OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
OSUJUR welcomes the submission of manuscripts from all academic disciplines. Only primary research conducted as an undergraduate under the direction of an OSU faculty member should be submitted for review; literature reviews, summaries of other research or articles written beyond the undergraduate level are not accepted.
Submissions should be written for a general readership, adhere to the established literary conventions of the discipline researched, and follow an organizational structure that maximizes clarity. Submissions should avoid discipline-specific jargon and heavy procedural details, but rather focus on results and conclusions.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Deadline Extended to Friday, May 4
Forms and Guidelines
Submission Requirements
All submissions must include:
- SUBMISSION COVER SHEET
- FACULTY COMMENT FORM
- ARTICLE (APPROX. 2,000-2,500 WORDS)
- WORKS CITED
- e-ARCHIVE CONTRIBUTOR'S CONSENT FORM
Statement on Copyright
OSUJUR does not retain copyright over published material and allows alternative publication in professional periodicals. However, students should verify that their submissions do not conflict with the policies of journals to which they may submit.
Students must also gain consent from the faculty member who directed the project to ensure that the submission does not violate copyright restrictions.
An additional consent form will be necessary to publish accepted articles electronically in the Digital Collections at the Oklahoma State University Library.
The Review Process
OSUJUR maintains a blind review process that aims to protect the scholastic value of academic research by verifying the content and methodological validity of all submissions.
Upon receipt of the complete submission, the Editor will guide each article through a blind review process to ensure continuity and fairness to each author.
Reviewers will evaluate articles on the basis of originality, relevance, thoroughness and readability.
The Editor will make selection decisions based on the recommendations of the Editorial Review Board, the Faculty Mentor Comment Sheet and other relevant publication considerations.
Submissions will be either “Accepted,” “Provisionally Accepted, after Revision,” or “Declined.”
Confidential and anonymous reviewer comments will be sent to the authors for their information and use.
Evaluation Criteria
All papers, regardless of the field of study, should meet the following criteria:
- The submission describes the purpose and significance of the research clearly for a general, multidisciplinary audience.
- The research described is original and relevant to the field.
- The project is well designed and executed.
- Results are thoughtfully interpreted and thoroughly analyzed.
- Conclusions are logically supported through results and citations.
- Supporting materials—illustrations, graphs and notes—reinforce the descriptions and claims made in the article.
- The submission is well written, efficiently organized and easy to follow.
- The submission is free from spelling, grammatical and other writing errors.
Article Structure
ARTICLE (APPROX. 2,000-2,500 WORDS)
Organize the body of the paper carefully, considering the following:
- Use the accepted terminology of the field to describe any materials, subjects or experimental procedures. But be sure to define discipline- specific jargon.
- State the results clearly and succinctly. Thoroughly discuss, interpret and analyze the implications of the findings—especially unexpected results.
- Provide a conclusion that restates the question(s), results and broader significance of the research both globally and specifically to enlighten readers regardless of their previous background in the field.
WORKS CITED
All articles must contain full in-text referencing (not endnotes) with the complete references listed at the end of the paper. All resources—people, journals, pamphlets, etc.—must be referenced in the Works Cited page. All references must be in the most current MLA format. See the Citing References section for an overview of the reference format.
Article Format
|
WORD COUNT MARGINS FONT FIGURES TABLES EQUATIONS NOTES CITATIONS |
2,000-2,500 words—excluding figures, captions & Works Cited One Inch (1”) on all sides 12-point Times New Roman Double Number all pages centered on the bottom of the page. Number and title all figures, including graphs, drawings and photos. Place figure captions below the figures. Number and title all tables. Place table captions above the tables. Number all equations in parentheses to the right of the equations. Avoid the use of footnotes and never use footnotes to cite references. Use the MLA Style Manual to format in-text citations and Works Cited. |
Citing References
All references must be in Modern Language Association (MLA) format. The following is an overview of the most commonly referenced materials. For details and other examples, please consult the official MLA Style Manual.
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page.
The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.
Examples:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
WORKS CITED
You must have a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to the works cited in your main text.
Basic Rules
- Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. It should have the same one-inch margins as the rest of the article.
- Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks) and center the words “Works Cited” at the top of the page.
- Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
- Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations five spaces so that you create a hanging indent.
- List page numbers of sources efficiently. To refer to pages 225 through 250, list the page numbers on your Works Cited page as 225-50.
The following is not a comprehensive MLA citation guide. Please, refer to the official MLA Style Manual either in print or online for full citation guidelines.
Basic Entry: Book
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
Examples: Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.
Basic Entry: Article in an Anthology
Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.
Example:
Harris, Muriel. "Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34. Print.
Basic Entry: Scholarly Article
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages. Medium of publication.
Example:
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50. Print.
Basic Entry: Article in a Magazine
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication.
Example:
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71. Print.
