Focus and Scope

IU South Bend offers a myriad of opportunities for undergraduate research. The IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal is a refereed journal of outstanding scholarship featuring the original work of IU South Bend undergraduates.  This publication is committed to highlighting that research and praising our undergraduate colleagues for their academic success. 

We welcome submissions from undergraduates in every academic discipline represented on the IUSB campus.  Each year, we strive to produce a journal which demonstrates the strength of undergraduate scholarship at IUSB.  We have the distinct pleasure of granting students the opportunity to express their ideas to a broader academic audience.

Peer Review Process

The URJ is one of several student-run publications on the IUSB campus, and proudly so.  All editors-in-chief and assistant editors are undergraduates who collaborate with the student authors and are integral in evaluating, compiling and designing each year’s edition.

The editorial team is hand picked by each year's Editor in Chief.  The editorial team is comprised of outstanding students in their field who have been proven to show exemplary writing and communication skills.  Each student submission is reviewed by one or more editors on the team.  Review can take several weeks following the deadline. Reviewers are asked to judge submissions based on the following criteria:

  • Innovative Contribution or Interpretation – original research or novel ideas which engage with and/or contribute to others’ research.
  • Rich Content – bringing forth various techniques, results, research data, or publishable findings within the article presented cohesively and referenced as appropriate.
  • Topical Fluency – exhibiting not only knowledge of the material facts or theories, but also the ability to engage in a salient discussion of the issues with the reading audience.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Sponsors

Gratitude to our sponsoring organization, Student Government Association, and support from the Student Publications Committee.

Journal History

I would like to congratulate and welcome the new Editor in Chief, Stephen Salisbury, to the 2017 Undergaduate Research Journal! 

The Undergraduate Research Journal strives to recognize IU South Bend undergraduates for their scholarly accomplishments, to stimulate their future academic endeavors and to provide an opportunity for them to present their original research in a multidisciplinary, refereed journal. 

The journal showcases the best of IU South Bend’s research writing as evaluated by the authors’ peers and offers undergraduate students at IUSB  a prestigious outlet for publication of their work

 

Best,

Editor in Chief 2016, Christine Deutscher