Publish your research
The Nevada State Undergraduate Research Journal is an opportunity for all disciplines.
Mission
The mission of the Nevada State Undergraduate Research Journal (NSURJ) is to provide an accessible, peer-reviewed journal specifically for undergraduate students, whose work is often underrepresented in academia. We are dedicated to educating, supporting and providing a competitive edge for all students in the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). Our statewide approach is aimed at showcasing the quality of a Nevada education by professionalizing students’ research experiences through publication.
History
The Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN) recognized that reputable research must be published in a research journal so that it can be reviewed, analyzed and tested for validity. Undergraduate students are rarely able to produce the caliber of research required for exclusive journals. Thus, ASUN wanted to provide a medium for all undergraduate students in NSHE to submit to an interdisciplinary undergraduate research journal. ASUN’s initial support has allowed NSURJ to fulfill its mission and grow into the academic steppingstone that it is.
Why publish with us?
NSURJ offers undergraduate students a supportive, student-run publishing experience that enhances academic and professional credentials through flexible, personalized editorial guidance and timely publication in a respected journal.
Benefits
Publishing research is an opportunity that undergraduate students are seldom given and holds high merit within academic and professional communities. Publishing can help add unique experience and professionalism to a resume or curriculum vita (CV). Roughly 53 percent of authors who have submitted to NSURJ have either been accepted into a professional school program such as medical school, or entered an esteemed professional position in the private sector. Publishing undergraduate work can be done in as little as eight months, meaning student names can be featured in a respected journal before applying to a professional or academic program.
Approachability
NSURJ has an approach towards publishing undergraduate work that makes the journal more personable. As a student-run publication, editors understand the workload of undergraduate students and are willing accommodate flexible timelines when needed. Undergraduates who submit will have a one-on-one experience with an editor. Accepted submissions will typically be published within an eight-month period, during which editors will remain in consistent contact with authors.
Guidelines and formatting
Deviations from the page and word limits will be accepted in some cases, with editor approval, if the paper and author clearly establish that such deviations are necessary for the completeness of the research.
Words:
- Minimum 2,000 words
- Maximum 13,500 words and 30-page limit
Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the editorial staff.
Figures, tables and images:
- Must be integrated into text
- Must include a callout or mention of the table, figure or image by name in-text before integrating. Place the table, figure, or image after the callout.
- Must include a caption and alternate text for screen readers
- Must be numbered
- Must contain copyright attribution if the figure or image is from an external source
Style:
- The APA 7th citation style is required
- Times New Roman, 12pt font, single-spaced
Summary of components
The following manuscript sections will be uploaded as two separate Word documents in APA format.
Upload 1 includes:
The manuscript with the following fields as applied to student discipline:
- Title page
- Contributors, mentor(s) and department of research
- Abstract
- Introduction or literature review
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion of results
Upload 2 includes:
References, bibliography or citation list
How to submit
Complete the online form to submit your manuscript.
Policies
The policies include:
- Editorial policy regarding manuscript review and publications
- Nonresponse policy
- Authorship and mentoring policies
- AI Policy
Editorial policy regarding manuscript review and publications
Each submission should represent research pointed towards a goal. Submissions must be thesis driven and original; the journal will not accept reviews of literature because they are a synthesization of existing research. Rather, we encourage thesis-driven research that is supported by new data and analysis.
We recognize that undergraduate work may not have the completeness that other journals look for and we allow flexibility for such submissions. Manuscripts that are part of larger projects and may be considered incomplete on their own, as well as the development of new protocols or experiments, are accepted. If a manuscript appears incomplete, the author may be advised to expand the background information before it is considered. Senior theses and similar projects are also considered publishable material and are highly encouraged for submission.
Manuscripts should contain justification of the research, explaining the benefits provided towards a given field, and should justify the time, effort and money dedicated to the research. Primary and secondary sources should be called upon to explain phenomenons that are not well characterized. As long as the research is scholarly with original content, the manuscript will be considered for publication.
To be eligible for publication, the author’s writing must be at a professional level. The standard of the manuscript is expected to be higher than that of a college research paper; the writing should convey a complete and professional understanding of the research and its background. Professionalism of writing includes understandability for the audience reading the manuscript, as well as adhering to a reasonable length to convey an understanding of the research.
Nonresponse policy
Manuscripts are rarely ready to be published when they are received. Many manuscripts require edits and revisions in a process that involves frequent communication and cooperation between the editorial staff and the author. This process preserves the integrity of the journal and benefits the quality of an author’s research.
The editorial staff has the right to reject a manuscript due to lack of communication or absence of cooperation by a researcher at any point in the submission process. After submitting a manuscript to NSURJ, an author is obligated to remain in contact with the editorial staff whenever necessary. An author must respond to any inquiries or revisional requests by the journal editorial staff within 21 days of receiving the initial inquiry or request. Failure to comply with this policy gives the editorial staff the right to reject a manuscript for publication.
Any exceptions to this policy will be made at the discretion of the editorial staff. Authors with legitimate reasons for being unresponsive will be thoroughly considered, including but not limited to medical reasons, extended periods abroad or family emergencies. An exception may also be made if an author informs the editors of a planned unresponsive period in a timely manner prior to the end of the period.
Authorship and mentoring policies
When submitting your article, all authors involved must be credited. An author is anyone who explicitly wrote a portion of the paper or anyone who contributed heavily to the editing process. If two or more authors contributed equally, it is at the discretion of the authors to decide on their credit order. Authors should be listed in descending order of involvement in the article.
A mentor is someone who advises on a research project. Mentors deserve credit on a publication, if they request it, and must sign off on submissions and final publications. Below are some explicit examples of who may be considered a mentor:
- If your work was conducted in a laboratory, the principal investigator (PI) is a mentor for your submission.
- If your work was funded by a student grant, the mentor listed on the grant is a mentor for your submission.
- If your work was funded as part of a larger grant, such as one from the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the Department of Energy (DOE), the PI serves as your mentor for the submission.
- If you were paid for the work that led to your submission, your employer is a mentor for your submission.
AI policy
The Undergraduate Research office seeks to emphasize accuracy, transparency, accountability, authenticity, merit and academic growth in research publication.
Our policy is that undergraduate researchers must be accurate, transparent and accountable in their use of AI. The end product reflects not only on the author(s), but also on their mentor, their college and the University. AI is seen as a versatile tool with many applications, including brainstorming, planning, analyzing, generating new content and so forth. To be accurate, students must responsibly check their work, especially if any of it has been generated by AI. Individuals should consult a trusted source or expert to ensure the generated content is valid. To be transparent and accountable, undergraduate researchers must properly disclose and cite the use of AI tools.
Review process
Evaluations of submissions are based on two major criteria: readability and research merit. First, editors will review the manuscript for clarity and coherence. We are looking for manuscripts that can be comprehended by the everyday reader, regardless of the paper’s discipline. The criterion of research merit will be evaluated by the completeness of the research. Accepted papers demonstrate the relevance and full implications of the research, professionally and understandably. Before publication, manuscripts will undergo review by a senior editor.
Four possible designations are made for submissions and provided to authors: accepted for publication, conditional accept, revise and resubmit, or reject.
- Accepted for publication: If a paper is publishable at the time it is first submitted, then it will be accepted and featured in the next upcoming edition.
- Conditional accept: A manuscript that is ready for publication, but pending minor changes, receives a conditional accept with a copy of your manuscript containing editor comments and suggestions. Authors are instructed to make the edits they see fit, and if they choose not to apply certain edits, we ask for justifications as to why.
- Revise and resubmit: If the reviewers decide that the manuscript is publishable pending moderate revision, the editors will notify the author with a revise and resubmit decision, along with a copy of the manuscript containing editorial comments and suggestions. Necessary revisions need to be applied to second submissions, and upon the second submission, a new round of review will begin again.
- All authors who receive a revise and resubmit will be recommended to visit the University Writing and Speaking Center. Depending on the coherence and readability of the manuscript, authors may be required to visit the writing center with proof of an appointment provided with their resubmission.
- Reject: Received when a manuscript has been rejected for publication.
Past journals
Each edition has been archived throughout the years and can be accessed free of charge. Please visit ScholarWolf to access the current and past editions of the journal.
Frequently asked questions
Generally, most introductions in academic writing aim to invite readers into a discussion by presenting the necessary context. Additionally, introductions serve to frame the larger conversation and topic of the paper for the reader and to present a “road map” of important points. Alternatively, a literature review synthesizes and analyzes previous research in a field to inform an audience and establish background knowledge. Literature reviews are most often part of a larger work, like a research article. NSURJ does not accept literature reviews on their own for publication but encourages a literature review to be integrated into research in support of the introduction.
An APA title page should contain the title of the paper, the author’s name(s), and the institutional affiliation including the university/college/institution and department names.
All authors involved must be credited. If a mentor or PI requests credit or is attributed to a publication, their name should be listed after the authors and indicated as a mentor. For more information refer to APA title page guidelines.
If you are using images, figures or tables in your manuscript, you must consider if there is a copyright license associated with it. A copyright attribution would be included in a ‘note’ section after the caption in the manuscript. For examples refer to referencing style - APA 7th: images and copyright.
Completed research is necessary for publication. The editorial team will help you publish in the next edition if you are still interested in publishing after the completion of your research.
A manuscript in APA format with a title, contributors and all necessary elements of reputable research, such as an abstract, methods and discussion. For examples of formatting and content expectations, please see the guidelines and formatting section.
Upon your first submission, your manuscript will be reviewed by associate editors. This will be followed by a review from a senior editor. If your submission is publishable in that state, it will be accepted for submission. If not, you will be asked to revise and resubmit for further review. A more detailed explanation of this process and the policies involved can be found under the policies and review sections.
Review the feedback provided by the editorial staff and make the necessary changes in a timely manner. The University Writing and Speaking Center (UWSC) is located on campus and a substantial writing resource; sometimes a trip to the UWSC may be needed. When all revisions have been made, resubmit your second draft to the editors for another review. If any questions arise during the revision process, please contact the editorial team by emailing nsurj@unr.edu.
You can contact the whole team at once by emailing nsurj@unr.edu. To contact an individual editor, email addresses are listed in the contact us section of Undergraduate Research. The editorial team is also available for one-on-one meetings.