Research Blog #2: Scouting the Territory

I am going to stay with my topic on commuters and how their academic career and college social experience are affected by not living on campus but rather at home. In my preliminary google searches, I used the combination of words like “commuter/s, university, college, education, social life, engaged, disengaged, success, achievement, experience” to devise a number of different phrases to see if they would provide me with different kinds of search results. From these searches, I found an array of different kinds of papers. Some articles were written by commuter students themselves. Other articles were written by researchers who have conducted studies on the effects of commuting on different aspects of an individual’s college experience and personal growth.

There are some controversies over my topic, in regards to “myths” about commuter students. I think one of the most common myths or perception of commuter students is that they are not as involved in school affairs on an intellectual level, nor do they have as colorful of a social life as most kids on college experience. There are a number of articles that address these “myths” and have the sole purpose to debunk such theories that commuter students are simply not as “fun” as students who live on campus.

While many papers attempt to highlight in what ways commuter students are just as involved as on campus students, other pieces of literature approach the “negative” angle of being a commuter, meaning highlighting in what ways commuter students are in fact losing out on many opportunities and although they still may enjoy their experience, there are limitations to the enrollment and level of engagement in different activities.

http://humphreyreview.com/article/a-student-perspective-commuter-student-experiences-definitions-and-self-identification/

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1875/Commuter-Students.html

I am beginning with these two sources. The first one offers a student’s perspective on being a commuter and some key terms are also identified and defined. I think this is important because this would be my first step in learning about different perspectives on experience, as I assume that there is a range of first hand opinions on commuter life. Further in my research, I want to find literature from commuters with different viewpoints and perceptions on what it means and feels like to be a commuter.

The second essay I find important also because it takes on a specific angle; the challenges of student commuters. This is also another first step of hearing one side of a story, before I get into articles that highlight the benefits of being a commuter student. I also want to try and find articles that highlight the challenges of commuter life, however not just by researchers, but by actual commuters, and compare/contrast what they say are the main challenges.

One book that would be worth looking more into is called, “Understanding and Addressing Commuter Student Needs”. I think this is important because the title suggests that there are some problems and needs of commuter students that need to be met, and this particular book will aim to provide the solutions. Therefore, I can use this is juxtaposing these points with points that I find in other readings.

In “The Happiest Kid on Campus” talks about a number of topic and even address the parental audience who wish to have their kids experience college in the best, safest way as possible. In the midst of a number of topics, the book address how commuter students can still be “happy kids on campus” provided that there is some level of engagement and passion. I want to look more into these books to see what information I can pull from them to strengthen my idea for my paper and begin brainstorming in which direction it will flow in.