Annotate Two Sources

Mathiasen, Robert. "Moral Development in Fraternity Members: A Case Study."
College Student Journal Volume 39.2 (2005):
242-252. Print. The authors of this article conducted research regarding the positive moral development fraternity membership had on an individual. Going against preconceived notion, they discovered that one specific fraternity was concerned with “recruiting quality students,” upholding house tradition and reputation,” “emphasizing moral development,” and “encouraging community service.”

Drout, Cheryl. Corsoro Christine. "Attitudes Toward Fraternity Hazing Among Fraternity Members, Sorority Members, and Non-Greek Students."
Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal Volume 31.6 (2003): 535-544. Print. This article studies the perceptions of hazing between greek, and non-greek students. Subjects read the conditions regarding a hazing incident and were asked to give their opinion. This shows the disparity between the perceptions of the two group’s views.

Research Questions

What does one gain from joining a Fraternity?

What do the rituals and functions teach you?

How do Fraternities benefit Society?

Five Scholarly Sources

Mathiasen, Robert. "Moral Developtment in Fraternity Members: A Case Study."
College Student Journal Volume 39.2 (2005):
242-252. Print.

Drout, Cheryl. Corsoro Christine. "Attitudes Toward Fraternity Hazing Among Fraternity Members, Sorority Members, and Non-Greek Students."
Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal Volume 31.6 (2003):
535-544. Print

Kiesling, Scott. "Men's Identities and Sociolinguistic Variation: The Case of Fraternity Men."
Journal of Sociolinguistics Volume 2.1 (1998):
69-99. Print

Caudil, Barry. "High-Risk Drinking Among College Fraternity Members: A National Perspective." Journal of American College Health. 55.6 (2006):
141-155. Print

Heterosexism and Homophobia on Fraternity Row: A Case Study of College Fraternity Community." Journal of LGBT Youth 6.4 (2009):
395-415. Print.

Rutgers RIOT

The Rutgers RIOT site is extremely useful to help in getting started on your research paper. It basically assists you from the very beginning in helping you determine a topic. In addition, it also gives help in finding reliable sources, checking the reliability of sources, and properly citing sources. Overall, it is a very useful tool when it comes to any research project.

Questions for the Librarian

1. Where would I be able to find out about the statistics of college students who join a Fraternity?

2. Where would I be able to find out about the pledging process?

3. How can I find out about the controversies surrounding Fraternities?

Scouting the Territory

Currently I am still not completely certain on what my topic idea is going to be. I am interested in the idea of "college culture" after reading the Moffatt and Nathan articles. To take another angle on the idea, i would like to research more on the greek aspect of college life such as the Fraternitys and Sororitys. From all the elements to their traditions, social life, and the effects on the students who join.

Google News was a very useful since it proved more current articles on my topic. However, google scholar was more useful for finding articles on statistics and research.

The first link was useful because it gave some insight into the processes that one goes through when joining a frat. The second link talked more about the effects of fraternity life on the individual in terms of academics and attitude.

http://www.oudaily.com/news/2010/feb/03/fraternities-cleaning-duties-rush-and-quest-brothe/

http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1988-02843-001

Controversies on my topic ranged from excessive drinking to hazing and gang rape. The two sides being that Fraternity life is morally unsound. An interesting case was

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=oDuBvb3oT6wC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=frat&ots=dSz2mx0Y_N&sig=a9YLkcJC6-XxyI1HNjkZfORYGb8#v=onepage&q=frat&f=false

I'm only scratching the surface so far with this idea, but i feel it has much potential to be developed into a well written research paper.