At a glance
- Audience: High school students worldwide; teacher/mentor co-authors welcome.
- Scope: All areas of biology and closely related fields.
- Article types: Original Research, Review, Short Communications.
- Submissions: Open year-round.
- Fees: No submission or publication fees at this time.
- Access: Free to read online.
- Peer review: Editorial screening + external peer review (double-anonymous where feasible).
About IJHSB
What is IJHSB?
IJHSB is a student-focused, peer-reviewed online biology journal. Our goal is to help high school/undergraduate researchers learn scholarly communication and share credible work with a global audience.
Who can submit?
High school and undergraduate students from any country. Teachers, mentors, or undergraduate collaborators may co-author. Please ensure student authorship and contributions are clearly stated.
Do you publish work from outside biology?
We consider work at the interface of biology and other fields (e.g., biophysics, bioinformatics, psychology, public health) when the biological question is central.
What we publish
Which article types do you accept?
- Original Research – hypothesis-driven studies or data-rich observational work.
- Review – structured syntheses of a focused topic (narrative or mini-review).
- Short Communications – concise reports of a new result, dataset, method, or replication.
Typical length?
- Original Research: ~2,500–4,000 words (excluding references).
- Review: ~2,000–4,500 words.
- Short Communications: ~1500–2000 words.
These are guidelines, not strict limits. Clarity and rigor matter most.
Language and style?
Submit in English. Clear, objective, and instructional tone is encouraged. We provide light language editing during production.
Submitting your work
How do I submit?
Use the Submission page on our website. Once you initiate submission, we will contact you to send your manuscript and required files.
What files do I need?
- Manuscript (PDF file).
- Figures/tables (included in the manuscript PDF file; high-resolution).
- Any approvals/permits/consents (if applicable).
- Data/code links or supplements.
- Cover letter (brief: question, methods, key finding, why it matters for students).
Year-round submissions?
Yes. We accept manuscripts at any time.
Can I submit a class assignment or science-fair project?
Yes, if you reformat it as a manuscript and it follows IJHSB ethical and formatting guidelines. Please disclose any prior judging or posting.
Simultaneous submission?
Please do not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals at once. You may submit to IJHSB while also entering competitions/fairs, provided their rules allow it and you disclose timing so we can coordinate publication.
Preprints?
Allowed. Disclose the preprint URL in your cover letter and manuscript.
Peer review and decisions
What is your review process?
- Editorial screening (fit, basic quality, ethics).
- Peer review by qualified reviewers (graduate students, educators, or researchers); double-anonymous where feasible.
- Decision (reject / major revision / minor revision / accept).
- Revision (if invited).
- Final checks (format, figures, ethics) and publication.
How long does review take?
Typical ranges (not guarantees): 1-3 months
- Editorial screening: 5–7 days.
- External review: 2–6 weeks.
- Revisions: 1–4 weeks (author-dependent).
- Final decision/production: 1–2 weeks.
Can I appeal a decision?
Yes. Contact us with a concise rationale addressing reviewer points.
Ethics, safety, and permissions
Human participants (surveys, interviews, classroom interventions)
- Obtain appropriate parent/guardian consent for minors and follow your school’s policies.
- Use anonymous or de-identified data wherever possible.
- For health-related or sensitive data, seek local ethics/IRB-style oversight if available.
Animals and laboratory work
- Follow national and school safety rules (e.g., BSL-1/BSL-2 practices).
- No vertebrate animal procedures without formal oversight and approvals.
- No pathogenic organisms, hazardous agents, or prohibited materials.
Plagiarism and misconduct
We screen submissions with a similarity checker. Cite all sources; use quotation marks for verbatim text. Fabrication, falsification, or image manipulation lead to rejection or retraction.
Conflicts of interest
Disclose financial or personal relationships that could be perceived to influence the work (e.g., funding, paid internships, company ties).
Formatting and files
Do you require a specific reference style?
Use any standard academic style (e.g., Vancouver/APA), but be consistent throughout. Include all authors (or “et al.” per style), article title, journal, year, volume/issue, and pages or DOI.
Figures and tables
- Provide descriptive captions and label axes/units.
- Ensure permissions if reusing third-party materials (or redraw under your own authorship).
- Color-blind-friendly choices are recommended.
Data & code
- Share data and code in a public repository when feasible (e.g., Zenodo, OSF, GitHub) and cite the link/DOI.
- If data cannot be shared (privacy/consent), state the restriction and provide a reproducible summary.
Publication model, access, and fees
Are there fees?
No submission or publication fees at this time. If policies change, we will update this page before any charges apply.
Is IJHSB open access?
Yes. Articles are free to read online.
Copyright and reuse
See our Copyright Policy page. In brief, IJHSB publishes under terms that protect the scholarly record and the journal’s rights. Contact for permissions or educational reuse.
Advertising
If ads are displayed on the site, they are clearly separated from editorial content. Advertising has no role in editorial decisions.
After acceptance
Production edits
We correct minor language, formatting, and figure issues. Substantive scientific changes require author approval.
How do I cite my article?
Example (Vancouver):
Lastname AB, Lastname CD. Title of article. Int J High Sch Biol. 2026;1(1):xx–xx. Available at: ijhsb.org/…
For teachers and mentors
What is an appropriate level of mentorship?
Mentors may advise on design, analysis, and writing, but students should be the primary drivers. Authorship should reflect substantial contributions. Acknowledgments can thank others who assisted.
Can I serve as a reviewer?
Yes. Educators, graduate students, and researchers may volunteer. Contact us.
Accessibility and inclusion
Accessibility
We work to ensure accessible web content and figure alternatives. If you encounter a barrier, contact.
Language support
We welcome submissions from non-native English speakers and provide light copyediting after acceptance.