The Journal of Student Research: A Complete Guide
Co-authored by:
Vincent Lim
College Admissions Consultant | Writer | UCLA Alum
by
Indigo Research Team
Published:
July 3, 2024
Last Updated:
June 11, 2025
Have you ever tried publishing your research paper in an academic journal, but it always gets rejected?
You're not the only student who is frustrated about this. A research journal will usually undergo a rigorous review and acceptance process.
That is one of the reasons why published research is valued by admissions officers. It lends legitimacy to the quality of your work.
For example, most only accept research papers within their specific discipline. And those papers must also meet their specific requirements.
This might pose a big challenge for a high school student, especially if your research is outside their discipline.
As a young researcher, you need an academic journal that accepts research papers from different disciplines with less strict requirements that still has high standards of published work.
That's why the Journal of Student Research (JSR) can be a great opportunity.
In this guide, we'll closely examine what this journal is all about. We'll talk about the kind of papers or topics you can submit, who is eligible to submit, and other details you need to know.
It is a multidisciplinary journal in Houston, Texas. They have been around for 13 years, catering to the research needs of high schoolers, undergraduate, and graduate students. As of the time of writing this guide, they've published more than 2000 articles from over 4500 authors.
You might be wondering what we meant by a multidisciplinary journal, right? Well, it means they welcome research from all fields. It doesn't matter if your research is on practical application or theoretical concepts.
As long as you've carried out solid research and the paper is well-written, you've got a good chance of having it published there.
You can submit research projects, posters, and review articles as a high school student or graduate. They even accept AP Capstone research.
Like most research journals out there, they have fixed deadlines for submissions. This is usually in February, May, August, and November.
This journal's relatively quick acceptance time makes it popular amongst students. You won't have to wait months to know if your paper got approved, which is great compared to most research journals.
Yes, it's a decent choice if you're a researcher, but we can't call this one of the high-impact factor research journals where you can get your work on.
However, we'd like to emphasize that this is one of the few prestigious high school research journals that accept research on diverse topics. That's because most academic journals have specific disciplines in which they accept work.
In our experience, we suggest you aim for a more prestigious journal as your first choice and consider JSR as a backup option if your initial submission doesn't work out.
The short answer to that question is no. JSR is considered moderately selective.
What does this mean?
They have certain standards to maintain the quality of research papers. However, those standards are not very strict when compared with other journals.
In fact, close to 70% of students who submit their research here eventually get it published.
Just because this journal is moderately selective doesn't mean it's not prestigious. It's still a great milestone to have your research paper published here.
It goes a long way to say that your paper has been reviewed well and meets certain research standards.
As we've said earlier, this is a journal with a high acceptance rate for different disciplines and topics. So, any topic can be accepted here.
You just have to ensure the paper is well-written and you've conducted extensive research supporting your views. Different formats are accepted; it could be posters, papers, or even a project you're working on.
Here's a quick look at some of the research papers published on JRS by Indigo students:
Research Paper 1: The Effect of Stress on the Progression and Development of HIV/AIDS
This article shows how stress greatly impacts how fast HIV turns into AIDS. It does this by weakening the immune system. Stress hormones, like cortisol, lower white blood cells called CD4s. This helps HIV get worse more quickly. People with HIV/AIDS often feel high stress and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. These also speed up the illness in similar ways.
The paper also says stress relief therapy matters in treatment. It could improve quality of life and ease symptoms from antiretroviral medications. This paper looks at how stress biologically affects immunity, related research, mental health's role in the worsening of illness, and future research ideas.
Research paper 2: The 1997 Hong Kong Handover and Its Impacts on Hong Kong's Airline Industry
This published research shows how Hong Kong's going from British to Chinese rule in 1997 indirectly hurt Hong Kong's airline business, especially Cathay Pacific. The paper uses a critical literature review and a Cathay Pacific case study to analyze these effects.
It goes from big-picture trends to focusing on Cathay. It looks at global airline trends before examining Cathay's late 1990s performance. Although airlines overall did OK, Hong Kong's airline industry was different after the Handover - a major uncontrollable career shock event.
Research Paper 3: Paradoxes and their Findings in Special Theory of Relativity
After Einstein's 1905 Special Theory of Relativity, scientists found paradoxes that seemed to challenge it. This paper looks at key paradoxes, including the Bug-Rivet Paradox and Bell's Spaceship Paradox. It also covers how magnetic fields differ across reference frames.
These paradoxes initially seemed to contradict relativity but were solved using relativity tools like coordinate changes. This reinforced relativity's legitimacy. Physicists resolved these logical conflicts that arise when valid statements seem incompatible.
Research Paper 4: Axions as a Model of Dark Matter
This article explores the mysteries of dark matter. It presents galaxy and lensing evidence. It discusses dark matter's properties and introduces axions as a promising model. The paper aims to give evidence of the axion model, describe axions theoretically, and highlight implications like solving problems in quantum chromodynamics.
Research Paper 5: Benchmarking and Analysis of Quantum Error Correction Codes
Quantum computing may allow exponential speed-ups over classical computing by exploiting properties like superposition. However, qubits can accumulate errors, needing quantum error correction (QEC) codes.
This study implements and evaluates three QEC code types, including surface codes, using a simulator. It compares their error correction efficacy. The hypothesis is that surface codes will perform best with lower error rates. Results confirm this, indicating surface codes are a promising, scalable quantum computing error correction method.
Those are great examples of student work published in JSR.
This is where a lot of high school students get lost or confused. But this doesn't have to be you. In this section of the guide, we'll walk you through the entire submission and review process of JSR so you know exactly what to expect.
However, we know how beneficial it can be to have the help of an expert. With Indigo Research publication support we pair students with seasoned mentors proficient in navigating the intricacies of the publication process.
The first step is getting familiar with all the different formatting guidelines the journals have. Even though it might seem easy, being thorough with this part can save a heap of time.
Make sure you take a good, hard look at the sample template and double-check that everything aligns with it.
To set up a new account, complete all the necessary details here. Once you log in, the portal dashboard will pop up, where you'll find the Active Submissions queue.
This page lists all the submissions going through the editorial process. If you want to look at past submissions that have been made to the journal, head over to the "Archives" tab - it's all there.
You can submit your research paper by clicking the link that says "New Submission." This submission process is usually broken down into steps, with the necessary guidance for each step.
Our objective at Indigo Research is to elevate the quality of students' papers to their highest potential prior to their ultimate submission to the journal of their choice.
After they've taken a look at what you sent in, the editors will be in touch. It's either a "we'd love to publish this!" or a "not quite this time." It usually takes the Editorial Staff at JSR about 12 to 24 weeks to make a decision.
It has to be fair, right? So, they use a "double-blind" review process. That means the review team has no clue who wrote the work, and you don't know who they are. It's all about keeping things unbiased.
Once they're finished reviewing your paper, you'll get their feedback and things to work on. It's all part of learning the ropes, and who knows, it might even help you get published down the line.
So, if a submission gets the green light, it'll move on to the editing stage of the editorial process. Suppose the Editorial Staff decides that the submission needs some editing and should be resubmitted for peer review.
In that case, you'll have to let them know you're willing to make those changes using the Editor/Author Correspondence.
Our mentors at Indigo Research play a pivotal role in providing comprehensive guidance on the publication journey and expert assistance during the revision phase.
Once you've made all the necessary revisions, you'll upload the new and improved version for the second round of reviews.
The Section Editor will send it off to the same reviewers or maybe even bring in some fresh eyes, and they'll let you know when they've reached a decision, just like they did in the initial review.
But there is something you need to know.
While the editing stage is part of the journal's process, we've noticed that the journal rarely gives edits, and students usually just sail right through to being accepted.
Another thing to remember about JSR is that the whole review and publication process can be quite a marathon. Even if students make the required edits, they might take a long while to publish (we're talking around 7-9 months).
But if you make it through all these stages with flying colors, you'll see your work published in the journal.
If you ever need help in creating a publishable research paper or in publication support, you could also get in touch with Indigo Research. We match students with experienced mentors who know the ins and outs of getting published.
If you want to publish in the journal, you have to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC).
This fee is pretty common at most journals, especially since they might have costs for making the research open-access, hiring editors for the review process, etc.
The APC for the manuscripts is paid in two phases:
Here is an additional tip to submit your paper to the Journal of Student Research:
If you want to get your submitted manuscript reviewed quickly, send them an email at technical @ jsr.org with your submission ID. This fast-track review option lets you speed up the publication process by 4-5 weeks.
However, fast-track reviews only speed up the review process, not the final publication production process. That process can still take a few months for your work to get published.
Now, to write exceptional research papers, you'll need exceptional writing skills as well. Improving your writing and research skills is something we can help you with. All you have to do is enroll in our IRIS program this summer!
Our program is designed to help you stand out on your academic record and push your research abilities to the maximum.
Published research demonstrates intellectual curiosity, a quality that is highly desired by colleges, which can significantly enhance your admission prospects.
To write exceptional, publishable research papers, you'll also need outstanding writing skills. If you're seeking guidance on developing your research paper, consider joining our research program. Our mentors are ready to assist you in creating a research paper that could be published in the Journal of Student Research.
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To write exceptional, publishable research papers, you'll also need outstanding writing skills. If you're seeking guidance on developing your research paper, consider joining our research program. Our mentors are ready to assist you in creating a research paper that could be published in the Journal of Student Research.
