# Suggesting research (forms, guidance)

## Paths to suggest research

Research can be "submitted" by authors ([here](https://airtable.com/applDG6ifmUmeEJ7j/shrcN2cwsXpmnkOL1)) or "suggested" by others. For a walk-through on suggesting research, see [this video](https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/Px36RA3cbYvb8Evi-wj6-cFHRLAiexe0FPVi_8xvZavqestDSDxkWlldK3nPdIk_.xMbOsXG_2BM3A2_t) example.

There are two main paths for making suggestions: [through our survey form](#1.-through-our-survey-form) or [through Airtable](#2.-option-for-field-specialists-and-managers-via-airtable).&#x20;

### 1. Through our [survey form](https://airtable.com/applDG6ifmUmeEJ7j/shrAsvmrx05PDHfdw)

Anyone can suggest research using the survey form at <https://bit.ly/ujsuggestr>. (Note, if you want to "submit your own research," go to [bit.ly/ujsubmitr](https://bit.ly/ujsubmitr).) Please include the following steps:

#### Review The Unjournal's Guidelines

Begin by reviewing [*The Unjournal*'s guidelines on *What research to target*](https://globalimpact.gitbook.io/the-unjournal-project-and-communication-space/policies-projects-evaluation-workflow/considering-projects/what-research-to-target) to get a sense of the research we cover and our priorities. Look for high-quality research that 1) falls within our focus areas and 2) would benefit from (further) evaluation. &#x20;

When in doubt, we encourage you to suggest the research anyway.

#### Fill out the Suggestion Form

Navigate to *The Unjournal*'s [Suggest Research Survey Form](https://airtable.com/applDG6ifmUmeEJ7j/shrAsvmrx05PDHfdw). Most of the fields here are optional. The fields ask the following information:

* Who you are: Let us know who is making the suggestion (you can also choose to stay anonymous).
  * If you leave your contact information, you will be eligible for financial "bounties" for strong suggestions.
  * If you are already a member of *The Unjournal*'s team, additional fields will appear for you to link your suggestion to your profile in the *Unjournal's* database.
* Research Label: Provide a short, descriptive label for the research you are suggesting. This helps *The Unjournal* quickly identify the topic at a glance.
* Research Importance: Explain why the research is important, its potential impact, and any specific areas that require thorough evaluation.
* Research Link: Include a direct URL to the research paper. *The Unjournal* prefers research that is publicly hosted, such as in a working paper archive or on a personal website.
* Peer Review Status: Inform about the peer review status of the research, whether it's unpublished, published without clear peer review, or published in a peer-reviewed journal.
* "Rate the relevance": This represents your best-guess at how relevant this work is for The Unjournal to evaluate, as a percentile relative to other work we are considering.&#x20;
* Research Classification: Choose categories that best describe the research. This helps *The Unjournal* sort and prioritize suggestions.
* Field of Interest: Select the outcome or field of interest that the research addresses, such as *global health in low-income countries*.

Complete all the required fields and submit your suggestion. *The Unjournal* team will review your submission and consider it for future evaluation. You can reach out to us at <contact@unjournal.org> with any questions or concerns.

### 2. For Field Specialists and managers: via Airtable

People on our team may find it more useful to suggest research to *The Unjournal* directl via the Airtable.  See [this document](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yn8uyAs4Wpil45E-RUuov__OerTtOP2lFFD-enePz1Q/edit#heading=h.bm2q1sms6y1a) for a guide to this. (Please request document permission to access this explanation.)

## Further guidance

Aside on setting the prioritization ratings: In making your subjective prioritization rating, please consider “What percentile do you think this paper (or project) is relative to the others in our database, in terms of ‘relevance for The UJ to evaluate’?” (Note this is a redefinition; we previously considered these as probabilities.) We roughly plan to commission the evaluation of about 1 in 5 papers in the database, the ‘top 20%’ according to these percentiles. Please *don’t* consider the “publication status or the “author's propensity to engage” in this rating. We will consider those as separate criteria.

### Notes for field specialists/Unjournal Team

Please don’t enter only the papers you think are ‘very relevant’; please enter in all research that you have spent any substantial time considering (more than a couple minutes). If we all do this, we should all aim for our percentile ratings to be approximately normally distributed; evenly spread over the 1-100% range.
