BRIAN LEE, ALEXIS GKANTIRAGAS, YI TING LOO, BRITTANY PUGH
Since its inception, the Journal of Young Investigators (JYI) has strived to offer undergraduate researchers a voice in the scientific world and extend the undergraduate experience to encompass academic publishing. Through enabling undergraduate researchers to both submit novel research articles and take part in every step of the Journal’s everyday operations, JYI staff, Board of Directors, and university mentors across the world have provided undergraduates access to the research process [1, 2, 3].
Science doesn’t stop after publication. To the contrary, the fun begins the moment a piece of novel research is shared with the greater world: once publicized, scientific findings are often shared, investigated, and/or debated upon -- and not necessarily in that order! We realize that undergraduates often have strong opinions about and unique expertise regarding the research they read and how it impacts their discipline(s), the scientific community as a whole, or even the world as we know it. Of course, we are prone to also have strong opinions and helpful feedback for the organizations that publish our work (i.e. journals like JYI or the publishing world as a whole) or the institutions that fund our research and educate us.
Given these realities of being a student researcher in the 21st century, we hope to continue our purpose as serving as a voice for undergraduate researchers by providing a novel Editorial article type. Editorials are already commonplace in other prominent journals such as Nature [4] and Science [5] and our editorials are mirrored from what has been done previously. In addition to providing undergraduates a unique platform, editorial pieces allow students within the journal to announce large changes, elaborate on a JYI-centric topic, or issue longer-form statements about important issues and global events. One key distinction to note is that editorials are different from the current Perspectives article type: while perspectives pieces may draw upon an undergraduate’s scientific expertise to discuss a unique scientific concept or debate in depth, editorials are meant to focus on significantly broader issues. If prospective editorial authors have questions about the suitability of a topic, they are invited to reach out to the Senior Research Editor via the email address on the JYI website [6]. A good rule of thumb is that an editorial piece should not explain intricate scientific concepts or use extensive scientific jargon, while a perspectives piece is permitted to do so. For example, while an editorial piece might comment on undergraduate research training, a perspectives piece may discuss current regulations on germline editing.
We believe there are several characteristics of editorial pieces that may help prospective authors best choose a topic they are passionate about and write an effective piece. We hope these three suggestions are helpful to you and your co-authors.
Our first suggestion is to stay extremely focused in scope and to remember your audience: an editorial is neither a senior thesis nor an extended blog post. As such, although editorial pieces give the author some creative freedom, please start planning with a specific topic and a set of impactful arguments, anecdotal examples, or calls to action in mind.
Our second suggestion is to heed the requirements [7] we set of all editorial pieces: our editorial team has put significant thought into these specific regulations -- they are not mere suggestions.
Our last suggestion is to discuss your topic, opinions, and writing with as many close colleagues and mentors as you can prior to publication. We hope you will involve a research advisor in this process. Ultimately, you are trying to start an important discussion on an under-discussed topic; perhaps the extra conversations you have will not only improve your writing but also inform your opinions on an important issue, solidifying a relationship you have with a trusted advisor in the process.
Ultimately, this is a forum by undergraduate researchers for undergraduate researchers to engage with the science and world they live in on a more intimate or personal level. We invite and challenge you to join us in starting the discussions key to shaping our world. Only with your input can we work together to shape our future.
REFERENCES
Metcalfe, D., Gibson, C. and Lambert, C. (2010) ‘A Collaborative Foray into Undergraduate Publishing’, in Little, S. (ed.) Staff-Student Partnerships in Higher Education. Bloomsbury Publishing, pp. 169–185.
Alberts, B. (2009) ‘Open Access: The Sooner the Better’, Science. Edited by J. Sills, 325(5938), pp. 266 LP – 266. doi: 10.1126/science.325_266d.
Chen, J. (2001) ‘The youth team’, Nature, 411(6833), pp. 13–14. doi: 10.1038/35075162.
Editorial (no date) Nature. Available at: https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?type=editorial.
Editorial (no date) Science. Available at: https://www.sciencemag.org/journal-department/editorial.
Journal of Young Investigators (no date) Journal of Young Investigators. Available at: https://www.jyi.org/.
Editorial (no date) Journal of Young Investigators. Available at: https://www.jyi.org/editorial-pieces