The sources that I have compiled thus far for my research paper consists of four scholarly sources and three media sources. I was able to extract these scholarly sources from the Gale Academic OneFile database and my media sources were gathered from online websites. The scholarly sources were all peer-reviewed and provided significant references to the subject. The media sources provided in-depth analysis backed up by statistics and factual context.

 The article “ Is a STEM degree a good investment ” discusses the growing demand for college graduates in STEM fields. STEM careers are generally rewarding in the sense of the economic outcome these careers provide to graduates. Although the science field does not show a significant improvement from non STEM degrees, the other fields of STEM show a substantial gap in the annual earnings in comparison to other degrees. This article allows me to strengthen the argument of the benefits of pursuing a college education specifically by describing the different STEM fields that students can pursue. The article “ Does that college diploma really matter for success? ” discusses varying perspectives of the college education system. The article describes the employment opportunities that a college degree provides to those who pursue a career through college. However, the article also discusses the student debt that accumulates from receiving a college education and how this results in hindering the life choices of graduates. The article concludes with the argument of a college degree not being a complete necessity to obtain a job as there are businesses that hire those without a college education. This article will help strengthen my research essay as it provides information from both sides of the argument of my research question. The article “ How student debt became a $1.6 trillion crisis ” discusses a social issue that directly correlates to my essay about the college education system as discussed previously. The article provides a historical context to student debt in the country and it connects the dilemma to the negative impact it has on the lives of graduates. This article will help me connect my research question to another social dilemma that is closely related to it which will help strengthen my essay. 

The scholarly article “ Social and Economic Returns to College Education in the United States ” statistically analyzes the economic benefit a college degree has on individuals in comparison to those without a degree. The article also discusses the growing costs of attending college as well as the impact that a college education has on the community and the positive health outcomes this higher education has on individuals. This article has allowed me to identify various subtopics under my research question which will help strengthen my essay. The scholarly article “ College degree for everyone? ” analyzes the overall costs of higher education, the financing for higher education, as well as the success of individuals paying back their student loans. This article will help me strengthen my essay by providing my research question a deeper connection to the related dilemma of student loans in the United States. The scholarly article “ High costs, uncertain benefits: what do Americans without a college degree think about postsecondary education ” analyzes the perspectives of those who did not pursue a college education in the United States through a twenty-minute survey that was conducted. This article will strengthen my essay in recognizing society’s opinion on higher education and how these viewpoints compare and contrast with one another. The fourth scholarly article “ What can you do with that degree? College major and occupational status of college graduates over time ” analyzes the information gathered from studies conducted regarding the economic outcome of college graduates and how the market treats those with college degrees to those without a degree. This article will help provide a deeper understanding of college education to my research essay as it also compares the different fields that people pursue through college and the economic status of these college graduates over time.

A source that I originally found but discarded was the scholarly article ” Employee education and job performance: does education matter? ” due to the article being published in 1989 which hinders its validity compared to my other sources. A source that I am considering using is the webpage “Is a college education worth it” by ProCon.org because it provides a detailed list of pros and cons of the college education system. I can use this because it provides more information for my essay when discussing the countering arguments. Research that I believe can further strengthen my essay is to discuss more of the social aspect of the quality of life of college graduates and non-college graduates. 

Bibliography

Hout, Michael. “Social and Economic Returns to College Education in the United States.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 38, 2012, pp. 379–400., www.jstor.org/stable/23254601. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.

Strohush, Vitaliy, and Justin Wanner. “College degree for everyone?” International Advances in Economic Research, vol. 21, no. 3, 2015, p. 261+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A427959612/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=e2ab3d21. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.

Kelly, Andrew P. “High costs, uncertain benefits: what do americans without a college degree think about postsecondary education?” AEI Paper & Studies, American Enterprise Institute, 2015, p. Fi+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A436889727/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=1cfb4971. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.

Roksa, Josipa, and Tania Levey. “What can you do with that degree? College major and occupational status of college graduates over time.” Social Forces, vol. 89, no. 2, 2010, p. 389+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A247339518/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=315fedb7. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.

Abigail J Hess. “How Student Debt Became a $1.6 Trillion Crisis.” CNBC, CNBC, 12 June 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/06/12/how-student-debt-became-a-1point6-trillion-crisis.html.

“Is a STEM Degree a Good Investment?” Value Colleges, www.valuecolleges.com/resources/faqs/is-a-stem-degree-a-good-investment/.

Smale, Thomas. “Does That College Diploma Really Matter for Success?” Entrepreneur, 3 May 2017, www.entrepreneur.com/article/293676.

In this report I will break down each of my sources based on where they were published, how they influence the course of the essay, and the informational value they contribute. I have selected eleven sources in total, five scholarly articles from academic journals, four popular media sources, one government-funded research institute article, and finally one nonprofit/nonpartisan organization source. I ultimately excluded a journal article titled “A pandemic of the poor: social disadvantage and the U.S. HIV epidemic” published in 2013. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3700367/) While it did focus on the socioeconomic, cultural, and political effects of the HIV epidemic, it failed to provide any evidence relating to crime needed to correlate with the Covid-19 crisis and the objective of my essay.

My first source is my model essay, “Has Covid-19 Changed Crime? Crime Rates in the United States during the Pandemic.” This is a journal article I located by selecting a link in the explore more section of the Gale Academic Onefile while researching another. The format of this essay is very well outlined with an abstract, introduction, two sub sections and a conclusion. I like how clear and easy to follow the article is arranged as well as the information provided corresponding to my topic. Specifically, the idea the authors present that any reported decrease in crime is deceiving as it correlates with minor offenses, leaving space for the notable increase in violent and more severe law-breaking.

“How Are Substance Abuse and Violence Related,” was written by a licensed Psychologist for Psychology Today and located through a google search. The author provides not only relatively well-known data suggesting that alcohol and drug use are linked to violent acts but also brings to light how substances also increase the risk of becoming a victim of violence. In the beginning months of the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a socially acceptable movement of increased alcohol consumption across the country with wine and liquor markets even being deemed essential businesses. It is an interesting perspective to consider; if the lowered inhibitions of our population as a whole contributed to more accessible crime.

Dr. Nora Volkow wrote “Research at the Intersection of HIV with Substance Use Disorders amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic” for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal government research institute. Another media article found in the same focused google search, it offers useful information with statements such as: “there is great opportunity for HIV and addiction researchers to make important advances in understanding how COVID-19 intersects with substance use, the opioid epidemic, and HIV.” The reason this is significant is the ability to parallel the increased crime rates in the late 80’s and early 90’s due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and those in question now during Covid-19.

“The improbable transformation of inner-city neighborhoods: crime, violence, drugs, and youth in the 1990s,” is another academic journal article located with Gale Academic Onefile. Dating back to 1998 following the height of the HIV and crack cocaine epidemics, I am uncertain whether I will use it or not. Its connection to my essay is marginal with the bulk of the report angled toward the reduction of crime rates in Brooklyn following the eighties and what actions inspired that shift opposed to the increased crime that transpired beforehand. I am open to another more strongly associated article that could replace this one should the essay feel light in this section.

Matthew Ashby penned a research article for a publication called Crime Science in May of 2020 titled, “Initial evidence on the relationship between the coronavirus pandemic and crime in the United States.” It was located by searching the Gale Academic Onefile and focuses on the first 16 weeks of the pandemic. The data collected in this research shows an insignificant change to crime rates during that period; which leads my investigation toward other explanations for the rise in crime statistics shortly after. This aids in transitioning the essay from stay-at-home order substance use into the next possibility of early release inmates impacting misconduct in late spring and early summer.

Another scholarly report found in Onefile was “The effect of prison releases on regional crime rates.” A statistical data report written for Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs and is a very thorough assessment of nationally compiled data. It provides an excess of usable information such as, “To summarize the results…releasing prison inmates is associated with increases in crime. We find positive significant effects of prison releases on the overall violent and property crime rates and for most of the individual felony offenses.” However, this study was conducted several years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ACLU is a national nonprofit organization that defends the civil liberties of the American people. In the article “Decarceration and Crime During Covid-19” published on their website in July of 2020, they offer an opposing view to the previous article. For example, “Over this time period, we found that the reduction in jail population was functionally unrelated to crime trends in the following months. In fact, in nearly every city explored, fewer crimes occurred between March and May in 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019, regardless of the magnitude of the difference in jail population.”  I chose this article to represent a conflicting stance and bridge the third transition in my research essay allowing the third potential factor to be introduced here.

The next three articles are open web sources, two from The New York Times and one from The Huffington Post. “A Violent August in N.Y.C.: Shootings Double, and Murder is Up by 50%,” is a Times article that exposes the “steep rise in gun violence that has intensified the debate over policing,” published in the Race and America section. A feature piece that is meant to stir up emotion and call attention to frightening crime numbers and what could be behind them, it was the article that initially marked my interest in the topic. The information gathered here will help segue into the consideration of recent protests and calls to defund the police being a reason for the reported uptick in crime.

“Don’t Blame BLM For The Rise In Violent Crime. The Real Reason Is Much More Interesting” written for The Huffington Post and “Gun Violence Spikes in N.Y.C., Intensifying Debate Over Policing,” for the Times, both give opposing examples of consequences of defunding the police in the wake of surging activism against police brutality.

Finally, the academic source “To reduce the harm: On defunding the police” published in the Times Literary Supplement this August, is written by Professor of Criminology at Oxford University: Ian Loader. Professor Loader gives a detailed evaluation of the Black Lives Matter Movement and what actions should be taken by law enforcement going forward. He summarizes, “The police can contribute to secure belonging…extending, and experimenting with, deliberative institutions that give Black and minority ethnic groups an equal voice in determining what safety and justice is, and the means by which it is legitimately provided.”

It is here where I will possibly incorporate a not yet secured source on fluctuating crime rates throughout history if the conclusion of my essay requires that kind of supporting information to polish it, although it may not be necessary.

Works Cited

ACLU, “Decarceration and Crime During Covid-19.” American Civil Liberties Union, 27 Jul. 2020, https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/decarceration-and-crime-during-covi19/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020

Ashby, Matthew P. J. “Initial evidence on the relationship between the coronavirus pandemic and crime in the United States.” Crime Science, vol. 9, no. 1, 2020, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A624351034/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=86a8b973. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

Boman, John H., and Owen Gallupe, “Has COVID-19 Changed Crime? Crime Rates in the United States during the Pandemic.” Am J Crim Just 45, 537–545 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09551-3. Accessed 18, Oct 2020.

Curtis, Richard. “The improbable transformation of inner-city neighborhoods: crime, violence, drugs, and youth in the 1990s.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 88, no. 4, Summer 1998, p. 1233. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A54700680/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=7d939bce. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

Hobbs, Michael. “Don’t Blame BLM For The Rise In Violent Crime. The Real Reason Is Much More Interesting.” The Huffington Post, 19 Jul. 2020, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dont-blame-the-rise-in-violent-crime-on-protesters_n_5f122c8bc5b6cec246c294f3. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020

Loader, Ian. “To reduce the harm: On defunding the police.” TLS. Times Literary Supplement, no. 6124, 2020, p. 10+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A632770147/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=60d033b4. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

NIDA. “Research at the Intersection of HIV with Substance Use Disorders amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, 28 Jul. 2020,   https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2020/07/research-intersection-hiv-substance-use-disorders-amidst-covid-19-pandemic. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

Raphael, Steven, and Michael A. Stoll. “The effect of prison releases on regional crime rates.” Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, Annual 2004, p. 207+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A303451041/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=1671c8ad. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

Southall, Ashley, and Neil MacFarquhar. “Gun Violence Spikes in N.Y.C., Intensifying Debate Over Policing.” The New York Times, Published 23 Jun. 2020, Updated 24, Aug. 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/nyregion/nyc-shootings-surge.html. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

Vitelli, Romeo. “How Are Substance Abuse and Violence Related.” Psychology Today, 08 Mar. 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201803/how-are-substance-abuse-and-violence-related. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

Zaveri, Mihir. “A Violent August in N.Y.C.: Shootings Double, and Murder is Up by 50%.” The New York Times. 02 Sept. 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/nyregion/nyc-shootings-murders.html. Accessed 11, Oct. 2020.

The last week, we are finalized our research question and start our research with some scholarly sources. Also, I found a scholarly source to model my essay. But this week, I am working with my academic sources and gathering some information as much as I can. Also, I am going through some social media (Facebook, Instagram, Youtube) to find some posts that are related to my topic. 

The first source that I found is “Never go out alone” is published in September 2015. One of the authors is Nichole Branda, who is under the University of Maryland. The authors provided their work citations at the end of the article. That helps us to understand the credibility of the source. I found this article in the gale academic one file that is a great source to find some journal articles. This article provides some information about how girls can reduce the risk of rape or their life by using different methods. This article shares some ideas as girls need to alert of their surroundings when they walk or in a vehicle that supports my thoughts. Another source that I found is “Memory of pictures of sexual assault: Sensitive maintenance of ambiguous stimuli” by Jan Hendrick Peters. It is a reliable source because it is just recently published this year, July 29, 2020. This source is peer-reviewed by the journals or experts in this field. The authors provided their work citations at the end of the article.  The purpose of this article is to inform the audience of how a sexual attack can generate fear in women’s minds. I found this source in the gale academic one file. This article supports my ideas because women have to face so many ambiguous situations that contribute significantly to women’s fear of sexual harassment.

I found a source from the gale academic one file that is about what society thoughts about girls. The name of the source is “Bad girls get raped, good girls go to heaven” by Asante Lucy Mtenje. This article is a great source of gender inequality, culture, religion, family, and other genocide. But this article doesn’t fit the criteria of my research. My research had much to do with how to combat rape. But this article doesn’t have that much information that I can be reliable with it. 

I found another source that is in the gale academic one file. Most of the sources I found from this website. The name of the article is, “They all laughed at me and if I enjoy having sex with those guys” by  Siyabulela Eric Mgolozeli and Sinegugu Evidence Duma. It is a great source and has a lot of information that fits my criteria. This article also provides some good topics such as self-protection from rape and killed, seeking justice, family support, and encouragement. The reason I am confused is that this article is talking about a boy who gets raped. But I think both men and women can get raped. But the methods the article used about how to protect us from being raped or killed. I believe these methods can be used by both men and women. So, I am a little bit confused if I can use this source. 

I start to find some social media posts to add some more information to my research. This week I am working with this but still didn’t find some good sources that fit my criteria. I think social media sources are missing in my research. I am looking for some information about what different NGO’s are doing to stop this crime. 

                                                                 Work Citation

Bedera, Nicole, and Kristjane Nordmeyer. “‘Never Go Out Alone’: An Analysis of College Rape Prevention Tips.” Sexuality and Culture, vol. 19, no. 3, 2015, p. 533+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A423856435/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=92c7a12e. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.

Peters, Jan Hendrik, and Michael Hock. “Memory for pictures of sexual assault: Sensitive maintenance of ambiguous stimuli.” PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 7, 2020, p. e0236873. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A630938579/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=96990fc9. Accessed 21

Mgolozeli, Siyabulela Eric, and Sinegugu Evidence Duma. “‘They all laughed and asked me if I enjoyed having sex with those guys’: Exploring men’s lived experiences when reporting rape to police in South Africa.” PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 8, 2020, p. e0235044. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A633157699/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=9ce25224. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.

Crowe, Jonathan, and Bri Lee. “THE MISTAKE OF FACT EXCUSE IN QUEENSLAND RAPE LAW: SOME PROBLEMS AND PROPOSALS FOR REFORM.” University of Queensland Law Journal, vol. 39, no. 1, June 2020, p. 1+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A628069869/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=8ac755e5. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.

Bedera, Nicole, and Kristjane Nordmeyer. “‘Never Go Out Alone’: An Analysis of College Rape Prevention Tips.” Sexuality and Culture, vol. 19, no. 3, 2015, p. 533+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A423856435/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=92c7a12e. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020