Every article submitted to JYI must have an Abstract that consists of a single paragraph of about 250 words or less. In the Abstract, the author must summarize why the research was conducted, how it was conducted, and the major results and conclusions. In essence, it should contain an overview of the hypothesis, methods, results and conclusions. References are typically not cited in the Abstract, since the reader expects a more thorough discussion in the body of the article.

In the Introduction, the author must present the problem his or her research addresses, why this problem is significant, and how it applies to the larger field of research. If the manuscript is novel or creative in some way, it should be clearly stated. The author should address relevant studies by other researchers; however, a full history of the topic is not needed. Finally, the author must clearly state the hypothesis and briefly summarize the methods used to investigate that hypothesis. 

The Introduction should contain all the background information a reader needs to understand the rest of the author’s paper. This means that all important concepts should be defined. Remember: JYI caters to an audience of professionals and undergraduates. For example, an author need not define an “electron”; however, a “Cooper paired electron” does require a definition.

The author should thoroughly describe the methods used to investigate the problem and should briefly describe why these methods were used. There should be enough information provided to replicate the study. This section should contain no results, conclusions, or interpretations. Information should be grouped under appropriate headings (e.g. participants, techniques/measures, materials). 

In this section, the author should thoroughly detail the results of the experiments, models, or theories developed in the research. The results should be supplemented by figures and tables, which should be briefly explained. All interpretation and discussion of the results should be saved for the Discussion and Conclusions section.

In this section, the author should restate the problem he or she was attempting to address and summarize how the results have addressed it. The author should discuss the significance of all the results and interpret their meaning. Potential sources of error should be discussed. Finally, the author should tie his or her conclusions into the “big picture” by suggesting the implications and applications this research might have. The author should discuss how this research affects the field, what it adds to existing research, and what future experiments could be carried out. 

All Original Research and Review article submissions must contain in-text citations and references in APA, 6th edition. Footnotes are not permitted. References may include: research articles published in scientific journals, research articles included in published books, personal communications with scientists working in the field, or unpublished data (only data, no conclusions). Web sources must be scholarly in nature, such as official reports (e.g., NASA’s Report on the Effects of Long-Duration Space Flight on the Human Respiratory System).

Authors are discouraged from including appendices or supplementary figures in their manuscripts. 

An Acknowledgements section is not required; however, most papers include a paragraph of acknowledgements and thanks for help received on the research or the paper.

A Conflicts of Interest section needs to be included whenever a potential conflict of interest exists. For example, the author(s) must disclose any association with a company, organization, or business that could financially benefit from the results of the study. This section should be detailed and explicit, declaring any conflicts regarding design, conduct and/or execution of the study.

All figures and equations must submitted as individual JPEG images. All tables must be submitted in Word or Excel format. Do not include figures or tables in the body of the submitted article. All captions should be submitted together as a single Word document. Figures should be of high resolution. 

Figures and tables should be ordered sequentially (1,2,3…). They should be referenced within the text in this format: “The results show [...] (Figure 2).”

All submissions should be formatted in the following way: type-written, double-spaced, no page numbers, no page breaks, and with no tables or figures included within the text. Equations must be written using a word processor’s equation-editor function.

All submissions must be saved as a Word file. We are unable to accept LaTeX, PDF, or HTML submissions.

Files submitted to JYI may not exceed 2 MB. For exceptionally large submissions, please email the Senior Research Editor for further instructions.

Although most JYI Features articles are written by JYI’s Science Journalists, Features article submissions are accepted from any undergraduate. Features do not require a research mentor. Anyone interested in writing a features article is encouraged to contact sfe@jyi.org for details.

Letters to the Editor are accepted from anyone, and are published at the Editor’s discretion. They are expected to address a current topic or issue regarding science, science journalism, science publishing, or aspects of undergraduate science education. Letters to the Editor should be submitted to eic@jyi.org.