: iran’s attack is a show of weakness.

April 14, 2024

WTSP-TV: USF students are 3D-printing 'oyster bricks' to build back declining populations

April 12, 2024

Business Observer: USF embraces opportunities to connect with more businesses

April 10, 2024

More USF in the News

Maintenance work is planned for Wednesday 1st May 2024 from 9:00am to 11:00am (BST).

During this time, the performance of our website may be affected - searches may run slowly and some pages may be temporarily unavailable. If this happens, please try refreshing your web browser or try waiting two to three minutes before trying again.

We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause and thank you for your patience.

Chemistry Education Research and Practice

Exploring post-secondary chemistry instructors’ knowledge for teaching 1 h nmr spectroscopy.

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA E-mail: [email protected]

b Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI, USA

c Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Samford University, Homewood, AL, USA

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) spectroscopy is an essential characterization tool for organic chemists widely taught in the undergraduate chemistry curricula. Previous work has focused on how students advance from novice to expert in interpreting 1 H NMR spectra. However, we need to know more about how 1 H NMR spectroscopy is taught within undergraduate curricula. We sought to characterize instructors’ topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching 1 H NMR spectroscopy as a starting point to investigate how 1 H NMR spectroscopy is taught. Participants from multiple institutions—six teaching assistants, six novice instructors, and three experienced instructors—collaboratively completed content representations (CoRes) in focus groups. Through qualitative analysis of interview transcripts and CoRes, we characterized instructors' topic-specific PCK in 1 H NMR spectral interpretation. Analysis of instructors’ responses and collective PCK elucidates the role that teaching context, experience, and disciplinary background may contribute to the character of PCK. Implications of this work include the need for research on the integration of explicit learning objectives and teaching strategies for representational competence and skills, understanding and supporting student affective experiences when learning NMR, and instructional contexts that increase autonomy in learning.

Article information

Download citation, permissions.

R. C. Fantone, E. Geragosian, M. Connor and G. V. Shultz, Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. , 2024, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D4RP00003J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page .

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page .

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content .

Social activity

Search articles by author.

This article has not yet been cited.

Advertisements

Evaluating Hookup Culture on Campus: A Lesbian Separatist Perspective

• Megan Ruskey Rutgers University

Hookup culture on the college campus simultaneously offers young women a venue for sexual liberation, while reproducing gender inequities observed throughout much of society. Thus, women are subjected to power imbalances, sexual dissatisfaction, and restrictions in their own bodily autonomy in the pursuit of casual sex. Given this bind, I set out to evaluate hookup culture from the framework expressed through lesbian separatist practice. Specifically, I analyze The Furies Collective, a lesbian separatist group operating in Washington D.C. from the years 1970-1972. In these two years, the Furies developed a self-titled newspaper, educational networks, and a compelling set of feminist principles to guide their activism. In this project, I draw insight from both a personal interview with Furies Collective founder Charlotte Bunch, as well as primary and academic sources. This research finds that while hookup culture does reflect various societal and physical inequities for women, it also provides opportunities for homosocial bonding, as demonstrated in lesbian separatism, that work to make this culture more satisfactory for women. Therefore, in order to benefit from the liberating aspects of hookup culture, women can capitalize on the separatist spaces associated with the hookup environment, like the sorority and pre-game, to fortify connections with one another as a means of protection in hookup spaces.

• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Terms of Use
• Emergency Info

© Stanford University , Stanford , California 94305 .   Copyright Complaints