Research Publications

[revenge101]

Hello,

I was wondering if it would be possible/ethical/acceptable for students to publish literature reviews on their own without PI supervision. I understand that it is rare for students to do this, but since these are just literature reviews, I thought it could be possible for undergrads to do this on their own. Thanks.

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[JustAPhD]

Generally lit reviews are more than just summarizing a couple of articles, and there's a reason why most are done by experts in their respective fields (or at the very least graduate level students who's thesis is in that field). I suppose there's nothing holding you back from attempting, but the odds of you getting in a respected journal without even a BS/BA is slim to none.


If you still try, please don't go towards the predatory journals. They make a mockery of science.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

I think it requires a pretty thorough knowledge of a subject to do a literature review on it as many reviews, in addition to summarizing the literature also compare/evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different studies and their findings. Depending on what you're reviewing, you'd probably want to have a strong handle on research methodology, too.

I don't think it's necessarily unethical to do this without a PI's supervision... But whether your final product would be up to snuff for any decent peer-reviewed journal is another question entirely. Just the fact that you don't have a degree will probably exclude you from most journals. If you work in research and have a PI, you may want to let them know before you submit anything on your own just in case they take issue with it for any reason. You definitely don't want to damage your relationship with a PI! (This could hurt your chances of getting future research positions--PIs talk to each other! And also shoot you in the foot when it comes time to ask for LORs.)

If I were you, I'd look into journals that specifically publish undergraduate research. And give your PI a heads up. They may even be able to help you.

 

[haaaaaaaaaaveyoumetted]

As a senior, I wrote a "lit review" as an assignment for a sociology class and the next semester built it into a full review under the supervision of a professor (counted it as a course called 'independent study')- the professor knew how to point me in the right direction but I had autonomy on the project- maybe try something like this and use a professional as a guide