The International Journal of High School Research (IJHSR) is a publication of the nonprofit organization Terra Science and Education.  IJHSR is a peer-reviewed science journal that publishes research articles and review articles by high school students within the sciences.

Types of Research Accepted  

IJHSR places emphasis on original research.  Research articles and review articles in any of the science categories are accepted - behavioral science, social science, math, engineering, and technology.  See the IJHSR submissions overview for a detailed discussion of the types of articles accepted, as well as a list of acceptable categories and subcategories.

Length Requirements/Restrictions

None.

Submission Deadlines

IJHSR has a rolling admissions system with no deadlines.  Six issues are published each year.

Requirements for Submission

General Requirements:

1. Papers must utilize either the IJHSR “Research Article Template” or “Review Article Template”, depending on which of these two types of papers you are submitting.  If you do not follow these templates precisely, your paper will be rejected before it has been reviewed.  Both templates are available by clicking on the “Submissions” tab at the top of the IJHSR Submissions page.
2. Along with your submission, you must present a list of 3 suggested reviewers for your paper. As stated on the submissions page of the website, “Reviewers must be outside your organization and be experts who did not help you in your research. They may be people you referenced in your paper, people you admire or wish to work with in the future. It is recommended that you contact your suggested reviewers ahead of time to see if they are available.”
3. Papers are allowed to have multiple authors, including teachers/mentors. Students and teachers/mentors who were significantly involved in the research work, data analysis, manuscript preparation, and the research design/idea of the submitted paper are considered authors. Those who played a less significant role in the process should be mentioned in the acknowledgment section of the submitted paper.
4. If multiple authors are listed, this order cannot be changed after a paper is submitted: the author who was listed as the “corresponding author” at the time the article was submitted to IJHSR will be officially responsible for all potential communications with the IJHSR editors.
5. IJHSR strongly recommends that you use the American Scientist science writing guide as you write your paper.
6. If you decide to write a “review article”, rather than a “research article”, the process is exceptionally competitive since IJHSR publishes only 2-3 review articles per issue. For tips on how to write a “review article” this guide from the University of Michigan is a good place to start, as is this article.

Formatting Structure and Requirements:

Each journal has its own formatting structure and requirements regarding a variety of technical factors, such as font, citations, bibliography, file naming, spacing, endnotes, illustrations, etc. You must go to IJHSR’s website and look at the “FAQ” heading on their submissions page before you begin working on your paper to see the most up-to-date rules regarding formatting and structure and to make sure you are in line with all the listed requirements as you work on your paper.

Advisor

An advisor is not required to submit to IJHSR.

IRB Approval or Exemption Required?

No.

Link for Submission

Submissions are not made via link; when you are ready to submit, email your article to editor@terraed.org using exactly the format specified on the submissions page of the website.

Cost

There is no fee to submit.  If your article is accepted for publication and you wish to proceed, there is a $250 publication fee. 

Assessment and Acceptance Process

Once your paper is submitted, the Editor-in-Chief will review your paper for proper formatting and confirmation that there is no plagiarism. If all this checks out, the Editor will review your paper to see if it utilizes well-grounded scientific research and is appropriate for publication. If the Editor decides that your paper meets this threshold, the paper will be sent to reviewers. They may decide to publish the paper as is, or request that certain revisions be made.  While the exact timeline varies depending on the number of revisions requested among other things, the process may take 4-8 months.

Notification

IJHSR reviews applications as they receive them, and there is no set time frame for when you will hear back from them regarding the first phase of the review process. In general, it will likely be a few months before you hear back from IJHSR, but this is not guaranteed.

Past Submissions/Examples

IJHSR follows an “open access” model, which means that previous and current publications are made freely available on the website and can be found by clicking on the “issues” heading on the homepage. 

Academic Integrity and Publication Protocol

Academic protocol for publication submission dictates that you are allowed to submit to only one journal at time. Please keep this in mind when choosing a journal for publication submission and make sure that if you are considering multiple journals, that you decide on your preferred order before making your first submission.

Additional Steps

If you are interested in submitting to IJHSR, this decision must be made as early as possible during your mentorship studies. Please speak to your Hugo mentor and Program Coach as soon as possible if you think you are interested in submitting to this journal.