Submissions

Author Guidelines

Eligibility requirements:

• Primary author must be a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign undergraduate.
• Submitted manuscript concerns original research.
• Submitted manuscript cannot be published or undergoing review in another undergraduate research journal.
• Primary author must be willing to work with JUSWR editors in revising the submission if it is selected or seriously considered for publication.
• Author(s) must consent to publication if their manuscript is selected for publication.

Manuscript formatting requirements:

• Submission may not exceed 15 pages, including all figures/tables and references. If additional space is needed, please prepare a Supplementary Materials document containing additional accompanying text, figures, and tables.
• Manuscript should be double spaced with 12 point font and standard margins.
• Manuscript should be submitted in Word format.
• Writing should be clear, logical, and free from typographical or grammatical errors.
• Include a 150-200-word, non-technical summary of the paper for the summary page as well as a 40-60-word summary for the website.

Structure and style:

• Appropriate structure of submissions will vary depending on the research field. The manuscript should use APA style and style and structure to that of typical articles published in professional journals.
• In general, your submission might include sections for an Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References, and Figures/Tables.
• Supplementary Materials may be submitted along with manuscript.

Figures and tables:

• Figures should be included at the end of the main text or in the Supplementary Information document, if needed.
• All figures must be appropriately referenced and include legends in text format.
• Tables should be submitted in text format.
• For plots and graphs, axes should be clearly marked and legible. Figures should be clearly labeled if applicable.
• If a manuscript is selected or seriously considered for publication, the editorial staff will request for high resolution figures.

References:

• Citations should be parenthetical (Author, Year) and embedded within the main text.
• References should be formatted as follows: Authors (Year). Title. Journal/Book. Volume, Page Numbers.
• Example: Noctor, S.C., Martinez-Cerdeno, V., Ivic, L., and Kriegstein, A.R. (2004). Cortical neurons arise in symmetric and asymmetric division zones and migrate through specific phases. Nature Neuroscience 7, 136–144.

Rights for authors including copyright statement:

Submitted manuscripts must have not been submitted elsewhere, are not currently under review elsewhere, and have been submitted with full knowledge of faculty and research team collaborators. Any manuscripts that do not meet originality requirements will be rejected without peer-review.  All manuscripts will be reviewed based on intellectual content without regard for age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, country of origin, or political philosophy of the authors.  All manuscripts submitted for peer-review are kept strictly confidential by editors and reviewers. At no time will editors or reviewers utilize submitted materials without the consent of the authors.  The purpose of JUSWR is to encourage undergraduate research pursuits and not to hinder the author's ability to publish their work in other relevant journals. After publication in JUSWR, the author reserves the right to present any part of their research in any form in other publications or proceedings. JUSWR reserves the right to reproduce and reprint any materials published for instructional and promotional purposes.

By submitting any material to JUSWR, you agree that your work is original, unless otherwise specifically acknowledged.  See agreement.