Explorations Synopsis Submission (Vol. 15)

Closed on 2/8/2023 at noon.

Explorations is an interdisciplinary journal open to all undergraduate students who have conducted research, scholarly, and creative work under faculty mentorship at Texas A&M University.

Application Details

Explorations welcomes research, scholarly and creative submissions of general interest from any discipline. We seek to highlight the most curious and innovative undergraduates pursuing intellectual and aesthetic experiences outside of the classroom. Recently published articles have been from a wide range of academic fields: music, poetry, forensics, cancer biology, astrophysics, nanomedicine, computer algorithms, business, geosciences, sociology, aerospace engineering, and cultural anthropology.

The first step to publication in Explorations is the synopsis submission. A synopsis for Explorations is essentially an article pitch. If invited, you will have the opportunity to submit a full manuscript by mid-March.

By the time we finish reading your answers to our free response questions, the Explorations Board should broadly understand the question your research is trying to address, why addressing that question is important, and what YOU SPECIFICALLY are doing to address that question.

The difference between each submission category is to recognize disciplinary language only. Each submission option asks 6 nearly identical questions, rephrased slightly to be meaningful within the context of a given field. All submissions must be rooted in research and conducted under a faculty member at Texas A&M University.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Completion of this submission application indicates a willingness to submit a full manuscript for publication in Explorations: The Texas A&M Undergraduate Journal.
Full manuscripts (requested by mid-March) must be between 1,500 and 3,000 words describing your work and its significance in a manner accessible to a broad audience.
Authors work with editors and board members to polish their manuscripts. The full manuscripts undergo a second round of faculty and student review.
Final articles are chosen from the full manuscript submissions. Provisionally accepted articles undergo further editing, and a final review and supporting paperwork (copyright, author biographies, faculty advisor endorsement, etc.) are required for publication.
Final articles are due in early-May each year.
Authors of Creative Works and Cover Artwork must include an artifact and may have shorter articles.
Read more about this timeline on our Submissions webpage.

Volume 15 Synopsis Prompts

Question/ Category	General Scholarly Research	Creative Works Research	Scholarly Cover Artwork
Your Question	What research question does your project address?	What research question does your project address?	What subject matter does your artwork address?
Connect to Your Discipline	Why is this research important and how will it contribute to your field?	How does your work engage with disciplinary paradigms, such as genre, school, style, or form?	How does your work engage with disciplinary paradigms, such as genre, school, style, or form?
Your Process	Briefly describe your methods or theoretical framework.	Briefly describe your methods, technique, and/or process, and explain how they are connected to your final product.	Briefly describe your methods, technique, and/or process, and explain how they are connected to your final product.
Significance: The "Wow" Factor	Explain why this project is a timely, significant, and relevant research project.	What new knowledge did your work produce?	What is the broader context of your artwork? What new knowledge does your artwork produce? How should your artwork be interpreted by your target audience?
Project Outcomes	Do you have outcomes or results from your project? If yes, please expand on those outcomes. If no, please provide a brief timeline of your expected outcomes. Please also mention whether or not your materials and/or writing (all or part) for this project have been previously published and/or are pending publication elsewhere.	Have you produced an artifact, and have you had an exhibition, performance, or public display of the work? If yes, please explain. If not, please provide a brief timeline of when you expect to complete your artifact and public exhibition/ performance/ display. If you have produced an artifact, would you like your artifact to also be considered for cover artwork?	Is your cover artwork an original piece for Explorations, or has it been displayed/ exhibited/ published elsewhere? What role do you see your cover artwork serving the Explorations journal?
Your Individual Contributions	If you are part of an ongoing research project (i.e. lab, grant, database, etc.) or part of a team, describe your specific contributions to the project. If this does not apply to you, please write N/A and a sentence explaining why.	If you are part of an ongoing research project (i.e. performance, musical group, installation, etc.) or part of a team, describe your specific contributions to the project. If this does not apply to you, please write N/A and a sentence explaining why.	If you are part of a team or collaborative group (undergraduates only) that produced this cover artwork, describe each member’s specific contributions to the project. If this does not apply to you, please write N/A.

Cover Artwork Specifications

Note to Authors of Cover Artwork Submissions: You will also be asked to upload a draft version of the proposed cover artwork. All Cover Artwork submissions must be entirely original (use of stock photography or other images found online is strictly prohibited) and based in a scholarly research project.

Printing Requirements: Full design must be 8.625" by 11.125" (Portrait Orientation). This means that your 8.5” x 11” document includes a 1/8” bleed. Your design must extend to the edges of the document (i.e. Do not leave the bleed area blank unless it is intentional for the design). At least 300 dpi. Vector format is highly preferred for digital artwork.
More interactive forms of artwork are also acceptable; however, cover artwork must also be submitted in a form appropriate for high quality printing.
Note that we will place the Explorations and Texas A&M University logos, as well as a “tab” with the volume number and release date, on the cover design. See past issues for examples.