KeanQuest Makes Its Debut

Kean students now have a homegrown peer-reviewed journal, KeanQuest, in which to share and publish their scholarly research and articles.

The online journal this week published its first issue, which features articles authored by four groups of students and their faculty mentors.

“Research and scholarly works require a student to dig deeper, to think bigger, and to extract more from themselves in their pursuit of knowledge, application, creation and creativity,” said Paul J. Croft, Ph.D., associate vice president for academic affairs and editor-in-chief of KeanQuest. “These publications give students a direct window into career pathways by demonstrating the level of effort and hard work needed to be among the most competitive people in their field.”

Click here to read KeanQuest, Volume 1, Spring 2019 issue

Click here to submit an article to KeanQuest.

The inaugural issue explores a variety of topics: methods to promote social skills in children with autism; the effects of the color red on juries in criminal cases; the process of turning sheet metal into colorful artworks; and traditional versus alternative approaches to accent management for non-native English speakers.

Emily Jurcsek ’18 of Edison, who is pursuing a master’s degree in speech-language pathology at Kean, had two articles accepted, one that she authored alone, and the other as a part of a research team.

“This process has taught me that there are many ways to contribute to your field besides becoming a good clinician. I plan on including research as a part of my future career,” she said.

Kean students were invited to submit their research and articles to KeanQuest. The articles were then reviewed by Kean faculty. The authors of articles chosen for publication were also given the opportunity to work with their faculty mentors to improve and refine their submissions before publication.

“Knowing that the journal is Kean’s own helps to create a nurturing environment where nobody has to fear the feedback they'll get. Corrections are not personal, and sharing our knowledge with each other only helps make us all wiser, as well as grow thicker skins,” said Nicole Andexler ’18 from Toms River, who submitted the article, The Red Effect in Jury Decision-Making.

Susan Gannon, the acting director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, said KeanQuest develops students’ skills through collaboration with faculty.

“Students who submit their work to the journal get individualized feedback, which will help them improve their writing and communicate effectively,” she said.

Wesley Williams of Ewing, a speech-language pathology student, said the publishing process was “long, but rewarding,” and expects the experience to pay dividends in the future.

“I'm still a student, and this is a wonderful accomplishment that will help me to stand out among my peers,” he said.