Robyn Miner Source 3

Step 1)

A) Thompson, Jon G., Jr., Crystal D. Oberle, and Jennifer L. Lilley. "Self-Efficacy And Learning In Sorority And
            Fraternity Students." Journal of College Student Development 52.6- (2011): 749-753. ERIC. Web. 11. Oct. 2016

B) Does Greek life impact students and institutions of higher education academically/ financially, specifically at Mizzou?

C) Before Reading: I wanted to find an article that actually conducted a study on how how being in a sorority or fraternity actually impacts a student's life, so I chose this piece because it did just that. I wanted to learn more about how researchers determined if/ how students were even impacted by being apart of this organization as one could easily make assumptions based on their involvement.
During Reading: I found it interesting that the study found that students in the Greek community had a higher self-efficacy and, therefore, high academic effort, this did not guarantee that they performed well academically in comparison to non-Greek students. After Reading: I found this piece to be very interesting because it offered a new element that the sources I had been reading did not mention.

Step 2)

      This piece explained the procedure conducted by a researcher to determine if Greek students had a higher self- efficacy and if this had a positive correlation to academic effort and performance. The piece mentioned that there have been differing results fromm other studies and that this experiment was conducted to test this question. It found that Greek students do have a higher self-efficacy and higher academic effort. However, this does not mean that they outperform students academically. While the testing of this study was reliable and valid, there are some variables that may have swayed the results slightly.

      This source changed my thinking because I know that most fraternizes and sororities have mandatory study hours as well as a required G.P.A in order to be in the organization. I thought that this would mean that students in Greek Life would outperform non-Greek students more dramatically. However, the implementing of these required study hours does not mean that they are effective because this study did determine that students in fraternities and sororities are more likely to have a higher self-efficacy and they put in more effort in their work. I thought that this source did support my question because it does suggest that being apart of this community can impact a student, but it does not fully answer why Greek students have lower G.P.A.s.

     This source is similar to the other sources I have used because it explains how being apart of a fraternity or a sorority can impact a student's life in some form. However, all of these sources suggest that there is not necessarily a negative or positive impact. These findings show a consistency of Greek Life and the dialectic synthesis of these sources reveal that despite what people think, the Greek community does not necessarily impact students negatively. This I think, is really important because opponents/ supporters of this organization can see that this conclusion was determined without bias and there are statistics to support this claim.

    Finally, this source has made me want to focus more on the impact this organization has on a student's life and less on the financial aspect. I do want to learn more about why universities fund these organizations and how they are trying to reform/ improve them. The answers that I have so far have been consistent, but they also reveal new things about the Greek community that I had not realized until now.

B)