About the Journal

About SciWise

SciWise was founded by the students of the Honours Life Sciences program, Alisa Nykolayeva, Youssef El-Sayes, and Mahnoor Memon. Alisa and Youssef acted as the Directors of the platform in the 2020-2021 academic year, and Mahnoor acted as Senior Editor. 

SciWise is a platform for creative works with a scientific theme. We will present the reader with stories, interviews, poems, opinion pieces, news reports, comics, scientific artworks and community project proposals complimented by creative works designed by our authors or creative team.

 

Focus and Scope of Journal

The goal of SciWise is to celebrate and accommodate creativity in scientific works, intertwining science and art. As such, we strive to deliver captivating insights into diverse topics and we welcome the reader to engage with our authors by submitting response pieces in regard to their work. Thus, SciWise serves as a communication platform for student work and initiatives, ultimately contributing to the interdisciplinary scientific community with a creative aspect. Undergraduate and graduate students from all faculties are welcome to submit their work. Collaboration with students from other institutions and family members is also welcomed. 

The scope of SciWise is kept broad to encourage all undergraduate and graduate students to submit their work. The sole requirement is to embody a scientific or medical theme, as broad or as specific as the author desires; for instance, philosophical discussions, policy evaluations, and discussions of science or medicine from biological, mathematical, or societal perspectives are acceptable. Submissions are assessed and published on a rolling basis throughout the academic year, in accordance with the official guidebook.

 

Review Policy

Submissions that enter the copyediting stage are considered accepted. However, until then, submissions that do not fit the scope of the journal or where the edits from the review are not incorporated by the given deadline may be wait-listed or rejected at any time and re-assessed later. All wait-listed and rejected submissions will receive justification for such a decision. The author should incorporate and/or address the provided comments prior to re-submitting their work. There is no limit for the amount of times the author resubmits their piece.

 

Peer-Review Guidelines

The Editorial Board at SciWise conducts a multistage, double-blind peer-review process. Upon receiving the submission, the piece gets assigned to a Senior Editor to undergo initial screening which entails the verification of abidance to the guidelines outlined in this manual. 

Given that the submission met all requirements, it is assigned to two Editors for the initial round of peer-review. Editors are not aware of the identity of the author and strive to conduct an unbiased review of the structure, grammar, relevance, and validity of the content. This round is anticipated to take anywhere from four to twelve days, depending on the type of submission. The piece will then be returned to the author for incorporation and/or consideration of the edits, and the author will be given a deadline by which the work has to return to the journal for further consideration. The Editors will check that all edits have been addressed by the author, and conduct the second round of review, lasting half the time of the initial round. The author will address the edits and return the submission within two to seven days. 

Finally, Editors will either consider the third round of review or proceed to copyediting prior to forwarding the submission for formatting by the Creative Board. Prior to sending the piece to the author, the Senior Editor will ensure the validity and appropriateness of the edits. The Senior Editor will also address questions and concerns regarding the review process. 

Prior to publishing, the author will be able to view the submission the final time to suggest copy-edits and check their personal information. The submission will then be published and displayed on all SciWise’s platforms.

 

Illustration(s) 

All submissions at SciWise will have an accompanying art piece, whether submitted by the author or created by the members of our Creative Board in consultation with the author of the work. The illustration process will commence as early as round 1 for some submissions, but mostly, this will be initiated during round 2 of the peer-review process. To respect the integrity of the work our Designers dedicate to your submission, we ask that no more than two rounds of modifications will be made to the proposed illustration. 

 

Blind Review

Yes. Double-blind

 

Platforms 

The primary publication platform will consist of a webpage (a centralized source of all publications on Open Journals System) and social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook to share new submissions on a rolling basis).  This is where our cherished readers can access our publications and interact with the author, as well  as locate the information pertaining to the submission and peer-review process, our team members  and application to the team, view any announcements, and make a submission. Those wishing to  make a submission to SciWise will be forwarded to the Open Journals System platform to review policies and liabilities regarding the process. This platform is used for conducting a review process  and is primarily used by our executive members of the Editorial team. 

Overall, SciWise strives to engage the audience by consistent activity on our social media  platforms: Facebook (@SciWiseMcMaster) and Instagram (@SciWise). These platforms will  feature links to our publications, access to application forms, and any other announcements. 

For any inquiries regarding SciWise and the submission process, please contact us via email sciwisemcmaster@gmail.com.

Privacy Statement

SciWise’s ensures privacy of author’s personal information, including name, year of graduation, and affiliation until the publication process. Any correspondence that the author has with the journal’s executive board is to remain private as well. 

Author Guidelines

Please see SciWise’s official guidebook for specification of requirements for all submission types.