Sexuality Education in the Twenty-First Century: The Struggle over Adolescent Rights

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2012

Department

Political Science and International Relations

Program

Bachelor's Degree

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.

Subjects

Abstract

The beginning of the research strategy entailed entering key phases into the Goucher College Library online databases, particularly EBSCO and JSTOR. The online databases provided a medium for specified research that would yield rapid results and allow for easy alterations to key words, subjects, questions, or phrases as the research unfolded. I first manipulated the basic concepts of “sex education,” “sexuality education,” and “sexual health” paired with “the United States,” “The Netherlands,” and “Uganda.” I found that the designation of a word or phrase as a “subject,” “title,” “key word,” or “appearance in the text” greatly impacted the quantity of results a search produced. Both the breadth and lack of results proved frustrating at times, and the process could become quite tedious. However, the more time I spent with the search engines the more astute I became at working with the system and tailoring my questions to fit the breakdowns presented by EBSCO and JSTOR. The in-person resources helped facilitate a launching pad for further research at the beginning of the process. A research consultation with Randy Smith afforded me three articles and two books that pertained to my topic. Having assistance with acquiring the initial sources for my paper reduced the anxiety about finding where to begin looking for information. Later, the library book catalog very quickly located more detailed and lengthier volumes to apply to my topic. Even if the specific books I searched were lost within the shelves, the general vicinity the catalog led me to proved worth the effort. Likewise, the Interlibrary Loan system plugged-in any holes that the Goucher library could not immediately fill. All it required was a bit of patience to wait for a book or journal article, during which time I could continue to peruse the online databases for more information. As a freshman writing my first extensive research paper, I felt incredibly motivated but also daunted by the task of finding the research. Despite my excitement at the process of synthesizing information into a powerful statement, I knew that I first had to find that information. The Goucher College Library resources – principally the online journal databases – made the research process easy to navigate and conducive to the evolution of my research question.