URNCST Journal Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Encyclopedia Entry Initiative
The URNCST Journal team prides itself on its commitment to advocating for undergraduate STEM research. In our endeavors to promote undergraduate research, we have published a number of papers from undergraduate research competitions and case competitions. From these ventures, we have identified a couple of themes that were found to recur independently as follows: 1) undergraduate students are extremely keen to use their critical thinking skills to participate in research endeavors that recognize their valuable work, and 2) there exists a subset of students who desire to contribute to undergraduate STEM research but, for one reason or another are unable to take part in such research or feel as if they may need closer guidance during the writing process. Despite this, the majority of undergraduate students play crucial roles in making new discoveries every single year.
In an effort to provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to contribute to STEM research literature and develop key writing skills, we have established our novel Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Encyclopedia Entry Initiative (EEI). Students who are selected to participate will have the opportunity to leverage the use of an artificial intelligence platform to write an encyclopedia article about a given topic. Through this opportunity, students will learn how to use artificial intelligence chatbots responsibly and ethically, concisely summarize key concepts regarding a chosen topic, and develop skills applicable to conducting literature reviews. The opportunity to participate in this initiative will enable undergraduate students to develop their critical thinking, and scientific writing and editing abilities. Those wishing to learn more about how the URNCST Journal Mentored Paper initiative was developed can read our published editorial.
Eligibility to Participate: The Encyclopedia Entry Initiative is open to students who are enrolled in an undergraduate (i.e. BSc, BEng, BA, etc.) or professional-undergraduate (i.e. MD, DDS, PharmD, OD, RN, etc.) degree programs.
About the Initiative: Undergraduate students participating in the URNCST Encyclopedia Entry Initiative are required to submit an entry on a topic based on the options provided below. With the aid of artificial intelligence chatbot(s), undergraduate students can develop their writing skills by working on summarizing information related to their chosen topic. In the real world, effective summarizing skills can help students in a variety of fields, such as business, journalism, and academia, effectively communicate important information and present it in a clear and concise manner. As participants in the URNCST Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Encyclopedia Entry Initiative, individuals are not required to have a complete background or understanding of their selected topic but should have done prior research by reading about the topic online and possess the necessary motivation and dedication to learn how to research and write their encyclopedia entry independently. Students may submit an abstract alone or in teams of up to 3. These abstracts will be reviewed for suitability (i.e. understanding of topic, writing ability), and accepted students will be invited to draft a full-length manuscript that is of suitable quality to undergo peer-review by the URNCST Journal. Please note that participants must click on the "Responsible Use of AI Chatbots" button below and read this webpage about responsible artificial intelligence chatbot use before submitting their abstract, and if accepted, writing their encyclopedia entry.
Topics Available: Please see below for a complete list of eligible topic disciplines. Applicants have the freedom to choose their own topic as long as it falls within an eligible discipline. For example, applicants may choose to write an encyclopedia entry on "Cancer" which would fall under the topic discipline of "EET5: Medical, Health, and Clinical Sciences". Topics may be broad (e.g., "Disease") or specific (e.g., a specific type of cancer). Applicants MUST click the "View Archive" button below and ensure that they are not proposing to write an encyclopedia entry about a topic that already exists. Please note that for this initiative, participants are NOT answering a research question; rather, successful applicants will write an encyclopedia entry article akin to that of Encyclopedia Britannica (e.g., cancer).
Deadline to Submit Abstract for Consideration: Sunday, May 19, 2024 @ 11:59PM EST
Encyclopedia Entry Period: May-August 2024
Update: The URNCST Journal's call for abstracts for the 1st Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Encyclopedia Entry Initiative is now closed. Those who applied in advance of the Sunday, May 19, 2024 @ 11:59pm EST deadline should expect to receive an outcome on their submission by late-June/early-July. Should you have any questions about participating, please contact us at competition@urncst.com. For those who did not have the chance to participate, please stay tuned for the 2nd Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Encyclopedia Entry Initiative (Winter 2025) for which we anticipate our call for abstracts will open in January 2025.
For Graduate Students: We are always interested in identifying new peer reviewers who are able/willing to help review undergraduate researchers' encyclopedia entries. Eligible peer reviewers must be enrolled in or a graduate of a graduate program (a Master's level degree at minimum) in any natural or clinical science or technology discipline and have expertise in the research method of their choosing. Please apply to be a peer reviewer here.
After selecting a topic, please click "Learn More & SUBMIT ABSTRACT" below and follow the instructions provided.
Encyclopedia Entry Topic Disciplines
EET1: Biology
EET2: Chemistry
EET3: Earth and Environmental Sciences
EET4: Medical, Health, and Clinical Sciences
EET5: Physics
EET6: Psychology*
EET7: Technology
*The proposed topic must fall within that of the natural or clinical sciences.
