Using at least four journal articles from Sociological Journals, write a four page research paper that is THESIS based.  College course credit requires that JOURNAL articles, not soft source articles, comprise the basis for the paper. Soft magazine and newspaper sources can be included in the search to clarify your understanding of the subject matter.

PRELIMINARY Steps:

1. Identifying and retrieving useful journal articles.

2.  Reading and analyzing the journal articles.

3.  Writing an  ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY of your journal articles with correct
      MLA CITATIONS.

 Each annotation needs to be at least 10 sentences and word processed double  spaced. The content of the ANNOTATIONS should include:
 
 

     1. A brief description of the author's topic, thesis, and  research methods.

     2. A concise outline of the main divisions, sections, or points in the text,
         the scope, breadth of the article.

     3. A statement about the author’s goals and the intended audience for the text.

     4. A description of the text’s usefulness for the investigation of your topic.

     5. Comments on the credentials of the author as an expert.

     6.  Comments on the timeliness, accessibility (technical level, vocabulary,
          background) and supplementary detail provided.

     7.  Primary conclusions of the source.

Several examples of annotations from college research web sites are available

University of Toledo Library Guide: Writing Annotations
http://www.cl.utoledo.edu/info/guides/annot2.html

Cornell University has some excellent examples, but uses APA style.
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill28.htm

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The Process -

1.  Select a sociological topic that relates to the units introduced in class. Conduct a feasibility study to ascertain that the topic is viable, well represented in the professional literature of sociology.  PROQUEST PLATINUM or ELECTRIC LIBRARY are logical first steps.  Explore the CONNECTIONS of your topic to sociological concepts such as ethnicity, media, norms, groups, gender etc.  Build a THESIS statement with at least two factors that interact in your topic area represented.  The THESIS needs to reflect your understanding of the nature of the topic and its correlates, as well as the relationship of the correlates to the topic.

2.  Once your TASK is DEFINED, develop a SEARCH STRATEGY using the information resources listed below.  LOCATE and ACCESS citations in sociological journals and full text articles from sociological journals using metasearch engines like CHUBBA, online information resources, sociological web sites, CD-ROM indexes, and print index tools.

3.  Use the CADILAC interlibrary loan CD-ROM on the H.S. network to identify local college libraries that house the journals you need once you identify those journals in useful citations.  A field trip to SUNY Albany's library will support your retrieval of the journal articles.

4.  Use the full text items you have retrieved from Electric Library,  web sites or H.S. journals on microfiche to begin to synthesize information into subdivided topic areas and useful notes.  Prepare an outline.

5.  EVALUATE the articles you have retrieved as well as the information resources used to retrieve them for their AUTHORITY, AFFILIATION, CURRENCY, PURPOSE and AUDIENCE.

6.  Produce a final journal based paper at least four pages in length, correctly cited in MLA format.
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Web Supported Information Resources

Homework Center - Social Issues
 http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/homework/sochc.html

SSRN - FAQ
http://www.ssrn.com/update/general/ssrn_faq.html

High Wire Press
http://highwire.stanford.edu/

SocioRealm
http://www.digeratiweb.com/sociorealm

The Argus Clearinghouse
http://www.clearinghouse.net/index.html

SocioSite:Society
http://www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite/TOPICS/society.html

U.S. Department of Education Search
http://search.ed.gov/results.html

University of Maryland Libraries
http://www.lib.umd.edu/ETC/EJNLS/subject.php3?subject=Soiciology
 

Western Connecticut State University
http://www.wcsu.ctstateu.edu/socialsci/socres.html
 

ICAAP - Fulltext Journals and Resources in Sociology

http://www.icaap.org/database/journals.html

Online Information Resources

Electric Library - Running on all network computers,  this database offers full text, journal articles on sociological topics.  Look under the  PUBLISHER column for the word JOURNAL in the title of the source.This resource leads you to over 1300 periodicals.

PROQUEST PLATINUM - With over 2000 full text journals, this new and expansive database can be searched with a boolean statement leading to fulltext journal articles.  This option is a primary tool in your quest.  It is running on all lab and library computers. Mark that you want full text articles only. Close the newspapers option under COLLECTIONS if you get too many irrelevant hits.

DIALOG Database- With an appointment, DIALOG Database searching connects you online to Sociological Abstracts.  Journal citations and abstracts need to be compared to available holdings at local college libraries using CADILAC.
 

EBSCOHOST - With over 700 periodicals full text, this database offers  sociological journal articles.  Select EBSCOHOST, then MasterFile, and mark that you want full text articles only.  Search with a boolean statement.

Shehendehowa Public Library Databases - At http://www.shenpublib.org/ select Premium Databases. Then select One File. This database includes sociological journal articles. To retrieve and print full text, you need a valid Shenendehowa Public Library borrower's card ID #.

CADILAC - Select CaDiLaC on the  CATALOGS option of the http://www.shenpublib.org/homepage.  Selct serials and  search for journal availability at the University at Albany.

SHENENDEHOWA H.S. JOURNAL COLLECTION -
The following Journals can be accessed at the H.S. in the microform collection:
    American Demographics
    American Journal of Sociology
    American Sociological Review
    Annual Review of Sociology
    Social Problems
    Sociological Quarterly
    Sociological Review

Social Science Index- The print Social Science Index located on the index shelves near the librarian's office will provide subject (single subject only) access to journal citations.  This is successful with mainstream topics without the need for Boolean layers where secondary subtopics need to be factored in.  Cross check hits on CADILAC.

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The Evaluation -
 

Annotated Bibliography Rubric:
 

Excellent                                      Acceptable                     Not Yet
 

Context is appropriate:evaluative/descriptive	Context is mixed	Context is inappropriate
Description of conclusions, topic, thesis, methods comprehensive and lucid	Description of  conclusions, topic,thesis,methods complete	Description partial, inaccurate
Scope, breadth, sections,points outlined thoroughly, logically	Scope,breadth,sections, points framed adequately	Outlined points partial, inaccurate
Author's goal and audience insightfully overviewed	Author's goal and audience mentioned	Goal and audience overlooked
Analysis of usefulness of article valid and cogent	Analysis of usefulness appropriate	Analysis of usefulness skewed or omitted
Author credentials considered knowledgeably	Author credentials included	Author credentials ignored
Timeliness and accessibility considered insightfully	Timeliness and accessibility included in comments	Timeliness and accessibility overlooked

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The Conclusion -

Students in Sociology earn college credit from Syracuse University by pursuing college course work in high school.  Succeeding in the use of  college indexing tools, sociological web sites, online information resources linked to college databases, and the retrieval of full text journal articles from a college library validate the Shenendehowa senior's mastery of information environments, particularly those that are found in four year colleges.  Success in this task predisposes the graduate to success in college and journal based research tasks.