石榴直播

KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 24, 2021

Former KJUR Author Shares His Publishing Experience

Since 2011, the staff of the  has been promoting and encouraging inquiry among undergraduate researchers at Kennesaw State University to share their projects with external audiences by providing them with an online publication outlet. For 石榴直播 alumnus Austin Prewett, one simple question led to something much bigger.

Prewett, who graduated from 石榴直播 in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, took a special interest in what he interpreted as narcissistic tendencies in fundraising trends on social media. In this case, he decided to investigate one of the biggest fundraising initiatives of the 21st century.

鈥淚 was interested in what was going on with the Ice Bucket Challenge. Suddenly, people who weren鈥檛 normally that altruistic decided to start giving money away,鈥� Prewett said. 鈥淲ould narcissists be more likely to donate if they knew that their names would be promoted or their pictures would get attention?鈥�

Bolstered by his curiosity, Prewett contacted one of his favorite psychology professors Paul Story, associate professor of psychology, who agreed to help him conduct a research study focused on this phenomenon. Over the course of two semesters, Prewett and Story compiled a list of questions for a survey that was distributed to around 300 participants recruited for the study. Once Prewett wrote about his findings in the article, 鈥淲atch Me Give: Narcissism as a Moderator to Donating to a Nonprofit,鈥� Story referred the undergraduate to KJUR for potential publication, a move that left a lasting impression on Prewett.

鈥淚 recommend anybody who is looking into research at 石榴直播 to find a professor you trust who will guide you to the opportunities that are available,鈥� said Prewett. 鈥淒r. Story really opened my eyes as to what kind of opportunities there were for undergraduate researchers.鈥�

The publishing process was another eye-opening experience for Prewett, who had previously never published in an academic research journal. Describing the procedure as 鈥渉umbling,鈥� Prewett noted that while there were multiple stages of revision, each draft reflected real improvements that ultimately helped him in the end. In 2019, his paper was successfully published in  of KJUR, where it has been downloaded over 100 times by users around the world, including China, Norway, and the Philippines.

Prewett鈥檚 achievements with KJUR extend far beyond his 鈥淲atch Me Give鈥� article. After presenting his findings at the annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology convention, he decided to submit another research paper to KJUR, titled 鈥淭he Short Dark Triad and Giving to Nonprofits,鈥� which further evaluated narcissistic behavior and demonstrable utility. Prewett鈥檚 research was accepted again and was published in 碍闯鲍搁鈥檚  in 2019.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Prewett attended Valdosta State University, where he earned a master鈥檚 degree in industrial/organizational psychology. Today, he works for Camden Delta Consulting, where he assists with workplace psychology as a human capital consultant.

Ultimately, Prewett credits his experience with KJUR as fulfilling, and believes 石榴直播 undergraduate students from all disciplines should look into publishing their work in KJUR and other external academic publications.

鈥淚t is a resume and graduation application booster, but it also fine-tunes you to start thinking on a higher level,鈥� Prewett said. 鈥淚t brings you to a higher degree of professionalism and is a sign of maturity that you have taken academics to another level, something that not everyone is able to do. I think everyone should give it a shot.鈥�

鈥�Marielena Zajac, summer 2021 KJUR intern