?????
These are just a few of the faces I made when I found out that we would be using the library databases to do part of our research. Yes, they provide very solid and for the most part trustworthy information, but it’s just not as easy as Google. I guess Google has its own challenges like verifying sources, and checking for biases, but it is still my preferred research tool.
Databases are just too picky for my taste. You want to search a phrase? Gotta have that in quotation marks. You want to find results that include any form of the words sorority or fraternity? Don’t forget to truncate it with an *! You want current articles? Adjust the date range. And last but not least SIFTING. Usually I don’t meander past the first page of a Google search, but when it comes to databases sometimes I have to go through every. single. page. How many 40-page-extra-scientific studies do I have to scroll through before I get to a reasonable article related to my topic?
Sifting through pages and pages of articles can be a pain
I must admit, I did get a little lucky this time since I found my article on the first page of results (but this doesn’t happen too often!). However, it was not exactly what I was looking for. The title is, “Predicting Use of Protective Behavioral Strategies: Does Fraternity/Sorority Affiliation Matter?” I foolishly assumed that it would consist of bubbly interviews from students in sororities and fraternities across the country. Nope. Not so fast. It was one of those lengthy, but manageable, scientific articles. It provided some interesting insight on alcohol consumption in relation to affiliation. It did account for the fact that college campuses are high-alcohol consumption environments to begin with. According to the article, “members of fraternal social organizations experienced more negative alcohol-related consequences and also tended to use fewer PBS than their non-fraternity and sorority peers.” Interesting. Follows mostly what one would expect.
It is important to be responsible when it comes to alcohol
Ok so maybe my database excursion was not as much of a bust as I had a assumed it would be. I found valuable resources that included studies that are more thorough than my dinky survey that I conducted in 3 short days. Now time to compare results and see if there are any trends and crossovers between Santa Clara and national panhellenic organizations…