Welcome, students! This site has been created to support your work on the Juvenile Justice and Racial Profiling Research Project.
This project is designed to show you how using a methodical process for finding, organizing and incorporating information can make you more effective researchers. For this project you will do background reading on these topics, narrow down a topic and take a position on that topic. You will then complete each step of the research process. Your final product will be an annotated bibliography and a poster with an outline that includes a thesis, topic sentences and citations.
For an additional copy of the assignment, click here: Juvenile Justice & Racial Profiling Research Project Student Handout
Resources
Your research will only be as good as the resources you consult. The following is a list of quality resources:
Digital Resources
On LAUSD Digital Library, use:
Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context
This is a database that focuses on social issues. It provides information on many current topics and includes viewpoint essays, reference sources, statistics and more. This database is good for browsing and research.
EBSCO Magazines & Newspapers
This site allows users to search up to 9 different databases at the same time that include a wide variety of sources: newspapers, magazines, academic journals, public opinion polls, reference materials, and images. It covers a wide variety of topics, including social issues. This service is best once you already have an idea for a topic.
For guide to using these databases, click here: Using Databases for the Juvenile Justice & Racial Profiling Research Project
For a slide show on using the databases effectively, click here: Effective Sources and Searches
For news sources, try:
NPR: National Public Radio
This site provides covers national and world news. NPR frequently offers in-depth features on interesting issues that are not covered elsewhere.
PBS NewsHour Extra
This is a news site geared towards students that offers coverage of national and world issues.
CPHS Library News Sources
Here you will find a variety of news sources that cover local, national and world events.
For another informative and interesting website, try:
Pew Internet Research
This site offers information on "the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping America and the world."
Print Resources (Books)
Listed below are reference sources that provide brief articles on many social issues. Beyond these resources, also use the library catalog to find books on your specific topic.
The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination
Ref 303.3 Psy
This set of books explores the roots and effects of prejudice and discrimination in the United states. It looks at discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion and more.
Reference Library of Hispanic America
Ref 305 His
This resource provides information on a wide range of aspects of Hispanic life and culture. It includes important events and issues related to law, politics, employment, education, religion, and business.
Adolescence in America: An Encyclopedia
R 305.235
This resource provides a wide range of information on teenagers. It may be useful in examining issues related to juvenile crime.
The Civil Rights Movement
Ref 305.896
This resource provides information on a wide array of civil rights issues, including crime and ethnicity.
Constitutional Rights Sourcebook
Ref 342.73
This book provides an overview of the United States Constitution and important court cases which have influenced how the constitution is interpreted. This resource would be useful for finding evidence to support an argument regarding Constitutional rights.
Human Rights in the United States
R 342.73
This resource provides both a dictionary of terms and a collection of documents related to the establishment of human rights in the United States. This book would be useful for framing arguments that certain groups' rights have been violated, particularly groups that are traditionally discriminated against or have little political power.
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution
R 342.73 Lev
This encyclopedia provides information on Constitutional issues: Supreme Court decisions that impact the interpretation of the Constitution as well a articles that provide overviews on what the Constitution says about particular issues.
Great American Court Cases
Ref 349.73 Gre
Though elected representatives create laws in the United States, it is the courts that interpret the laws and in part determine how laws are enforced. This encyclopedia describes major court cases and their impact on individual rights, criminal law, equal protection, family law, government and business.
Juvenile Crime
R 364.36
This book provides an overview of juvenile crime, and juvenile justice. It also provides biographical listings, a glossary, an annotated bibliography and tips for further research.
Reference Library of Black America
Ref 973 Bla
This resource provides an overview of black culture in the United States and around the world. It covers civil rights, law, politics, employment, population, business, education, the family and more.
What's an Academic Source?
An academic source is an resource that has been evaluated by experts in the field for its accuracy (this is called "peer reviewed"). Typically, an academic source is a study, where the writer proposes a research question, sets up a survey or questionnaire or some other form of measure, conducts the study and reports on the results.
How do I find an Academic Source?
Generally, academic sources are found only on databases or print journals. To find them on any of the databases, do an advanced search and select either "peer reviewed" or "scholarly article." Some of what you find may not be an actual study but will be from a peer-reviewed journal. We'll accept such source for this assignment.
If what you find is not a study, we highly recommend that you do find one: data is always persuasive. You may find studies that are not peer reviewed on the databases or do a Google search using Scholar or Wonder Wheel. Unless resources have been peer reviewed, they will NOT count as academic sources but do have value for your project.
Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography lists the sources you cited in your project in MLA style, like a works cited page. In addition, after each citation, there is a SHORT description that includes the following in this order:
1. What makes the author authoritative
- Professor at a university
- Widely published expert
- If the author is an organization, the mission of that organization
- On articles, the author information is at the top or bottom
- In books, the information is in the first few pages
3. How it is relevant to your project
In addition, we are including an additional section for discarded sources. These are sources that meet the selection criteria, but in the end, you just didn't need (these are in addition to the 6 sources you cite). For the discarded sources, in your description, include the following:
1. The main idea or finding of the source
2. Why you did not use it
For an example of an annotated bibliography, click here: Annotated Bibliography.
MLA Style
For help with creating parenthetical citations and formating your bibliography, click here: Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style.
For the bibibliography, look at the menu on the left for instructions on the Works Cited page.
