Where Should I Publish My Research?

Alright, so you've put the time, effort, and enjoyment into completing some exciting undergraduate research and now you've come to the next step: where should you publish your results?

Perhaps the most obvious outlet would be the undergraduate research publication at your own university. This is an excellent first choice, and it is important to remember that it may be a necessary one if you have received funding from your institution to perform your research. Get in contact with your undergradate research program director or the research advisor in your department to help you with the format details and submission deadlines. Most schools publish one or two times per academic year.

However -- What if your institution doesn't have a research journal for physics or if you are looking to go beyond and try to take on a more widely distributed publication outlet?

In this case, here are a few additional places you can submit your research to:

The SPS Observer -- This is a good option, especially if you are an SPS member (if you're not an SPS member and you would like to be, please click here). SPS is always interested in your achievements and, in my experience, they are very open to publishing interesting undergraduate research. To submit your research, contact one of the editors listed on the SPS Observer link above.

Physics Today magazine -- Physics Today is also under the AIP (similar to the SPS Observer). To submit your research, please click here and follow the directions.

Radiations Magazine -- Also under AIP, Radiations is the official magazine for the Sigma Pi Sigma Honors Society (available for undergraduate students at all institutions, must be an SPS member and meet GPA requirements). Radiations features research and biographies of successful physics students, often after you graduate. This is definitely worth a try if you have an interesting topic that may or may not be rooted in "traditional" physics research. If you're interested, please contact Sean Bentley of the SPS National Council (he is very nice!).

Computing in Science & Engineering Magazine (CiSE) -- AIP as well. Computing is a good outlet for computational science or engineering specific research. If you're interested in publishing in CiSE, please click here.

The National Undergraduate Research Clearinghouse -- This outlet publishes undergraduate research from a large variety of scientific disciplines. I believe you need to create an account to submit a potential publication here.

The Journal of Young Investigators -- JYI is a student-run, peer reviewed journal that aims to publish undergraduate science research from around the world. The website also provides a few links to undergraduate research opportunities in physics as well as job opportunities within the magazine itself. To submit your research, please click here.

Finally, a huge list of additional journals can be found on the Council on Undergraduate Research website. Just be careful here, as not all journals listed are related to physics research.

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