Research Methods Primers

Article Template

You can download a copy of the URNCST Journal article template here. Please do not alter the formatting or fonts that have been provided, as they have been specifically adjusted to expedite the typesetting process. Note: If you are unable to download the files, please re-try using the Firefox browser and/or try this backup link.

Manuscripts for research method primer article types submitted to the URNCST Journal should contain the following sections:

Title page

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Utility

Challenges

Limitations

Conclusions

List of Abbreviations Used (if any)

Conflicts of Interest

Ethics Approval and/or Participant Consent

Authors' Contributions

Acknowledgements

Funding

References

If your manuscript will contain any of the following, please also read these instruction sections carefully:

Figures

Tables

Additional Files

Please note the differences in what each section should contain based on article type as follows in each manuscript section below:

Title Page

Research methods primer: The Title Page should provide the 1) full title of the article, 2) full names, academic degrees, institutional affiliations and addresses, and email addresses for all authors, 3) an indication of the corresponding author. Only the first letter of the first word of the title and after each colon, and proper nouns should be capitalized. Please do not use abbreviations in your title. Authorship should be assigned based on the recommendations made by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE); individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should instead be listed in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript.

Title

Research methods primer: The Title of your article should state the research method in question. Research methods primer articles should end with ": A research method primer."

Abstract

Research methods primer: The Abstract should not exceed 350 words and must be structured into separate sections. The Abstract must, however, contain information pertinent to your manuscript’s Introduction (the context and purpose of the method in question), Utility (the value associated with the research method), Challenges (what challenges are associated with this research method), Discussion (a summarized analysis of your findings) and Limitations (what limitations are associated with this research method). Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite any references in your Abstract.

Keywords

All article types: Provide three to ten keywords representing the main content of the article, each keyword separated by a semicolon (i.e. cancer; biology; genomics).

The body of the article spanning from the beginning of the Introduction to the end of the Conclusion should not exceed 3000 words. In rare cases, and if justified by the author(s), the editor may accept 3500 words on a case-by-case basis.

Introduction

Research methods primer: The Introduction section should be written so that it is understandable to other researchers outside of your field’s discipline, and summarize the research method of interest. The Introduction section should end with a statement of what will be discussed in the article with respect to the research method in question.

Utility

Research methods primer: The utility portion of your article should concisely describe the value associated with the research method, i.e. What are the main benefits associated with this research method? What questions can be answered using this research method? What new knowledge can be created by using this research method?

Challenges

Research methods primer: The challenges portion of your article should concisely describe what challenges are associated with this research method, i.e. What are some aspects that make it difficult to conduct studies employing this research method? Some examples could include time, cost, ethical implications, etc.

Limitations

Research methods primer: The limitations portion of your article should concisely describe what limitations are associated with this research method, i.e. What questions cannot be answered using this research method? What biases exist when utilizing this research method? (How) can these biases be mitigated? Note that these are limitations to the study design, and you should not repeat any challenges in this section.

Conclusions

Research methods primer: The Conclusions section should clearly state summarize the key points made in the research methods primer article, provide an explanation of the method’s importance, and identify any new/emerging developments with respect to this research method/outline future directions where applicable.

List of Abbreviations Used (If Any)

Research methods primer: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use written in full with the abbreviation in parentheses. A complete list of all abbreviations used should be provided in a section called List of Abbreviations directly following the Conclusions section.

Conflicts of Interest

Research methods primer: The “Conflict of Interest” section should declare any real, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest between the duties or responsibilities related to research, and personal, institutional, or other interests associated with each author. A conflict of interest can exist when an author’s interpretation of data or presentation of information may be influenced by their personal or financial relationship with other people or organizations. If all authors have no conflicts of interest, please state “The author(s) declare that they have no conflicts of interest.” In any case, please explicitly state which authors do and do not have conflicts of interest so that this is made clear to the reader.

Ethics Approval and/or Participant Consent

Research methods primer: If the study reported in your manuscript required review by your institution's research ethics board (REB), please provide the details in this section. If your study involved human participants, please describe the steps taken to gain the consent of the study participants. If your study did not require ethics approval and/or participant consent (i.e. a review) please briefly explain why.

Authors' Contributions

Research methods primer: The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) states that there are four main criteria that constitute authorship on research article as follows:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
Final approval of the version to be published; AND
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Please outline the contributions made by each author using the following format, where each author is referred to by their initials:

ABC: made contributions to the design of the study, collected and analysed data, drafted the manuscript, and gave final approval of the version to be published.

DEF: contributed to study design and planning, assisted with the collection and analysis of data, and gave final approval of the version to be published.

GHI: made substantial contributions to the design of the study, the collection of data as well as interpretation and analysis of the data, revised the manuscript critically, and gave final approval of the version to be published.

If a contributor did not meet the criteria for authorship, they should be listed in the Acknowledgements section.

Acknowledgements

Research methods primer: Please acknowledge anyone who contributed towards the article but did not meet the criteria for authorship. Examples of such contributors include those who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, a department chair who provided only general support, or those who contributed as part of a large collaboration group. Authors should obtain permission to acknowledge all those mentioned in the Acknowledgements section.

Funding

Research methods primer: Please include all funding sources associated with your study. If the study was unfunded, please state “This study was not funded”.

References

Research methods primer: All references, including URLs, must be numbered consecutively, in square brackets, in the order in which they are cited in the text, followed by any in tables or legends. Each reference must have an individual reference number. If automatic numbering systems are used, the reference numbers must be finalized and the bibliography must be fully formatted before submission. Note: In accordance with CrossRef, for cited journal articles please ensure that you report the hyperlink as a DOI weblink and NOT a weblink from the journal’s webpage (i.e. https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.11 and NOT https://urncst.com/index.php/urncst/article/view/11). To speed up your referencing process, use the CrossRef free DOI lookup: https://www.crossref.org/guestquery/.

The URNCST Journal follows the reference style outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) also known as the Vancouver citation style. Some cited examples are provided below:

Standard journal articles

Lopatto D. Survey of undergraduate research experiences (SURE): First findings. Cell Biology Education. 2004 Dec 21;3(4):270-7. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.04-07-0045

Kardash CM. Evaluation of undergraduate research experience: Perceptions of undergraduate interns and their faculty mentors. Journal of Educational Psychology. 2000 Mar;92(1):191. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.1.191

Complete book, authored

Laursen S, Hunter AB, Seymour E, Thiry H, Melton G. Undergraduate research in the sciences: Engaging students in real science. John Wiley & Sons; 2010 Jun 15.

Website

The Council on Undergraduate Research [Internet]. Undergraduate Journals. [cited 2017 Jun 29]. Available from: http://www.cur.org/resources/students/undergraduate_journals/

For more examples of Vancouver citation style, please see: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html

Figures (if any)

Research methods primer: Figures should be provided where they should be displayed in the word document text file. Each figure should be able to fit on a single page in portrait format, and they should be numbered in the order in which they appear cited in the manuscript (i.e. Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). Each figure must be accompanied by a caption directly below it. Please note that the URNCST Journal only publishes articles in online formats, and therefore, there are no additional charges for the use of color figures. Important: It is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures that have previously been published elsewhere, which should be scanned and emailed to the editorial office in case of acceptance together with your Publication Agreement Form.

Tables

Research methods primer: Tables should also be provided where it should be displayed in the word document text file. Each table should be able to fit on a single page in portrait format, and they should be numbered in the order in which they appear cited in the manuscript (i.e. Table 1, Table 2, etc.). Each figure must be accompanied by a caption directly above it. All tables should be formatted using the “Table object” (i.e. Insert > Table) in Microsoft Word to ensure that columns of data are kept aligned when the file is sent electronically for review. Important: It is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures or tables that have previously been published elsewhere, which should be scanned and emailed to the editorial office in case of acceptance together with your Publication Agreement Form.

Additional Files

Research methods primer: For figures and tables that are too large to be included with the manuscript file, please upload them as multimedia appendices. Other additional file types that you wish to accompany your manuscript may include research instruments (questionnaires), movie files, original/raw data (SAS/SPSS, Excel, Access database, etc.). Important: It is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce any additional files that have previously been published elsewhere, which should be scanned and emailed to the editorial office in case of acceptance together with your Publication Agreement Form.