Author Guidelines
ELIGIBILITY Current Rutgers University undergraduates from all Rutgers campuses (New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark) or alumni within 12 months of their graduation date are eligible for submission of research done at Rutgers to the journal. Recent alumni should have begun their research projects during their undergraduate years.
1. Only research conducted at Rutgers, including literature reviews, are acceptable. Non-Rutgers students who conducted research at Rutgers-affiliated labs are eligible for submission. However, Rutgers students who conducted research at non-Rutgers affiliated labs are not eligible for submission.
2. Priority is given to those who have not previously been accepted to the journal as an author or co-author and/or those who have not previously been listed as an author on a publication. The maximum number of submissions per submission cycle is 1 per person.
3. All subject areas and disciplines are equally eligible for submission to the journal and will be evaluated impartially.
4. If interested in non-traditional submission, inquire further at aresty.rurj@rutgers.edu. Senior theses are welcome, so long as they adhere to the Aresty RURJ submission guidelines.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
REQUIREMENTS
1. Presented research must have original or novel work with strong evidence accompanying all discussed conclusions.
2. Research involving human subjects, including student surveys, must show documentation of IRB approval prior to the start of research.
3. Authors must demonstrate a willingness to implement suggested recommendations and revisions of peer and faculty reviewers according to the timeline provided in “Logistics” to be considered for publication. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in rejection of the paper.
4. When submitting a manuscript, authors must also consent by waiver, if accepted, to future publication in the journal. See “Copyright” for details.
5. Submitted manuscripts must be written in English with few typographical or grammatical errors.
6. Authors are to submit a maximum of one paper per submission cycle. Authors who are interested in submitting multiple papers may inquire further.
WORD COUNT
Manuscripts should average 2,000 words (1,500-3,000) not including references, figure legends, acknowledgments. The author should aim to produce writing that can communicate with intelligent non-experts. The intended demographic of our journal is other undergraduate students and prospective Rutgers students. Jargon and technical writing should be explained and the manuscript should attempt to provide sufficient background for those not well versed in respective disciplines.
FORMATTING
1. Submissions should be written in English.
- Add line numbers to the manuscript. In Microsoft Word, this is accomplished by clicking on the layout tab, then clicking on “Show Line Numbers.”
- Submission must be letter-sized (8.5” x 11”), 12-point font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, 1-inch margin.
- Submissions WITHOUT a significant number of characters or equations that are difficult to format must be a Word document (.doc or .docx).
- Submissions WITH a significant number of aforesaid characters and/or equations should be typeset in LaTeX as a TeX (.tex) file. Also include a Word document with the plain text of the manuscript in your submission. If in doubt, inquire further.
- Relevant figures and tables must be embedded into the manuscript with appropriate legends in the following file formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF. High-resolution figures will be requested upon serious consideration for publication. You may submit in vector file formats and/or RAW file formats upon approval.
- As manuscript organization differs among research fields, please model the structure and style of submissions on standard manuscripts published in professional journals within your specific field.
2. Submissions MUST follow either APA (eg. STEM fields) or Chicago style (eg. humanities) depending on the field of research.
3. The manuscript must be submitted with all personal identifiers removed.
CONTENT
It is recommended to follow the general guidelines for structure and content from papers in your field. To ensure all relevant areas of content are addressed, guidelines for data-based (STEM and some humanities) and source-based (humanities) research are presented below.
Data-based submissions should have the following:
1. Title Page. An abstract of 150-250 words should be included at the beginning of the research paper and should include the question investigated, the overall purpose of the study, the basic design of the study, the major findings from results, and a conclusion based on the analysis of results. Provide a list of key terms relevant to the paper.
2. Introduction. Provide the relevant background of the research subject. Clearly includes the thesis. A thesis represents the author's own novel and independent finding.
3. Methodology. Discuss protocols used, methods of analysis, and description of appropriate statistical tests. Should be detailed enough that the methods are replicable.
4. Results. Include results, including contradictory findings, unexpected findings, etc. NEVER INCLUDE RAW DATA: instead, include graphs/charts with a caption. Ensure appropriate visuals are labeled and a brief description of visuals is included.
5. Discussion/Conclusion. Discuss contradictory findings, highlight failures of the research, and propose areas of potential improvement. Present how the results contribute to recent research advancements and propose suggestions for future research. Restate the initial research question.
6. References. References and in-text citations are to be in APA or Chicago styles as per the guidelines detailed in “Formatting”. Ensure reputable and relevant sources are used.
7. Acknowledgments. The contributions of others, i.e. contributors other than authors, must be provided if applicable.
Source-based submissions should have the following:
1. Title Page. An abstract of 150-250 words should be included at the beginning of the research paper and should include the question investigated, the overall thesis of the study, the general sources analyzed, and a novel conclusion based on the analysis of sources. Provide a list of key terms relevant to the paper.
2. Thesis. Well-defined independent thesis and development of argument through engagement with sources. Well-defined theoretical framework explained and discussed. A thesis represents original, independent thought not derivative of other sources.
3. Sources. Relevant and trusted sources that are critically analyzed to support and further enhance the thesis. Special consideration to bias, reputability, audience, relevancy, and accuracy is provided along with a detailed analysis of sources utilized.
4. Organization. Logical and coherent structure with subheadings if appropriate. There are no gaps in the author's argument, and multiple viewpoints are discussed. Argument structure utilizes the appropriate analysis approach in humanities research.
5. Conclusion. Novel conclusions based on critical analysis of sources and the synthesis of ideas. Includes significance of findings/conclusions. Includes potential shortcomings and flaws in the research process including potential bias, research method limitations, and critiques. Key findings expressed and the overall significance of the research is expressed once again.
6. References. References and in-text citations are to be in APA or Chicago styles as per the guidelines detailed in “Formatting”. All relevant references are included and a plethora of sources are selected from a variety of multiple primary/secondary sources.
7. Acknowledgments. The contributions of others, i.e. contributors other than authors, must be provided if applicable. Reference to a research lab or affiliate is included if applicable.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Supplemental material refers to files related to a specific article, which authors supply for publication alongside their article. They generally include appendices, tables (separate from what is within the paper), and audio and video material that can be viewed as a hyperlink within the original article. It is important that these digital items are preserved and archived within a stable external environment.
How to submit supplementary materials: These materials will be submitted with the article, as separate file uploads. They will be archived within RU Core upon publication of the article.
What file formats are accepted?
Audio/podcast: mp3, aac, alac, m4a, flac, wav
Dataset: csv, sav*, tsv, xls, xlsb, xlsx
Document: doc, docx, dxf, odp, ods, odt, pdf, rtf, ttf, xps
Image: tiff*, jpg, jpeg, png, gif, svg, bmp, psd,
Video: mp4, m4v, hevc, mpeg, avi
*: SAV files: Include a text-based README file with this, explaining what the SAV file contains and what application opens it.
*: For still images, TIFF is the preferred format. Note that MP4 (not GIF) is the preferred format for videos because it usually creates smaller files that are better quality.
What is the file size limit? Under 2GB. If a file is larger we can still accept it but will require some special handling.
Copyright for supplemental materials: If the supplementary files are created by the author(s) of the article, they will have the same license as the article, CC:BY-NC-SA. If the article links to someone else’s work, it should be handled like a citation (cited at the end of the document).
LOGISTICS
1. Publications will be released on a semester basis; any articles submitted before the publication’s respective deadline will be considered for that issue. Submissions must include the form “Code of Conduct”, “Consent”, and “Acknowledgement of Copyright Policy” signed by the undergraduate researcher and their Principal Investigator (PI)/advisor, if applicable. If the research was conducted under a PI/advisor, this needs to be sent directly from the PI/advisor. These forms need to be signed by both the PI/Advisor and the author.
2. Submissions to the journal, if accepted, will be subject to review by undergraduate peers, graduate students, and faculty members at Rutgers University and RWJMS.
- Acceptance for the reviewing process does not guarantee publication in the journal until the paper meets the standard of the journal.
- Each manuscript typically goes through 4 rounds of reviews and editing until the final publication. In each round, the author must implement revisions according to the reviews within approximately 2-3 weeks of receipt.
3. The researcher must provide a biography of 100 to 200 words and contact information for publication use along with the paper submission. Your email will be made available on the publication should anyone like to reach out to you regarding your work. This description should briefly discuss a little about the author and the context in which the research was conducted. It is recommended that the researcher also provide a headshot (4" x 5" photo, dimensions of ~1200 x 1500 pixels, PNG/JPEG).
FINAL CHECKLIST
1. Manuscript without identifiers as .docx file and line numbers included.
2. Short biography with headshot and preferred email address.
3. Necessary signed forms. If applicable, sent from PI/advisor.
4. Reproduction Disclosure Form, if applicable.
