International School Bangkok

Selection & Publishing Guidelines

Papers selected for publication in the Journal meet the following criteria:

Originality - the research must be original.  It must not be a repeat of a well-known principle or an investigation which yields a trivial, predictable result.

Validity - the results must lead to a valid conclusion.  The results show a clear trend that fits applicable theory. 

Confidence - the uncertainties in the results are small, giving the conclusions a reasonably high level of confidence.

Continuity - the research suggests further areas of worthwhile investigation.

Papers must be organized into sections entitled:

Abstract - Summary of the topic of investigation, methods, and the main conclusions, in less than 100 words.
 
Introduction - Discussion of the situation investigated. Explanation of the theory applicable to the investigation. 
 
Methods - Description of the experimental setup and the techniques used to: control unwanted variables, make measurements, and analyze the data with uncertainties. 
 
Results and Discussion - Processed results with uncertainties.  Discussion of all conclusions and implications, issues which might have affected the results, suggestions for improvements and areas for further research.
 
Conclusions - Summary of the main conclusions.

References - Sources cited in the paper following the APA citation format.

Formatting -

Font -  Times New Roman
Titles and Subtitles - Bold
Equations - centered, separated from the text and numbered in brackets on the right.
Sources - noted with numbered superscripts referring to the references section.
Font Sizes -

Title - 14
Author - 11
Abstract - 10
Subtitles - 12
Text - 12
Captions - 10

Modifying a School Lab Report for Publishing in the Journal of Science

The purpose of a Lab Report and the purpose of a Journal Paper are very different.  The purpose of a Lab Report is to demonstrate the scientific competence of the student to the teacher. It is often required that the student explicitly define the variables and the controlled factors, even though they are implicitly defined in the Methods section. The student must show raw data and sample calculations for each step to show how the results and uncertainties were calculated. This is so that the teacher may check the validity of the data analysis. 
 
In a peer-reviewed Journal Paper the purpose is to provide the reader with the results of a scientific investigation. The technical competence of the author is assumed. The role of the teacher in ensuring the scientific competence of a student Lab Report is filled by the peer-reviewer during the editing process. There is no need for the Journal Paper to include explicit definitions of the independent and dependent variables in the introduction, nor is there a need for raw data tables, or sample calculations. It is sufficient for the author to describe the techniques used in analyzing the data and calculating the uncertainties in the Methods section.
 
To submit a Paper for consideration for publishing in the Journal, a school-style Lab Report will need to be modified significantly. 

Introduction -  Start with a general discussion of the situation being investigated. Include the research question as a natural part of the text. A clear discussion of theory relevant to the investigation should be included.
Make sure that in the Introduction you only discuss aspects of the research that are addressed in the Results and Discussion sections.  Students often include irrelevant theory in the Introductions to Lab Reports, a practice that serves only to mislead and confuse the reader.  Exclude any explicit discussion of variables and controls.  Delete any formally designated "Hypothesis" or prediction.
 
Methods -  This section parallels the IB "Design" section, but it will need to be condensed.  Remember, the competence of the writer is assumed, so there is no need for all the little details describing how each particular measurement was made.  The experimental set-up should be described and important data-collection techniques should be summarized. 
 
The techniques for the measurement and analysis of the raw data and uncertainties should be summarized in the Methods section.  A description is sufficient, no numbers are necessary.  All raw data tables and sample calculations should be deleted from the report or included in an appendix. 
Note: a copy of the raw data tables, calculations for data analysis and uncertainties should be kept for the peer-reviewer and for any future readers who request a defense of your results.  If your published paper is challenged, you must be ready to defend your results.
Results and Discussion:  The results should be presented in graphs or occasionally tables.  Usually you can use the final tables/graphs from your Lab Report, accompanied by a detailed discussion of all points of interest.  Include the following: whether or not your results support the theory discussed in the introduction, any equations relating the variables which can be derived from your theory and graph, along with a discussion of the meaning or importance of the intercepts and slopes (if any), and a discussion of the reliability of the results.   This should be followed by suggestions for future research on this topic; either refinements of your techniques, or extensions of your topic. 
 
Conclusions - This should be a summary of the answer to your research question and any other important conclusions condensed into a few sentences.  The Conclusions section is usually quite short.
 
Abstract -   The abstract is normally written after you have finished writing your paper.  Condense the purpose of the investigation into one or two sentences then summarize the methods succinctly.  Finally, summarize the main results and conclusion in two to three sentences.  Keep it to less than 100 words if possible.