Blog #8- Research Question in Conversation

I feel that one of the most prevalent and most interesting debates within the spectrum of college sports is the corruption that exists on many levels of college sports. It is true with college sports, and many other situations such as politics, that not all people who are involved are corrupt however in the eyes of the public a "few sour apples can spoil the bunch". With the direction of corruption that exists in college sports, I want to bring it down another level to research how people's perceptions of the college sports world effects the ways that athletes act. It has been researched and documented many times that athletes are more likely to commit academically dishonest acts than non athletes. These findings can be based on many different reasons as to why a student athlete would cheat; however I want to focus specifically on the Neutralization Theory and how it seems that student athletes unconsciously apply this method of rationalization to committing acts of academic dishonesty. I know that not all athletes cheat and not all college sports authorities are corrupt; however it is important to research why close to a majority of these people are involved in less then honest dealings. I will be using a study conducted by Storch et al. regarding the application of the Neutralization Theory, proposed by Gresham Sykes and David Matza to originally understand the reasons behind criminal's actions, to academic dishonesty. This study will provide the frame for my paper. However, I will also be using information from books such as, Unpaid Professionals by Andrew Zimbalist and Confessions of a Spoil Sport by William Dowling, to investigate the findings that other researchers/ journalists have found in regards to corruption in college sports. I have recently found a new article entitled "Learning Theories of Crime" by Robert Hale which focuses on the social theories ( specifically the Social Learning Theory and the Neutralization Theory) and I think that this resource (and the resources used as references for the writing) will be very useful in providing background for the theories behind social behavior and will make it easier to see how it can be applied to college sports and the actions of college athletes.

Blog #7- Annotate two sources

Storch, Jason B., Eric A. Storch, and Philip Clark. "Academic Dishonesty and Neutralization Theory: A Comparison of Intercollegiate Athletes and Nonathletes." Journal of College Student Development 43.6 (2002): 921-30. OmniFile Full TextMega. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. This study connects the Neutralization Theory, proposed by Gresham Sykes and David Matza, to the endemic of academic dishonesty in colleges and university. The study lists four main techniques used by students when rationalizing their dishonest behavior; denial or responsibility, denial or injury, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. The study went one step further and specifically applied the Neutralization Theory to academic dishonesty of college athletes. The results indicated that, when compared to nonathletes, athletes reported higher rates of academic dishonesty, which reaffirmed results of other studies dealing with this topic. The results also indicated that, in terms of the Neutralization Theory, athletes were more likely to use techniques to rationalize academic dishonest acts, with the most common technique being appeal to higher loyalties. This means that most athletes who commit academic dishonest acts are likely to rationalize their acts based on the actions of their peers. This article provides a strong and interesting starting point for my research project and it provides valid and helpful references.

Bouville, Mathieu. "Cheating and Neutralization." Diss. University of Cambridge, 2008. Cheating and Neutralization. University of Cambridge. Web. 17 Feb. 2010.. Mathieu Bouville critiques the use of the concept of Neutralization to study cheating at college universities. He argues that there are no clear, concise definitions about Neutralization and college cheating offered by any studies. This is going to be a good writing to use because it offers a counterpoint to the study done by Storch et al. (Academic Dishonesty and Neutralization Theory: A Comparison of Intercollegiate Athletes and Nonathletes). Bouville writes that the studies surrounding the Neutralization Theory and academic dishonesty is paradoxical because students actively partake in something they know is wrong and should not partake in. He uses many of the same references used in the Storch et al. study. This is a great resource to use because it offers a counterpoint and it is opposed to the views that are supported by my research. It will strengthen my own argument if I am able to break down Bouville’s argument.

Revised Blog #6- Research Question

After doing the in class assignment, I have thought of how I can make my question a bit more focused.
I was thinking about...
What are the actions/behaviors of the average college athlete? Do the actions of the athletes change depending on where they attend school or what level of college sports they play on? Also, in a broader sense, I want to research as to whether or not there is a correlation between the pressures the athletes face and the actions of the athletes?

Blog #6- Research question

Some of my ideas for research questions so far are:
1. Does the pressure put on college athletes from many different sources make them more prone to cheat (academically and athletically)?
2. What are the psychological effects on college athletes as a result of the pressures and stereotypes that they face?

I know that I want my topic to deal with college athletes, dishonesty, and the pressures put on the athletes. So far this is what i have thought of in terms of research questions.

Blog #5-Sources for research topic

My topic is going to deal with pressure on college athletes, narrowing down to cheating and collegiate athletes.

5 Scholarly Sources:
1. NCAA Athlete Graduation Rates: Less Than Meets the Eye

Eckard, E. Woodrow. "NCAA Athlete Graduation Rates: Less Than Meets the Eye." Journal of Sport Management 24.1 (2010): 45-58. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

2. College Athletics and student achievement: the evidence as small colleges

Emerson, John, Rachelle L. Brooks, and Elaine Croft McKenzie. "College athletics and student achievement: The evidence at small colleges." New Directions for Institutional Research 2009.144 (2009): 65-76. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

3. The Influence of Student Engagement and Sport Participation on College Outcomes Among Division I Student Athletes.

Gayles, Joy Gaston, and Shouping Hu. "The Influence of Student Engagement and Sport Participation on College Outcomes Among Division I Student Athletes." Journal of Higher Education 80.3 (2009): 315-333. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

4. Academic dishonesty and Neutralization theory: a comparison of intercollegiate athletes and non athletes

Storch, Jason B., Eric A. Storch, and Philip Clark. "Academic Dishonesty and Neutralization Theory: A Comparison of Intercollegiate Athletes and Nonathletes." Journal of College Student Development 43.6 (2002): 921-30. OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

5.BEYOND SYMPTOMS: Unethical Behavior In American Collegiate Sport and The Problem of The Color Line.

Edwards, Harry. "BEYOND SYMPTOMS: Unethical Behavior In American Collegiate Sport and The Problem of The Color Line." Journal of Sport & Social Issues 9.2 (1985): 3-13. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

some other sources:
- As Graduation Rates Rise, So Do Fears of Academic Shortcuts.

Wolverton, Brad. "As Graduation Rates Rise, So Do Fears of Academic Shortcuts." Chronicle of Higher Education 53.7 (2006): A38. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

- Unpaid Professionals: commercialism and conflict in big-time college sports
Zimbalist, A. S. (2001). Unpaid professionals : Commercialism and conflict in big-time college sports. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

-An article responding to Unpaid Professionals (Book)

Pedersen, Paul M. "Unpaid Professionals (Book)." Journal of Sport Management 14.4 (2000): 366. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

Blog #4- Rutgers RIOT

On the Rutgers RIOT program I did three sections (Finding Sources, Selecting Keywords, and Evaluating Sources). The tutorial was very helpful in that it pointed out a lot of specifics about how to get the best results for your research. The selecting keywords tutorial was helpful because it told you how to optimize your results so you can find better sources faster and spend more time writing and less time researching. Also, the finding sources tutorial told you about all the different databases and how they are each different. Because they are different, they have different sources and yield different results when you are searching. The tutorial encourages you to try all the databases and not to get frustrated if you hit a wall in one, but rather to refine your search a little bit more because it is possible that you can then find even better sources then you had.
I think that the Rutgers RIOT is a great teaching device. Since it is interactive it keeps you engaged and the length of time for each module is not that much. Also, if you were only interested in one part of the tutorial then you can go right to that module. The review notes are also helpful.
In terms of improving the tutorials, I really don't think they need any improvement. They were straight forward, short, and helpful. Eventually they will need to be updated to include more amenities of the Rutgers library system; however for now they are very up to date and very helpful.

Blog #3- Questions for Librarian

My questions for the librarian are:
1. Where can I find stats related to the number of student athletes who receive athletic scholarships each year? And which schools give the most scholarships?
2. Do you know of any books that deal with the topic of sports and schools? Is there a section that would have a lot of these types of books?
3. Where can I find stats linked to how much a school earns from sporting events held at that school? Also is there any way to find out how many contributions to a school are related to their athletics programs?