INDV 102 - sections 82 & 83:
Social Issues in America: Library Research Guide
Spring Semester 2008
For help finding articles, visit or contact the Information Commons Reference Desk. For more in-depth research assistance, contact Mary Feeney, Librarian for Sociology.
Introduction of the Assignment
At the end of one of the four subjects that we cover, you will write a 5-8 page paper that demonstrates your understanding of the material we covered and your further exploration of the topic through additional research.
Near the beginning of the semester, you will have the opportunity to chose which subject about which you wish to write, and I will do my best to accommodate your first choice. Once I have assigned you to a subject, you will not be able to change it later in the semester, out of fairness to your classmates.
To facilitate your work, I will provide a question or questions around which to frame your discussion. In addition, in one of our early classes we will examine relevant research databases for the social sciences, proper bibliographic form, and so forth.
As part of your responsibility of completing this paper, you will also participate in a seminar-style discussion about your research. You must be in class for full credit; if you miss the seminar, you can only receive at most half-credit for this assignment. Please contact me well in advance if extraordinary circumstances will prevent you from attending.
Major Course Topics
- Sex: What are you doing with that guy/girl?
- Drugs: Alcohol use & the student binger
- Rock n Roll: Are you a music thief? Copyright & digital technology
- Gambling: Online poker & state lotteries
It is important to understand the difference between popular and academic journal (or scholarly) articles. Take a look at the Popular vs. Scholarly Articles Guide to find out what the key differences are between magazine articles and academic journal articles.
Compiled by Chris Kollen, 1/27/05, updated 9/2/05
Updated by Ruth Dickstein, 8/29/06
Updated by Mary Feeney 9/12/07
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