The intellectual community is said to be engaged in a great conversation over time. Looking to add a new topic of discussion, students in the University Honors Program are working to bring The Journal of Reflective Inquiry (JORI) to life.

JORI seeks to investigate the process of research and its societal implications. While many journals concentrate on the results of research and experiment, JORI is more concerned with the journey.

“We are not looking for technical submissions or a specific discipline. We want articles that are personal to a research experience,” said Jamie Yannayon, a senior studying industrial and systems engineering and editor-in-chief of JORI.

The publication is the brainchild of Aaron Stoller, associate director of the University Honors program. Although Stoller holds a doctorate, the rest of the editorial board and many on the peer review board are undergraduate students at NC State.

Micah Khater, a senior studying history and French, serves as the content editor. She became involved when the publication was still in the idea stage and is working to bring it to fruition.

“I believe that JORI can be a vehicle for cultural change on the campus. There are spaces on our campus that shy away from or disregard the importance of research and intellectual inquiry. I hope it will be a means by which we encourage students to strive for intellectual curiosity now and in the future,” Khater said.

Although articles in an academic publication usually follow a strict format, submissions for JORI are encouraged to be written in a narrative style. The narrative style is meant to leave the possibilities more open for a personal reflection of the research process. For example, one may write on the experience of being an American while researching abroad or about the process of research in a laboratory setting.

“JORI will give authors an outlet to sharing parts of a research experience that never make it to a traditional published journal,” Yannayon said.

The narrative style is also meant to open up the journal to people who would not be involved in the traditional world of peer-reviewed publication. Not only those involved in academia are encouraged to submit, but people in industry or those who have taken a class or internship that incorporated research are encouraged as well. JORI seeks to involve not only the Ph.D. candidate, but the undergraduate student.

“We want accessibility for readers and authors,” Yannayon said.

Also, those who are publishing in another journal can provide a different aspect of their research that would not be prohibited from being published to another source. This will give an author more exposure and the public a different viewpoint on their work.

“I hope that a freshman will be able pick up this publication and be able to learn about the research process,” Yannayon said.

The first edition of JORI is projected to be published sometime during the spring semester. Those looking to get their work published in the first edition are encouraged to submit their article by December. Articles can be submitted online on the publication’s official website, jori.ncsu.edu.