Five Scholarly Sources and Research Question

I have continuously been looking at valuable research for my topic "On Campus Living" but I worry about if this is the topic I really want to puruse. Most of the evidence regarding statistics on college students who live in dormitiories show the negative and damaging effects the environment has on the young adults. Although through my personal experiences I have found that college dorming is beneficial, I might want to change my stance and look at the counter argument for a structured paper.

One source I found was International Perspectives on the First-Year Experience in Higher Education, although I do not think first years should be my primary focus, they are the first initiative to understanding the allure of living on campus and becoming a part of a personalized world of their own. This source is a book and I requested to pick it up today. This is the citation for this text:

Nutt, Diane, et al. International Perspectives on the First-Year Experience in Higher Education. Columbia, SC: National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, University of South Carolina, 2009. Print. First-Year Experience Monograph Series ; no. 52 .

Another book source I encountered was The Naked Roommate: and 107 other issues you might run into in college by Harlan Cohen which could introduce me to new problems I might want discover or counter argue regarding college dorming. This is the citation for this text:

Cohen, Harlan. The Naked Roommate : And 107 Other Issues You might Run into in College. Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks, 2005. Print.

This article, "Who Benefits from Living on Campus?", specified who specifically could benefit from college dorming by outlining the different groups, genders and personalities of students and their different experiences. 

Turley, Ruth N. López, and Geoffrey Wodtke. "College Residence And Academic Performance: Who Benefits From Living On     Campus?."Urban Education 45.4 (2010): 506-532. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

The excerpt from Moffat's book that we read in class would be important for my research paper because he analyzes the lifestyles of college students. Although he finds that dormitories are distraction centrals and hold no true value or benefit to academics I think his insight was very crucial because he was hidden from the students as an anthropologist. With a secret identity, his point of views are very beneficial to consider because of his expertise and in depth observations. This is the citation for his text:

Moffatt, Michael. Coming of Age in New Jersey : College and American Culture. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1989. Print

The next article I found had a lot of information regarding living environment and adjustment to college. The study also looked at gender in relation to the experiences at college. I could focus my paper on how males and females react differently to college. Here is the citation:

Enochs, Wendy K., and Catherine B. Roland. "Social Adjustment Of College Freshmen: The Importance Of Gender And Living Environment." College Student Journal 40.1 (2006): 63-73. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

Lastly, my research paper on College Dorms could take a completely different approach by looking at the upscale architecture and luxurious additions of campus living and how privatization is directly connected to these changes. Even the BEST dorms in Rutgers are a prime example of how technology and modern innovations have expanded the living options of college students. The citation is here for the scholarly article:

Archibald, Robert B., and David H. Feldman. "Are Plush Dorms And Fancy Food Plans Important Drivers Of College Cost?." Change 43.1 (2011): 31-37. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

In a completely different approach I would like to consider social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. In connection to the Rutgers trial with Tyler Clementi and my recent lent decision to delete my Facebook I think these cites have a detrimental effect on students, how they communicate with others and their emotional and psychological behaviors. Some how I believe I could tie this to dorming or to college in general, how it has become an outlet for bullying and stress, and how cheating has even been derived from it. This article shows how men have a greater risk because they display their phone numbers more often and either way their computer behaviors can be connected to real life. This is a study and article:

Fogel Joshua; Nehmad, Elham. "Internet Social Network Communities: Risk Taking, Trust, And Privacy Concerns." Computers In Human Behavior 25.1 (n.d.): 153-160. Thomson Scientific: ISI Web of Knowledge--Web of Science. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

My tentative research question: What are the effects of living on campus? Is it ultimately better than commuting and who truly benefits?

Rutgers RIOT

From RIOT, I learned the "how to" for library resources like databases, articles, and more. The tutorial took me step by step to learn how to navigate Rutgers library resources and began with finding a topic and how to accordingly find useful information on those keywords. The video game features of this tutorial made it interesting and simple to understand how to use the website in the future. It also addressed citations which are confusing for me to distinguish. By quizzing me on how to recognize the different formats for books, articles, and websites I gained more insight for when I have to create my own Works Cited. The program overwall was helpful and entertaining. I would definitely use it again later on for my research paper if I was ever unclear on how to find important information for my topic or if I needed some guidelines for RefWorks.

Privatization Connected to My Research Paper and Analytic Essay

While writing my analytic essay I have understood the ways in which privatization affects students and society more clearly. I have learned more about how privatization is a business, how the costs directly impact students, their future, their parents and a liability to their education. In addition, these business routines that education institutions  have become accustomed to have made a large impact on student's decision to dorm or not. When there is a $12,000 additional fee for students to live on campus that include cleaning services, electricity, and other miscellaneous fees for a 14 by 12 foot room it is not very convincing for parents to pay such an exorbitant amount when commuting is an option.

For my paper on the benefits of living on campus, its crucial to mention privatization and how it has effected the amount of students choosing to dorm and how their decisions have consequences for their social and intellectual growth. If students automatically shut down the option to live on campus just because of the cost they do not know the opportunities they are missing out on to network, meet their peers and really get involved on campus. The extra cost to dorm has the capability to cost students a life time of valuable memories and enriched experiences.

If privatization could be stopped as I claim in my analytic essay it would have to have the gathering of enthused and passionate students ready to fight for what is theirs and for an appropriate price. For a building that was built in the 70s, cramped with two people, old furniture and bare resources, there is no need for the ridiculous cost and the students have the power to change what needs to be changed.

College privatization has been impacted by the state of our economy and state's neglect to assist the institutions, relying on colleges to increase rates for individual students causing more debt and more adversity to living on campus. This continuous cycle has created an ongoing challenge for students to face the costs of dorming up against the worth of their future for their institution.

Research Blog #3: Questions for the Librarian

When I go to the library next Tuesday I definitely have many questions to inquire the librarian regarding databases, books, and how to get the best information. Since I have never used the Rutgers University Library system (Expos did not quite set me up for research) I would like to know how to decipher the databases from each other and how to know which one is the best one to use for my specific topic: college dormitories. I know there are plenty of information and resources available but how will I know if Ebscohost, JSTOR, or Academic Search Premier is the best database to find information for my paper.

In addition, I would like to know how to use the databases when "advance searching" and limiting 1,000 results to a confined amount that will have the information I need. Which key words do I need to insert into the search box to find valuable information, data and statistics? 

Next, I need to know how to find information within the book shelves of the library. I would like to have a variety of sources for my works cited and there could be information important to me but I do not know how to find it unless I am directed. Is there a certain library I should visit or would any Rutgers library suffice? 

Lastly, I really want to find articles or psychological studies based on how college students live in dorms. Although we were already given works with this type of information, I want an article that could support my piece. Is there a simpler way to know the objective of the piece from the databases? 

I hope I learn a lot from visiting the library and I hope I understand more about how credited information can help me write my paper.