Southern Oregon University students who want to get a head start on decking out a resume that will get them into grad school are invited to participate in the school’s new Rogue Journal of Undergraduate Research.
The RJUR is an ambitious new peer-reviewed academic journal project designed to introduce undergraduate students to the rigorous process of getting published in the academic scene. The journal is the brainchild of Kyle Pate, a senior majoring in economics with an emphasis on public policy.
Pate, a McNair Scholar and the managing editor of the RJUR, said he envisioned the project to provide a resource that he believed was lacking at SOU, which he called a “terminal bachelor degree institution.” This vision started with Pate’s participation in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Summer Program at the Santa Fe Institute last spring, where he experienced firsthand the process of peer rejection of his research paper.
“We wanted to introduce students to the process. What is it like to have your research journal paper torn apart and what can be learned from it?” said Pate. “Our journal is designed to maximize feedback on the work submitted. Everything can be published after revision.”
The RJUR requires all submissions to be sponsored by a faculty member, who needs only sign a form included in the application package.
All submissions are peer-reviewed by the four-member student editorial staff. If the manuscript requires revision, it is sent back to the author with comments. If the critiquing comments are minimal enough, the submission will also be forwarded with comments to an anonymous faculty member in the submission’s area of discipline for review, who will then give a final recommendation.
All research papers that are approved will then be prepared for publication by the managing editor, faculty advisor and SOU’s Hannon Library.
The deadline for all submissions is Friday, Feb. 8. (Editor’s Note: as of Feb. 6 Pate had extended the deadline to Monday, Feb. 11) For more information and to download the application package, visit http://www.sou.edu/rjur/.
