COLLECTION OF ARTICLES
AUTHORED BY CAMPUS STUDENTS
URL Online,
http://www.nk.psu.edu/Academics/43715.htm.
The second issue of the Penn State New Kensington Undergraduate Research Journal, a compendium of research by campus undergraduates, is available online.
"The journal highlights an impressive collection of articles authored by our students from a variety of disciplines that reflect the eclectic research being conducted on campus," said Richard Harnish, associate professor of psychology and editor of the publication. "Research topics range from the effect of music on aggressive cognitions to oral and systemic pathogenesis to mobile phone design, and include many other leading areas of inquiry.”
The research projects are divided into two categories: Experimental Articles and Review/Perspective Articles. In experimental research, the student researcher actively manipulates a variable while holding all others constant to observe the consequences on a targeted or dependent variable. Experimental research is commonly used in sciences such as sociology and psychology. For example, Laura Sciamanna-Dinsmore, a graduate of the Psychology program at the campus, assessed the effects of a word test by 30 college students after listening to music with aggressive lyrics or non-aggressive lyrics.
In review/perspective research, the student researcher studies existing data and explores new findings or patterns in the data. Science major Veta Obazenu utilized this method in her paper, “The Correlation Between Oral and Systemic Pathogenesis: Does Oral Pathology Cause Systemic Disease?”
Submitted by current students and former students from across all academic fields, and compiled by the journal's editorial board, the research undergoes a faculty peer-review process prior to publication. The blind-review process helps to ensure the highest quality standards of scholastic integrity.
The journal is published by the Chancellor's Office at Penn State New Kensington. The editorial board comprises Harnish, assistant to the editor Brady Boyer, a Chancellor Fellow and freshman biology major, and associate editors K. Robert Bridges, associate professor of psychology, and Robert Mathers, associate professor of chemistry. They are complemented by 13 campus faculty members who serve as consulting editors.
A reception for the published researchers will be held at noon on Monday, April 16, in the lobby of the Forum Theatre. The reception is free to the public and kicks-off the campus’ annual Research and Creative Exposition that runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, and 1:45-3 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, in the Athletics Center and the Conference Center.
To view the journal, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/Academics/43715.htm online.