Information For Authors

Frequently Asked Questions

How to navigate the VVRJ website?

The gray bar at the top contains all the information you need.

Authors: please read this information before you submit your contribution to ensure that it is complete and follows the the Submission Guidelines.

 

Who is eligible to submit to VVRJ?

All Villanova undergraduates who have undertaken research are eligible to submit to VVRJ. Alumni are also eligible to submit within three years of graduation.

 

Submissions from other researchers (e.g., visiting undergraduates, high school students) will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to inquire whether your submission is eligible for publication in VVRJ, please contact the editors.

 

What work is eligible for submission to VVRJ?

VVRJ invites submissions from all academic disciplines. As outlined in the Contributor Agreement, submissions must: (a) be an original work of the author(s); and (b) be approved for submissions to VVRJ by all authors and mentors. Furthermore, submissions must NOT: (a) have been published elsewhere; (b) currently be under consideration at another journal or other venue; or (c) infringe the intellectual property or rights of others.

 

The Editorial Board encourages student researchers to share a wide range of scholarship. This may include academic work from a research seminar or similar course, senior thesis, mentored research (at Villanova or at another institution), or independent research project (i.e., work resulting from the VURF Program or another similar program). Submissions should contain methodology, results, analysis, and a conclusion (or equivalent as appropriate for the author’s field). 

 

If applicable, the author must have received approval from the Villanova Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and/or Institutional Biosafety Committee.

 

VVRJ has two major submission types: Research Reports (250–500 words) and Research Articles (500+ words). For more information on submission types, see the Submission Guidelines.

 

What constitutes a complete submission to VVRJ?

A complete submission includes the main text of the article or report, the Contributor Agreement signed by the author/s and mentor/s, a title page and a bibliography. If there are any figures, tables, charts, indices, etc. that are referenced in the submission, those should be uploaded too. Please read the Submission Guidelines carefully before you submit your contribution. 

 

The Editorial Board will not review incomplete submissions. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submission contains all required elements, including a separate cover page, anonymized text, contributor agreement, and separate files for all images, tables, and figures. Text must be in Word; the Editorial Board will not accept text in PDF format. 

 

For images, tables, and figures, authors must upload individual high-definition files in addition to the main text of the submission. Images, tables, and figures may appear in the full text of the article ONLY if accompanied by separate files in JPG or PNG format. Images, tables, and figure files should be named as they appear in the text and contain the surname of the author (“Jones Figure 1,” “Jones Image 1,” “Jones Table 1,” etc.). 

 

Does my research project need to be completed before I submit to VVRJ?

Research Reports can describe ongoing projects (e.g., data collection or analysis are ongoing); however, work described in Research Articles must be fully completed by the time of submission.

 

Should I list my mentor(s) as a co-author on the published work?

Because the main goal of VVRJ is to disseminate undergraduate student research, we ask that only current undergraduates and recent alumni be listed as authors. Other contributors to the work (e.g., graduate students, faculty, staff) should be listed as mentors. VVRJ will feature mentors’ names, photos, and short bios alongside the published manuscripts.

 

What is the deadline for submission?

Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, but those received by 11:59pm on June 21st will be given priority in the review process.

 

Who owns the copyright to work published in VVRJ? Can I submit my work for publication in another venue after it has been published in VVRJ?

When publishing in VVRJ the author(s) retain the copyright to their work; author(s) grant VVRJ certain permissions to publish and use the work, as outlined in the Contributor Agreement (available on the journal website).

 

Authors are welcome to submit work published in VVRJ for publication in another venue; however, they must first secure permission from the Editors-in-Chief and include a statement in the new publication noting that the work has been published in VVRJ, along with the date and volume of the original publication. Please email the editors if you are considering republishing elsewhere.

 

How does the review process work at VVRJ? How long does it take?

Submissions to VVRJ undergo several rounds of review before publication, including: (1) pre-review and plagiarism screening by the Editors-in-Chief, and (2) full review by undergraduate researchers in the field. Authors may be asked to revise their manuscript and resubmit for a second round of student researcher review (4). Authors and mentors will be notified of their submission status at each stage in the review process.

 

We anticipate that each stage of the review process will take 2–3 weeks.

 

How often is VVRJ published?

VVRJ is published once annually, in the fall.

 

I am planning to publish in a professional journal. Does this mean that I cannot publish in VVRJ?

Submissions that represent work that may be published in another form are welcome, but such submissions should take a different approach, such as appearing in the form of a Research Report and detailing the ongoing process of research-- so as to remain compliant with the rules of the publication with which a student intends to publish. Authors should always check with their research supervisors before submitting their work. 

 

Does the word count for the Research Reports include figure captions or references?

No, the word count for the Research Reports only includes the main text of the submission; figure and table captions, titles, references, supplementary material etc. do not contribute to the word count.