Manuscript Submission

MarSci is an inter-institutional venue for publishing undergraduate research manuscripts pertaining to the marine and aquatic sciences. Students interested in writing a manuscript based on their undergraduate research experience, as well as research advisors to undergraduates, should find MarSci to be the perfect opportunity to engage in the process of submission and publication, a unique learning experience that is not typically available to most undergraduate scientists.

I. Research Manuscripts

STUDENT AUTHOR(S) must be the first author of the manuscript. The first author must have completed the research on which the manuscript is based while an undergraduate (graduation status does not effect submission eligibility). Student authors must have their research advisor’s permission to submit the manuscript, as well as the permission of any secondary authors. Manuscripts must be thoroughly reviewed by the research advisor(s) prior to submission; it will primarily be the responsibility of all authors and advisors to insure the scientific aspects (methodology, conclusions, etc.) are valid, not the MarSci peer review board. First authors must read, sign, and submit the Letter of Agreement (see below), on behalf of all the authors of the manuscript, before the submission will be reviewed by the editorial board.

RESEARCH ADVISOR(S) must give student author(s) the permission to prepare and submit a manuscript for publication in MarSci. Advisor(s) must thoroughly review the manuscript prior to submission by the student author(s). Though the MarSci staff is thoroughly trained, supervised, and advised by a faculty resource board, their undergraduate education and experience in all aspects in marine and aquatic research is limited, and thus is limited in the ability to thoroughly review every scientific and technical aspect of a research manuscript. Therefore, it is primarily the responsibility of the advisor(s) to guide the student author(s) through the process of drawing conclusions from results and to thoroughly review the scientific aspects of the manuscript prior to submission. It is also the responsibility of the advisor to guide the student authors through the process of submitting a manuscript, and especially the ethics involved in submitting a manuscript for publication.

Manuscripts should contain:

> 150 – 250 word abstract

> 3 – 6 keywords, separated by commas

> Main body and conclusions/discussion

> Literature Cited

Research manuscripts are subject to the MarSci Submission Guidelines (see below).

II. Posters & Abstracts

Undergraduate students who have presented original research with a poster or oral presentation can submit abstracted of their completed work (or work in progress). Abstracts are subject to the MarSci Submission Guidelines (see below).

III. Student Articles

Undergraduate students may submit original “interest” articles pertaining to the marine and aquatic sciences. Possibilities for this section include testimonials of research experiences, scientific reviews, and current events in the marine and aquatic sciences. Student articles are subject Marsci Submission Guidelines (see below).

Marsci Submission Guidelines

1. First authors must be undergraduate students or must have completed research pertaining to the submitted manuscripts when the authors were undergraduates.
2. There are no specific length limitations.
3. All submissions should contain:
   1. Title
   2. Complete contact information of author(s), including email address of first author
   3. Literature cited
4. Submissions should be double-spaced with 12-point Times New Roman font and 1-inch margins. Paragraphs should be indented. Footnotes are not permitted and so should be worked into the text or omitted.
5. Manuscripts should be written in English and checked thoroughly for spelling and grammar errors.
6. Graphics that do not meet the following requirements will NOT be accepted.
   1. Graphics, such as objects, figures, tables, and pictures should be separated from the manuscript and submitted as individual JPEG files named accordingly (ex. Figure01.jpg)
   2. Each graphic submitted must be properly referenced within the body of the manuscripts.
   3. Each graphic must be accompanied by a caption. The caption should describe the graphic in thorough detail, such that a reader does not have to read the manuscript body text to understand the graphic. A caption should NOT be inserted into its corresponding JPEG file. Instead, all captions should be submitted as one MSWORD file, named “captions.doc.”
   4. Color can be used and is encouraged, but make sure the information in the graphic can still be properly conveyed in a black-and-white print. Data series in graphs should not only be categorized by color, but by shape or shading as well.
   5. It is the responsibility of the author to receive permission for the use of any objects, figures, tables, and pictures that have been previously published or copyrighted.
   6. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: Graphics in the published articles may be limited in size. Please choose formatting alternatives that allow you to maximize the text, data, and other informational aspects of your graphics.
   7. The Literature Cited at the end of the manuscript should be in CSE style format.
   8. Submit manuscripts in MSWORD (.doc) format and figures/objects/pictures/tables in JPEG format as e-mail attachments to marscijournal@gmail.com by the submission deadline. In the body of the email, please list the files that should be attached to the e-mail and the e-mail address of the first author.
   9. Submit a completed Letter of Agreement (see below) to marscijournal@gmail.com. Manuscripts will not be reviewed until this contract is received.

MarSci reminds all authors that it is unethical to submit any manuscript to this journal that has been published or is currently being submitted for publication elsewhere.

The MarSci editors reserve the right to ultimately decide which manuscripts are published in this journal.