Submission Frequently Asked Questions
ELIGIBILITY
Who is eligible to submit to JYI?
Anyone who has written a manuscript during his or her undergraduate studies is welcome to submit. JYI only publishes original work written by undergraduate students mentored by a faculty member of an institution, holding a doctoral degree (MD or PhD). Authors may be asked to provide proof of undergraduate status.
Can high school students submit to JYI?
High school students are encouraged to explore other venues (e.g., Journal of Emerging Investigators) as our journal’s scope only includes undergraduate research.
Am I eligible to submit a manuscript on research I completed as an undergraduate student, even if I am no longer an undergrad?
Students may submit manuscripts up to one year post-graduation, provided that the research/writing work was completed as an undergraduate student. Please contact sre@jyi.org for clarification if needed.
If my work was published in another journal, newsletter, etc., can I still submit to JYI?
All submissions must be original research (i.e. not published elsewhere). Manuscripts written as a requirement of an undergraduate course may be submitted, with permission of the course coordinator.
If your research has been has been published elsewhere, as part of a larger project with your PI (i.e. your research only constitutes a portion of the total research published previously), then you are permitted to write up your research separately and submit this to JYI. However, you must (1) completely write the new manuscript by yourself, (2) must only write about your own research, and (3) must be responsible for checking all copyright policies to verify whether this is permitted.
Why do I need an advisor to submit a research manuscript to JYI?
We are looking for confirmation that your research was conducted under the guidance of a mentor holding a doctoral degree or a faculty position at a post-secondary institution, other research-oriented institution, or the equivalent in industry.This basic requirement helps us maintain a standard of quality for submissions to JYI.
If I have completed research in a theoretical background independent of a supervisor, can I still submit my manuscript?
No. All students must have a mentor for original research manuscripts. At minimum, we require that students who have completed such theoretical research to find a sponsoring faculty member would will step-by-step verify that all steps in the calculations are correct and who is willing to sponsor/stand behind the research.
If I am submitting a literature review or features article to JYI, am I required to have an advisor?
Yes.
If I have more than one original paper, can I submit them all in JYI?
Yes, but you will need advisor approval for each of them separately.
How long does it take to publish an article in JYI?
This varies from manuscript to manuscript. An ideal manuscript will be based on good science and be written according to the submission guidelines of JYI. This process includes an initial plagiarism and formatting screen, a peer-review process and correspondence with the author on any required revisions. However, the process is often extended, as JYI is run entirely by volunteers and handles many manuscripts concurrently. Depending upon the manuscript itself, the author’s promptness in addressing reviewers’ comments, and the number of manuscripts being handled this process may take up to several months.
My submission has been accepted. When and where will it appear?
The Journal of Young Investigators publishes monthly. All issues are released at the start of the month. Therefore, your article will be published online at www.jyi.org at the start of the next month. If your manuscript was accepted towards the end of the month, it may be pushed back for publication in the next issue, as all published content must first be reviewed by our Managing Editor and Copy Editor team. All authors should be contacted shortly within the publication date with a link to their article. If you have any questions about where your accepted manuscript is in the publication process, please contact our Managing Editor at me@jyi.org.
REVIEW PROCESS
What is the peer-review process?
In brief, peer-review is a process utilized by research journals and academic publications to assess the quality and validity of a research manuscript. Because research is often highly specialized and technical, it can be difficult to assess a manuscript without coming from a similar background/area of study. In peer-review, 'peers' from the same field of research will evaluate the manuscript under question to give it a fair assessment for publication.
Peer review is a very well known and historic process. If you are unfamiliar with the term, we highly encourage you to read more about it. Also, you may want to consider applying to be part of JYI, where our undergraduate staff members learn about the peer-review process by experiencing it first hand!
How does the peer-review process work at JYI?
The Journal of Young Investigators uses in-house staff editors (undergraduate students) to review all manuscripts. All research manuscripts submitted to JYI are first assessed by the Senior Research Editor for plagiarism. If the manuscript passes (i.e. no plagiarism is found), then the manuscript is assigned to one of our Research Editors. The Research Editor will then have a minimum of two Associate Editors review the manuscript. Our process keeps the author's identity anonymous from Associate Editors to minimize potential biases. All comments will be compiled by the Research Editor and passed back to the original author, along with a decision on acceptance/rejection and any required revisions. All together, a minimum of four staff members will review the content of the submission.
If you have any concerns with this process, please contact the Senior Research Editor (sre@jyi.org).
What is plagiarism? What is the Journal of Young Investigators' stance on plagiarism?
Plagiarism is a serious offense in the world of academic publications and science journalism. Committing plagiarism means an author used the ideas, content, text, etc. of someone else without crediting the source. All content of a manuscript originating from other than the author must be properly cited and referenced.
The Journal of Young Investigators takes the issue of plagiarism very seriously. We screen all submissions to JYI with an effective anti-plagiarism software. Any incidents of plagiarism in a manuscript will result in an automatic rejection and possibly a permanent ban on any future submissions with our journal, depending on the seriousness of the offense.
AUTHORSHIP
Who is given authorship on a manuscript?
Usually, authorship is given to anyone who has substantially contributed intellectually to at least one component of the project. For example, an author may assist with the design of the project or the interpretation of the results. However, someone involved only with the manual labour and lab work of the project may receive only an acknowledgment.
If you are unclear of who deserves authorship on your manuscript, please talk to your principal investigator (PI). He or she should be able to help you decide the number and order of authors on your manuscript.
Can I have more than one author associated with my manuscript? More than one principal investigator?
Anyone who has contributed enough to be granted authorship (see #1) needs to be listed as an author. This may mean that multiple authors or PIs are associated with your manuscript. If you have multiple PIs, please be sure to fill out an Advisor Approval Form for each PI.
OTHER
Do you accept videos?
Yes. By nature of being an online journal we are able to have videos directly integrated into the article. Feel free to submit any videos that are relevant to the results of your research in MP4 format along with your static images.
How often does JYI publish?
We publish monthly, with two volumes per year, and six issues per volume. Each issue is published at the start of the month.
When should I submit to JYI?
Whenever you are ready! There are no deadlines for submission (i.e. rolling submissions). But the research must have been completed while you were still and undergraduate.
Who should I contact for questions about submissions?
Email sre@jyi.org.