The purpose of this assignment is to learn how to find published research in scholarly and scientific journals.  These are usually not available on the open internet or through search engines, they must be accessed through the Rutgers Library or another institution that has paid for access to them.  However, these sources can be accessed from home, as long as you log on to the Rutgers Library site with your user name and password.  Learning how to use these sources will give you access to valuable information that you can use in other courses and in graduate school or on the job after graduation.

A basic resource for this assignment is the Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice Department's Library Sources Guide which provides links to the key library resources.  You should keep that page open while doing this assignment.

Instructions

1.  Open this file in Mozilla Composer, Word or another text editor.  You will paste your findings into the file, save it, and submit it to WEBCT.

2.  Define a topic  you might want to research.  The first step in defining a topic is to choose a Dependent Variable, something that you wish to explain:.  This could be one of the variables included in the Microcase data sets, or you can go to General Social Survey web site and click on "subject" to see a list.

    Type the Name of your Dependent Variable here:

3.  The next step is to think of some Independent Variables that might explain the variation in your Dependent Variable.  These can be selected from the same list on the GSS.  List three independent variables;

    Type your first Independent Variable here: 

     Type your second IV here:

      Type your third IV here: