Summaries of Three Sources; Library Advice Gained

Feb. 16

Summaries of Three Sources for my Synthesis Report
&
Advice Gained from the Librarian

Summaries of Three Sources for my Synthesis Report

For my upcoming synthesis report tracing a controversy in my field of current study (Elementary Education), I decided to research and comment on zero-tolerance policies about discipline in schools. There is quite a fair amount of controversy and disagreements swirling around this issue, and I found several articles which interested me.

One of the first journal articles by Thomas J. Billiteri, Discipline in Schools: Are Zero-Tolerance Policies Fair?¹, interested me because of his depth of information on the subject and discussion of several different aspects of why or why not the policies are hindering school discipline. I will be using this as the main information source for my report because of credibility and strength of further resources.

A second periodical article by Judith Browne-Dianis, entitled, Stepping Back from Zero Tolerance², also provided me with some further specific stories about children who had been convicted as delinquents for breaking zero tolerance policies, which I will integrate into the paper for a more personal effect to the reader.

The last source I found was an online article published by Russ Skiba and Reece Peterson, called The Dark Side of Zero Tolerance: Can Punishment Lead to Safer Schools?³. This source discusses the negative aspects of zero tolerance policies (one side of the controversy), which I will use to support my own opinion. I will then use another source for the other side of the issue.

1 Billitteri, Thomas J. "Discipline in Schools: Are Zero-Tolerance Policies Fair?" CQ Researcher 18 (2008).

2 Browne-Dianis, Judith. "Stepping Back from Zero Tolerance." Educational Leadership 69 (2011).

3 Skiba, Russ, and Reece Peterson. "The Dark Side of Zero Tolerance: Can Punishment Lead to Safer Schools?" Kappan Magazine (1999): 1-11. The Professional Association in Education.

Advice Gained from the Librarian

For our recent trip to the library, I was interested in learning more research techniques which would help me with my upcoming synthesis report.

Firstly, the librarian mentioned the importance of making sure your online resources were credible. When I was browsing the internet during the time he allotted for looking up research topics, I found a lot of information regarding my topics, but the most credible were the ones the librarian and Prof. Paudel had mentioned once--- “.gov” or “.edu” sites. This helped me to understand what can be credible sources for those I choose to cite in my paper.

Secondly, the librarian advised us to utilize the EBSCO database on the University of Louisville's library catalog. He suggested narrowing down our search by using different key words for our search terms, which I found helpful when the current search words I was using weren't helping me find the correct articles relating to my topic.

Thirdly, the librarian showed us how we can use certain questions about our topic to narrow down our search. Prof. Paudel also mentioned in the previous class-time how doing this will help us to keep things precise while still giving us room to find the answers as long as we aren't too specific. I utilized this when I brainstormed questions I wanted to know about the topic I'd chosen for my synthesis report.