Call for Papers

The International Scholastic Journal of Science is calling for secondary school science students who have conducted original research to submit their work for publication. The Journal publishes papers describing original, entry-level research conducted by secondary school science students within the scope of their normal science courses. This may be independent research conducted for science courses such as A-level or AP courses, or it may be work done for the Internal Assessments or Extended Essays in the IB program. Only work submitted in English will be considered.

Papers in all fields of the natural sciences are accepted: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Sciences, and Environmental Sciences. Papers accepted for publishing must demonstrate an original, valid contribution to our knowledge of the world. The conclusions must demonstrate a high level of confidence and be suggestive of further work. Entry-level papers are not expected to be highly important contributions in the field, but they must present new knowledge. It is suggested that authors look at back issues of the Journal to gain a better understanding of the type of work that is accepted for publication.

The Submission Process

Authors interested in publishing a paper should begin by discussing the possibility of writing a paper with their science teacher. The teacher will play an important role in helping the author write and revise the paper, so must agree to support the author in this process.

Once the author and teacher have agreed to submit the research to the ISJOS for consideration, the author should email a short summary of their research topic and findings to the Journal Editor at Editor@isjos.org.

If the research is accepted for consideration, the author will be asked to send the original school lab report, along with any raw data files associated with the research. The Editor will communicate with the author and teacher requesting elaboration and clarification if needed, then submit the research to a Reviewer. If the research is accepted by the Reviewer for publication, the Editor will email the author and teacher with suggestions on the focus and approach of the paper, along with documents describing the writing and revision process in more detail.

The author will then write a draft of the paper, in consultation with the teacher, following the ISJOS Guidelines. The completed draft is emailed to the Editor, who will respond with suggestions for revision, if necessary. After the paper is finalized, it will be sent for final approval to the Reviewer. One final round of revision according to the Reviewer's suggestions may be required before the paper is published.