The Journal of Student Research (JSR) was started in 2010 and accepts papers written by high school students on all topics. JSR is a multidisciplinary and faculty-reviewed journal seeking papers that are novel, integrative, and written in a way that is accessible to a wide audience. The content of the journal ranges from applied research to theoretical research on all topics.

Types of Research Accepted

Research papers, review papers, analysis papers, College Board’s AP Capstone or honors research, all topics accepted. 

Length Requirements/Restrictions

20 pages maximum.

‍

Submission Deadlines

Each issue has its own deadline for submission, with four issues published online each year. Deadline dates are posted on the website – visit the “Announcements” section on the homepage for the most current submission deadline and upcoming publication date: https://www.jsr.org/hs/index.php/path.

Requirements for Submission

General Requirements:

1. Papers submitted must contain confirmation of the student’s chosen advisor, who needs to be affiliated with an accredited high school or University (in this case, your Hugo mentor).  
2. Papers are allowed to have multiple authors, so long as at least one of the authors is officially enrolled in an accredited high school. A student’s advisor is permitted to be one of the authors, and must be listed as a contributor.

‍

3. Papers must be submitted with an abstract.
4. Papers are allowed to be submitted after a student has graduated from high school, so long as the student’s advisor submits a letter confirming the student’s previous official enrolment at the time of writing.
5. To submit a paper, you need to register and create an account on the High School Student Portal by visiting this link.  There are 5 steps in this process, and you are not required to complete all the steps in one sitting.

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 JSR’s How to submit  page and scroll down to the “Submission Requirements” section,  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 required for submitting to this Journal, and Hugo mentors meet the criteria for serving as advisors.

IRB Approval or Exemption Required?

Yes. IRB approval is required for any research involving human subjects, including surveys. Before taking any additional steps, please talk to your mentor and Program Coach to determine if this is a consideration based on your dataset.

‍

Link for Submission

https://www.jsr.org/hs/index.php/path/user/register

Cost

There is a $50 submission fee, and an additional $250 fee after you have been notified of the editorial decision (if accepted).

‍

Assessment and Acceptance Process

Reviewers on the editorial staff are not allowed to know the identity of the students who are submitting and vice versa. The reviewers will provide you with feedback on your paper after they have read it, regardless of whether your paper has been chosen for publication.

It is possible that your paper may be selected as is for publication, or that editors will require you to revise your paper before it proceeds to a second round of editorial review. If you are requested to make revisions and you are interested in putting in this additional work, the next step will be for you to revise your paper based on the editors’ feedback. Once you have made your revisions, you will resubmit your paper for a peer-reviewed process and the editors will make a final decision as to whether to accept your paper for publication.

Notification

Applicants are notified approximately 12-24 weeks after submission. There is a “Fast Track Review” option, which allows applicants to be notified within 5-6 weeks. This option is available for an additional fee; send an email to technical@jsr.org for more details.

Past Submissions/Examples

JSR follows an” open access” model, which means that previous and current publications are freely available on the website and can be found by clicking on the “Current Issue” tab and the  “Back Issues” tab. Additionally, once you have registered on the High School Student Portal, you will be able to view current submissions and past submissions by clicking on the “Archives” tab.

‍

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 JSR,  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.