Article Types
Thank you for your interest in submitting an article to OSURJ! Please read over our submission guidelines document for all the details on how to prepare your article and what to include for each article type. When you are ready to submit, please follow our instructions on submitting through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) program.
ARTICLE TYPES ACCEPTED
1.1a Original Research Articles: (<3000 words excluding abstract + references).
Definition: These articles report original research conducted by uOttawa student(s) in which a research question is investigated through a study and the results are interpreted and analyzed.
Components: Keywords, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Supplementary Information (if applicable), Acknowledgements, Competing Interests, References.
Supervisors signature and consent is required. Recommended for research not intended for mainstream journals.
1.1b Honour’s Project - Research Article: (<2000 words including abstract + references).
Definition: These articles report original research conducted by a uOttawa student as part of their Honour’s thesis in which a research question is investigated through a study and the results are interpreted and analyzed.
Components: Keywords, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Supplementary Information (if applicable), Acknowledgements, Competing Interests, References.
Supervisors signature and consent is required. Recommended for research not intended for mainstream journals.
1.1c Innovative Methodology: (<3000 words not including abstract and references).
Definition: Peer-reviewed articles describing a new tool or technique, or a sufficiently substantial advance of an existing tool or technique, and demonstrate proof of principle in the form of novel biological insight acquired using the method.
- Must describe the method in sufficient detail to allow replication.
- Should describe advantages and disadvantages of the new method as well as its limitations.
Components: Keywords, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Supplementary Information (if applicable) Acknowledgements, Competing Interests, References.
Supervisors signature and consent is required. Recommended for research not intended for mainstream journals.
1.1d Communication Article: (<1500 words not including abstract and references).
Definition: Communication articles summarize the initial findings of ongoing or completed original research that is limited in scope relative to the “Original Research Article”. Submission of negative results (in which the expected result was not observed) is accepted.
Components: Keywords, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Supplementary Information (if applicable) Acknowledgements, Competing Interests, References.
Supervisors signature and consent is required. Recommended for research not intended for mainstream journals.
1.2 Article Types Accepted - Other Article Types
1.2a Review Articles: (<3000 words excluding abstract + references).
Definition: An article that outlines recent advances, identifies gaps in current knowledge and gives readers a succinct yet complete review of a particular subfield of science.
The review article’s aim is to synthesize (combine) and summarize the information from many peer-reviewed papers of a specific subfield rather than report new findings.
- A secondary aim is to suggest future directions of research and to draw conclusions.
- The review article should present the information objectively and from multiple research groups.
Components: Keywords, Abstract, Background, Main text, Conclusions, Declarations
1.2b Opinion/Perspective Articles: (<1500 words).
Definition: Article presenting the author’s thoroughly researched opinion on particular scientific issue. May be related to science policy or research agenda (“more scientists need to study X”).
- Should be about controversial issues regarding science.
- These argumentative pieces offer a critical analysis of a particular topic within any discipline. This category may be well-suited towards thesis-stance driven essays or dissertations.
- The ideal perspective article conveys a sense of urgency. Why is it important at this moment?
Components: Keywords, Abstract, Main text, References.
1.2c Commentaries: (<1000 words).
Definition: Short pieces written about recent, high impact studies published by other journals and brought to the readership of OSURJ. Present the new ideas and viewpoints of the studies and discuss their implications. Also includes the option to write “Classics” which feature historic publications and discuss the impact of the paper in the specific field and on the author’s own work. Also accepted under the title of “Commentaries” is “UOttawa Highlights” which features a recently published work (less than 1 year) from the University of Ottawa and explains the contributions to the field as well as potential applications of its findings.
Components: Keywords, Abstract, Main text (including introduction), References.
