Focus and Scope

The Arbutus Review is an annual peer-reviewed compilation of outstanding research papers/articles/multimedia projects written or developed by undergraduates from all disciplines at the University of Victoria. It provides a forum for the best researchers to showcase their work to their fellow students, the campus community, funding agencies and corporations/organizations. Submitting papers to the Arbutus Review exposes students to scholarly journal writing, which is valuable not only for graduate and professional schools, but also for all careers.

Peer Review Process

Submissions to the Arbutus Review are blind peer-reviewed. These reviewers graciously share their time and expertise so that the Arbutus Review can select, guide and publish the best of undergraduate research at the University of Victoria.

Publication Frequency

The Arbutus Review is published annually in October, with submissions due by May. In May 2020, a Special Indigenous Issue will also be published, with submissions due in November 2019.

Open Access Policy

The Arbutus Review is published under the Open Access model (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license) and is therefore free for anybody to read and download, and to copy and disseminate for educational purposes.)

The Arbutus Review will be published electronically on the web. There will be one issue per year, except when a special topics issue is undertaken.

Reviewers

The Arbutus Review welcomes your application to be a volunteer reviewer. This online journal highlights the best in research at UVic, across the disciplines, so we need reviewers from every discipline. Please note that you must be a UVic graduate student, instructor, staff member, or recent graduate to serve as a peer reviewer. To apply, please send an email to cacpc@uvic.ca outlining your areas of specialty.

Manuscripts will be received by May 15th of each year and then sent on to the appropriate reviewers for a blind review. Guidance in the review process will be provided. Reviewers have two weeks to send their comments to the editor to be sent back to the authors.  

Information for Professors/Instructors

The Arbutus Review is a high quality undergraduate research journal. Articles are vetted by the Managing Editor and the Editor, and if the article has potential, it is peer reviewed by graduate students. Before an article is considered for the peer review process, it would be helpful to us if you could confirm the following:

  • you support the student's submission;
  • the paper is original and the student is the principal author;
  • the paper is of high quality.

Please send an email of support to the editor, Gillian Saunders (cacpc@uvic.ca). An Academic Mentor Support Form is available for the 2020 Special Issue, and can be obtained by emailing cacpc@uvic.ca.

Gillian Saunders, EAL/CAC Specialist, the Centre for Academic Communication
Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation, UVic

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

  • The journal doesn’t have any APC or submission charges.

Reconciliation Statement

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s “Calls to Action” (2015) describes many ways Canadians can “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.” Post-secondary institutions play an important part by engaging the full participation of Aboriginal faculty, instructors and students in their plans and programs. Accordingly, the University of Victoria’s Indigenous Plan (2017-2022) states the intention to “integrate and honour Indigenous cultures, beliefs and ways of knowing and being into our strategic planning, curriculum, teaching, research and operations” (Cassels, p. 2). Thus, combining intention with a concrete action plan, The Arbutus Review strives to integrate and honour Indigenous cultures, research methods, and ways of knowing and being in our planning and publishing process in several ways:

  • We will request that authors working on Indigenous topics respectfully acknowledge, in their articles, the source of the knowledge from which the research arose.
  • We will build a relationship with the First People’s House Executive Director, the Indigenous Mentorship Network of the Pacific Northwest, and the Indigenous Nationhood with the goal of encouraging submissions from Indigenous undergraduate students and peer review commitments from Indigenous graduate students.
  • We will invite an Indigenous guest editor to work with the editorial board, based on submissions, in order to include an indigenous knowledge perspective.
  • We will, in collaboration with the Indigenous Mentorship Network of the Pacific Northwest, include training in Indigenous research methods and ways of knowing in professional development opportunities for graduate student peer reviewers and editors.
  • We now include the University’s territorial acknowledgement on the front page of the journal.