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The fifth volume of “Oshkosh Scholar,” showcases the research of nine exceptional undergraduates with topics ranging from “Trade and Poverty in the Developing World,” to “The Benefits and Limitations of Pet Therapy for People with Dementia.”

The “Oshkosh Scholar” is defined by its editorial team as “A journal of undergraduate discoveries.” The journal provides a look into the world of an undergraduate scholar and the variety of majors the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has to offer.

“You’ll learn something new, and maybe even find inspiration for your own work,” said Tracy Slagter, “Oshkosh Scholar” faculty advisor.

The scholarly journal is funded jointly by differential tuition, the Provost’s Office and the Office of Grants and Faculty Development. It was founded by Linda Freed, director in the Office of Grants and Faculty Development, who said there are three main reasons the journal was created.

“It was created to give students the experience of scholarly publication, to showcase the best and brightest of our undergraduate student researchers and to make a public statement about the value UW Oshkosh places on engaging undergraduate students in the research enterprise,” Freed said.

The students featured in the 2010 volume include Dayana J. Sanchez Vinueza, Chelsea Ruff, Jared Stroik, Steven Mischler, Chris Hathaway, Anthony Kuchera, Derek Daron, Amy Gearhart, Hope Schuhart and Audrey Cowling.

Steven Mischler, a senior philosophy major, decided to submit his research to the journal after his professor encouraged him to do so.

“I plan on going to graduate school and having a published piece would look great on an application,” Mischler said. “It served as an introduction to what publishing an article would be like. I knew it would be a challenge and there would be things to overcome; that interested me.”

The first step in submitting research to the journal is getting the support of a professor to be a faculty advisor. English professor, Jordan Landry, helped student Chelsea Ruff on her submission last year.

“Predominantly, I serve as a resource for students,” said Landry. “I answer any questions that they might have. I also provide encouragement as the editing process can be challenging and students must have a sense that the revisions are possible to make.”

After all submissions are made, the editorial team reads every manuscript editing grammar and style. Each paper is then also sent to anonymous faculty reviewers.

“Once all of the papers are edited and the reviews received, we schedule meetings with the students and their faculty advisors to talk about the research and revisions we’d like to see,” Slagter said. “After the revisions are complete, we have a selection committee determine which papers will be in the print journal.”

Audrey Cowling, a senior psychology and Spanish major, spent about three months researching the topic of pet therapy for people with dementia. After submitting her research to the journal, she spent another month revising the paper before it was published.

“My research began in a class that I took last spring,” Cowling said. “The topic of the class was ‘Living with Dementia in 2010.’ One of the requirements for the class was to complete a research project about dementia that related to your major.”

Most submissions to “Oshkosh Scholar” begin as class projects, but they do not have to. “Many times we receive senior seminar papers but also love to see the results of collaborative research, or honors theses,” Slagter said.

Students who are interested in submitting their work for the 2011 volume should do so by June 1, 2011.

For more information about “Oshkosh Scholar,” visit www.uwosh.edu/oshkoshscholar.