Instruction for Authors

The RKGP Journal of Undergraduate Research in STEM (RKGP-JURS) welcomes submissions of high-quality original research articles, review papers, and short communications that showcase meaningful scholarly contributions in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The journal provides a platform for emerging researchers to present innovative ideas, foundational studies, and applied research that advance understanding across STEM disciplines. All submissions undergo rigorous peer review, and publication is contingent upon the editorial decision following reviewer recommendations. Accepted manuscripts are published in the journal according to their placement in the publication schedule.

Manuscript Submission

Authors are advised to review the journal’s Editorial Policy and Ethical Publishing Practices prior to submission. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with appropriate reporting guidelines relevant to the study type. Electronic submission via the journal’s manuscript submission portal is strongly encouraged. Authors must complete a one-time registration to submit via the portal. Alternatively, manuscripts may be submitted as a single Microsoft Word document (including text, tables, and figures) to the Editorial Office at rjbmco@rkgpjournals.org. An acknowledgment email will be sent to the corresponding author on the day of receipt, and a manuscript number will be provided within 72 hours.

Cover Letter

A cover letter must accompany the submission and include the full name, postal address, and email address of the corresponding author. Authors may optionally suggest two to three potential reviewers, providing their names and email addresses.

Reporting Guidelines

Authors are expected to report research findings accurately, transparently, and completely. Research should be documented in a manner that allows reproducibility and verification. For studies involving human subjects, adherence to recognized ethical standards, such as the Declaration of Helsinki, is required.

Article Types

  • Original Research Articles (Full-Length Papers): Comprehensive studies reporting novel findings, with detailed methodology sufficient for reproducibility.
  • Short Communications: Concise reports of smaller studies, novel methods, techniques, or apparatus. These typically range from 2–4 printed pages (approximately 6–12 manuscript pages) and may combine Results and Discussion.
  • Review Articles: Critical analyses, surveys, perspectives, and essays addressing topics of current interest. Reviews should be concise, typically 4–6 printed pages (approximately 12–18 manuscript pages).

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should generally follow the IMRAD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion), unless otherwise appropriate for the article type.

  • Title Page: Include a concise title, authors’ full names, affiliations (departments and institutions), contact emails, phone numbers, and the corresponding author’s details.
  • Abstract: A self-contained summary of 100–200 words, written in the past tense, with no citations or abbreviations. Abstracts may be structured or unstructured.
  • Keywords: List 3–5 keywords for indexing purposes.
  • Abbreviations: Use only for non-standard or lengthy terms.
  • Introduction: Provide context, define the research problem, and summarize relevant literature.
  • Materials and Methods: Include sufficient detail for reproducibility. Cite established methods and describe modifications as necessary.
  • Results and Discussion: Present findings clearly, with results in the past tense. Discussion should interpret results in relation to existing literature. Sections may be combined when appropriate.
  • Conclusion: Concisely summarize the key findings and implications.
  • Acknowledgments: Briefly acknowledge contributions, funding, and support.
  • Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose all potential financial or other relevant conflicts.

Tables and Figures

  • Tables should be concise, numbered consecutively, and include units of measurement and descriptive titles.
  • Figures/graphics should be provided in GIF, TIFF, JPEG, or PowerPoint format, numbered consecutively, and cited in the text.
  • Legends should correspond to figure numbers.
  • Tables and illustrations may be placed at the end of the manuscript or on separate sheets.
  • Footnotes for tables should be indicated with lowercase superscripts.

References

  • In-text citations should follow the author-date format (e.g., Smith, 2008; Jack et al., 2007). For multiple works by the same author in a year, use lowercase letters (e.g., Nishinari, 2006a,b).
  • References should be listed alphabetically at the end of the manuscript. Unpublished work, personal communications, or submissions in preparation should be cited only in the text.
  • Abbreviate journal names according to Chemical Abstracts, and include DOIs or PubMed IDs where available.

Short Communications

  • Abstracts limited to 100 words.
  • Materials and methods may be incorporated into figure legends or table footnotes.
  • Results and Discussion may be combined.
  • Maximum of two figures and one table.

Peer Review Process

All submissions undergo evaluation by the editor and members of the Editorial Board or qualified external reviewers. Reviewers’ feedback will typically be provided within four weeks. Manuscripts accepted pending revision will undergo re-evaluation by the editorial board. The journal aims to publish accepted manuscripts within eight weeks of submission.

Acceptance Certificate

Authors will receive an acceptance certificate for manuscripts approved for publication.

Manuscript Handling Fee

Upon acceptance, the corresponding author will be contacted to process the manuscript handling fee of USD 350 with a 92.5% discount to support quality and innovative undergraduate research across the globe. Authors are therefore required to pay a token of USD 26.25. Publication is not contingent upon an author’s ability to pay the fee. Requests for publication fee support may be submitted under special circumstances.

Proofs and Reprints

Following acceptance and payment, manuscripts are typeset, and galley proofs are sent to the corresponding author for review. Corrections should be returned within 72 hours, limited to minor changes (<5% of text or data). PDFs of the final article will be provided; printed copies are available upon request for an additional fee.

Publication and Notification

Once galley proof corrections are completed, articles are included in the next journal issue and published online. Corresponding authors will receive a publication notice with links to the issue and article.

Copyright

Submission implies that the work has not been previously published, is not under consideration elsewhere, and authors agree to transfer copyright to the publisher upon acceptance.