UW-Platteville Pioneer Journal

Information about the journal

The Big M, UW-Platteville's Online Journal for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors, was initiated to showcase the finest academic and creative achievements of UW-Platteville undergraduate students from all disciplines. Original research manuscripts in the sciences, and papers and other creative works in arts and humanities are encouraged and within the scope of The Big M journal. The electronic format of the journal facilitates publication of works in a variety of media, including video, audio and graphic files. The Big M will be published annually each fall.

Call for papers

The editors request that faculty and academic staff encourage outstanding students to submit research manuscripts, creative writings and other artistic and academic achievements that were completed in the academic year. Formats of submissions are discipline specific. The editors request that all submissions be accompanied by a letter of support from a faculty or academic staff mentor who has worked closely with the student on the project. In their letters, mentors must state that the format of the submission follows discipline-specific standards. Authors retain copyright of posted submissions and are encouraged to publish their work elsewhere. Inquiries and submissions should be directed to Dr. Melissa Gormley (gormleym@uwplatt.edu). Submissions will be accepted at anytime.

Information for contributors

Role of Mentors: All student submissions must be accompanied by a letter of support from a project mentor. It is expected that the mentor is a UW-Platteville faculty, or academic staff member. The letter should address the following: 1) In the opinion of the mentor, this work represents outstanding student achievement within this discipline, 2) The format used by the student is acceptable within the discipline, 3) The mentor acknowledges that s/he has reviewed the submission and finds it free of editorial or methodological errors and appropriate for publication. Mentors serve as the primary editors of student work.

Authorship: Multi-authored works are acceptable and encouraged, insofar as all students benefit from the collaborative work. Issues concerning authorship will be dealt with principally by the project mentor; journal editors may intervene on a case-by-case basis.

Copyright: As the purpose of this journal is to showcase the best work of all UW-Platteville students, it is reasonable to expect that some work may be publishable in peer-reviewed journals. Recognizing this, students will retain full ownership of their work and are encouraged to publish their results elsewhere if feasible.

Format of submissions: Material submitted by students should be deemed acceptable within the field of the work and reflect a high degree of professionalism. Use the following formatting guidelines in order to facilitate compiling individual submissions into one cohesive journal volume:

• Manuscripts must be under 3500 words, not including reference, tables and figures.
• The title of the work should be left justified, in bold font, and include capital and lowercase letters.
• Immediately below the title, include the following in italics font: “By: Student author’s name, Advisor — Advisor’s name”.
• Include a single-spaced (200 word max) summary preceding the body of the work,.
• Major headings within the body of the paper should be in bold font on their own line.
• Double-space the entire body of the text.
• Use 12 point, Times font.
• Figures must be referred to in the body of the text and have a caption.
• Video, audio and other formats must be able to stream from UW-Platteville’s server and be embedded in UW-Platteville’s web pages.

Submissions should be sent electronically—in Microsoft Word—to Dr. Melissa Gormley (gormleym@uwplatt.edu).