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Call for Submissions: Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) Student Research Paper Contest

Posted: 3/13/2018 (Conference)

Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) has extended the deadline for its 2018 Student Research Paper Contest to 5:00 PM EST on Friday, March 23. PCD is looking for students at the high school, undergraduate, or graduate level and recent post-graduates to submit papers relevant to the prevention, screening, surveillance, or population-based intervention of chronic diseases, including but not limited to arthritis, asthma, cancer, depression, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

The 5 primary goals for PCD’s Student Research Paper Contest are to:

  • Provide applicants with an opportunity to become familiar with a journal’s manuscript submission requirements and peer-review process;
  • Assist applicants to connect their knowledge and training on conducting quality research with a journal’s publication expectations;
  • Develop applicants’ research and scientific writing skills to become producers of knowledge rather than just consumers of knowledge;
  • Provide applicants with an opportunity to become first author on a peer-reviewed paper;
  • Promote supportive, respectful, and mutually beneficial student/post-graduate―mentor relationships that result in strengthening students’ ability to generate and submit future scholarly manuscripts.

Submission Requirements

PCD uses PCD ScholarOne Manuscripts for manuscript submission and tracking. Before submitting your manuscript, please read the instructions below in addition to the information provided on the PCD website under Manuscript Requirements.

Eligibility

  • Student applicants must be currently enrolled in a high school, undergraduate, or graduate degree program. Post-graduate applicants must have received their graduate degree within the past 12 months and be participating in a medical residency, post-doctoral fellowship, or similar training program under the supervision of a mentor, advisor, or principal investigator.
  • Applicants should meet the standard to serve as first author. The first author is the person who conducted or led the topic being presented and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. The first author must also ensure that all other authors meet the criteria for authorship.
  • Applicants and coauthors are expected to demonstrate the highest ethical standards in submitting scholarly work to the journal for consideration. Applicants and coauthors should become familiar with the journal’s Editorial Policy.
  • Applicants (not mentors) must serve as the corresponding author for manuscripts submitted in conjunction with the student research contest. No exceptions will be allowed.
  • Manuscripts must report on research done while in one of the qualifying student or post-graduate categories listed above.
  • The research must have been completed within the last 12 months.
  • Manuscripts must not be published previously or submitted elsewhere for publication.
  • Manuscripts must represent original research submitted in Original Research format or GIS Snapshots format. Other article types will not be considered. For a detailed explanation, see information on Original Research and GIS Snapshots articles on PCD’s Types of Articles page.
  • Students and recent post-graduates must submit a cover letter indicating their interest in being considered for the contest and the name and contact information of their advisor. The cover letter must also indicate current level of academic enrollment: high school, undergraduate, or graduate degree, or applicable post-graduate residency, fellowship, or other training program. In addition, applicants should address all routinely required disclosures in the cover letter. Learn more about general cover letter requirements on PCD’s How to Submit a Manuscript page.
  • Applicants must provide a letter of recommendation from their advisor confirming either the student’s enrollment in a degree program or the post-graduate candidate’s residency or fellowship. The advisor must confirm that the research was conducted while in training under the advisor’s supervision. The advisor’s letter must confirm that the applicant conceptualized the analysis and was the primary author of the manuscript. The advisor’s letter must also acknowledge that the advisor recognizes that no one other than the applicant can serve as corresponding author.
  • Applicants should submit the cover letter and advisor letter when they submit the manuscript.

Deadline

Manuscripts must be received electronically no later than 5:00 PM EST on Friday, March 23, 2018.

Manuscript Review Process

  • Not all manuscripts submitted for consideration will undergo peer review.
  • Applicants and advisors must understand that the decision-making process to identify which manuscripts will advance through the various stages of review is a lengthy process. Therefore, applicants and advisors must have patience as the decision-making process moves through review stages.
  • An applicant manuscript receiving comments and suggestions does not mean the manuscript will be accepted for publication.
  • Applicants interested in getting a sense of where manuscripts are in the review process are encouraged to contact the journal. Such inquiries should only come directly from the applicant serving as first and corresponding author on the manuscript.

Helpful Hints

Please be sure to visit the Author’s Corner section of PCD’s website for important information on what to avoid when developing the manuscript, tables, and figures.

Award

  • The winning manuscript will be recognized on the PCD website and published in a 2018 PCD release with an accompanying editorial, podcast interview, and social media promotion.
  • The winning author will be invited to participate in the panel review process for the 2019 Student Research Paper Contest.

Publication

Other manuscripts may be accepted for publication depending on the outcome of the peer-review process. Accepted manuscripts that remain in the contest after the second round of review will be published after the winning manuscripts are published and recognized as submissions to the student contest.

About the Journal

PCD is a peer-reviewed electronic journal established to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners in chronic disease prevention and health promotion. The journal is published weekly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

 

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Deadline: 03/23/2018