(everyone groan at once) Social Research

Topics Now that that is out of the way… This tends to be a project that most students really enjoy! I know you don’t believe me… How do I choose a topic? No drugs or sex. I realize that many of you (boys) may struggle with alternatives, but there are some. Pick something you are interested in: music, college (or life after high school), dating, sports, sleeping, grades (or lack of), personality, birth order, family dynamics (divorce, step parents/siblings), culture, religion, tv, video games, technology, curfews/rules If you are planning on doing all your research at school, consider choosing something that won’t get blocked on campus. Dating and video games tend to always be blocked

Define the Problem This is one short paragraph (4-5 sentences) about why you settled on the topic you did. Ex: I choose to study the correlation between frequency of drug use and grades. I choose this topic because I have noticed that my “friend” who uses marijuana almost every day is on the verge of not graduating. Meanwhile, my “friend” who has never even smoked a cigarette is in the running for valedictorian. I was wondering if there could be a relationship between the two and if so, drug use could predict academic success.

RESEARCH/BACKGROUND INFORMATION Find (and read) at least 3 (CP) or 5 (H) articles that are related to your topic. Remember the idea is to find information that gives you a foundation on which to make your hypotheses. They don’t have to be EXACTLY what you trying to research. For example: The types of questions you should consider might be: What are side effects of drug use? What factors influence the use of drugs by teenagers? What are the rates of drug use by teens of different genders and ethnic backgrounds? What are the more commonly used drugs and how often do teens try/use them? What influences academic achievement? And, of course, Is there a correlation between drug use and grades? If so, does the type of drug or frequency of use matter? Does the age/gender/ethnic background of the student matter? Does the type of classes a student is taking matter?

Choose your sources Avoid forums or sites where anyone can post an answer or “facts” Which is the more reliable source? http://parentingteens.about.com/od/teendruguse/Te en_Drug_Use_and_Abuse.htm www.cdc.gov./HealthyYouth/alcoholdrug/index.htm Check for references and works cited in any articles you find. These can be helpful as well. Look at the CDC article link. There are references and links throughout that can be helpful.

Annotated Bibliography Create a citation (use easybib.com) "Alcohol & Drug Use - DASH/HealthyYouth." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 03 June 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. <http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/alcoholdrug/ index.htm>. Write 1 paragraph about what the article is about Write 1 paragraph about how your article connects to your topic. Each annotated bibliography should be about ½ pg.

Literature Reviews These are the types of papers you will frequently be writing in college. The idea is that you are gathering information on articles and studies that have already been done on your topic(s). This information will be able to better guide you in formulating your hypotheses and writing your survey questions. Once you find (and read over) the articles you want to use (min 5), you will need to find some note cards.

Notecards Give each source a letter and record it in your works cited SOURCE LETTER TOPIC FACTS/QUOTES/IMPORTANT INFORMATION B Effects This club drug can cause confusion, depression, sleep problems, intense fear and anxiety that can last for days or weeks (in regular drug users) after taking it. Each Note Card has the source in the upper left hand corner and the topic in the upper right corner along with a fact from the article. You want to use a new note card for each piece of information. You may have to come up with the topics (or change them) as you read more and get more information. For example: The fact from source A below could have multiple topics: stats, alcohol, risks, etc. A Stats Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with 75,000 deaths per year. Give each source a letter and record it in your works cited Source A "Alcohol & Drug Use - DASH/HealthyYouth." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 03 June 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. <http://www.cdc.gov/Healt hyYouth/alcoholdrug/index. htm>. Source B "The Science Behind Drug Abuse." NIDA for Teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. <http://teens.drugabuse.go v/>.

Organize your information by topic Organize your information by topic. Now you have information from multiple sources to start constructing your paper. Stats A Stats Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with 75,000 deaths per year. C Stats The most commonly used illicit drug among teenagers is marijuana, but use has decreased %7 down to %21 in 2009. Effects B Effects This club drug can cause confusion, depression, sleep problems, intense fear and anxiety that can last for days or weeks (in regular drug users) after taking it. A Effects Heavy use of marijuana affects the part of the brain that controls motivation, learning, attention and short term memory

You may need to break the topics down even further: Stats: Alcohol D Stats/Alcohol B Stats/Alcohol Stats: Marijuana B Stats/Pot Smoking=Bad for brain cells A Stats/Pot Smoking=Bad for…what was I saying?

Once you have sorted your note cards into topics and subtopics, you can write your paper. You already have all your citations easily accessible and information organized. Now, moving on…………

Hypothesis: A logical guess as to what you will find, based on your research For example: The more frequent a student’s use of ANY illegal substance, the lower their G.P. A. will be. Students that are currently enrolled in at least 2 AP classes will use marijuana less frequently than those students enrolled in less than 2 AP classes. Students’ that use cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA) or acid at least once a month will have an average grade point that is 1 point lower than the average GPA of students’ who have never tried cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA) or acid