Call for Papers: Special Issue on Undergraduate Involvement in Research 

The editors of PS: Political Science and Politics request submissions for a special issue about undergraduate students participating in professional research.

While students have been doing research since the advent of higher education, a more competitive environment in and out of the university has created pressure for undergraduates to engage in projects that go well beyond a class exercise. The special issue will provide a forum for political scientists to discuss this trend and its consequences.

The objectives of the special issue are to: 

  1. describe how undergraduate participation in research in political science has developed and changed since the post-war expansion of university education of the 1960s; 
  2. offer and/or test hypotheses about why undergraduate research has become a priority for universities and students more recently; 
  3. propose and explain how institutions can best encourage and support undergraduates who want to participate in professional research;  
  4. determine the limits of what is possible for students to contribute to professional research and how these limits can be expanded; and 
  5. draw conclusions about the positive (and negative) effects of participation in professional research on students’ experience in college or their lives after college. 

We are interested in article-length (4000 word) submissions for this special issue that address one or more of these objectives.

Examples of submissions might include papers that: 

  1. communicate political scientists’ experience working with undergraduate co-authors on professional research projects, including and especially those published in a peer-reviewed or edited outlet; 
  2. report program evaluations of institutions designed to integrate undergraduates into professional research pipelines; 
  3. include reflections from current and former undergraduate researchers on the challenges and benefits of working on professional research projects while a student; 
  4. conduct empirical studies of the effects of undergraduate research participation on students and/or what factors maximize the chance for student success when participating in research;  
  5. assess the philosophical importance (or unimportance) of participation in research as a part of a student’s intellectual development in college; and/or 
  6. collect historiographies of how undergraduate research has developed in and been treated by universities, especially in the last 50-60 years. 

We also anticipate that authors who contribute to this special issue will be invited to participate in a discussion of the topic at a special roundtable at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in Los Angeles, CA from August 31 to September 3. Contributions must be submitted toPSvia Editorial Manager on or before September 1, 2022. 

Submission Guide – Deadline: September 1, 2022 

To Submit:Submit manuscripts through the online system at:www.editorialmanager.com/ps.  

Length: Manuscripts must be fewer than 4,000 words, including notes and references. 

Style, Format, References:Manuscripts must be submitted in Word, should include in-text citations that correspond with endnotes and references conforming to theStyle Manual (Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition). An online appendix can be uploaded for supplementary and supporting material.  

Please indicate that your submission is designated for this Special Issue in Editorial Manager.  

Questions: Pleasesubmit any questions to our editorial team:ps@apsanet.org.  


AboutPS: Political Science & Politics : PS: Political Science & Politics features timely, peer-reviewed articles on contemporary politics written for the informed, general reader and commentary and debate on major issues in the political science profession.