I have to do an assignment on financial stress among college students. Where can I find questionnaires and journals on this topic? Are there any free journals that can be accessed online?
Not much that you can get free is worth your time, but ... try these ideas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may have to search and research, but once you learn some good sources and methods, you should have success. In addition to searching on the Internet, you also need to make best friends with the reference librarian(s) in your local or college library. Libraries these days subscribe to enormous research databases, and they are often more useful than Internet searches. Ask your librarian if you have access to EBSCOHost -- it has several databases within it, including at least three for health sciences, one for military and government, one huge one for academic research, and others.
For Internet searching:
http://hanlib.sou.edu/searchtools/
At this webpage, you can go immediately to the search sites (first three columns across the top) -- or even better you can scroll down until you see the section called HOW TO SEARCH THE INTERNET. Those are the links to start with. You'll not only learn how to come up with good search terms, but also how to evaluate the webpages you get as results. Some will be good and others will be garbage. You need to know how to tell the difference.
My favorite way to search is to go to Google's advanced search page http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en and put my search words or phrases into the first or second search box (either "all the words" or "exact phrase"). Another is to start out at http://scholar.google.com. However, there many other strategies for searching you can use, and the HOW TO SEARCH THE INTERNET section will help you best.
Learning to use Google or other search engines can save you time and help you learn to find information efficiently. Here are some websites that can teach you how:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
http://hanlib.sou.edu/searchtools/searchtips.html
http://www.pandia.com/goalgetter/index.html
http://websearch.about.com/mbody.htm?once=true&COB=home&PM=112_100_T
... and one to help you judge whether a particular website's information is worth your time:
http://hanlib.sou.edu/searchtools/evaluate.html
I am wondering why anyone would be in the business of making free journals, it reminds me of Free electrictiy, common in India (folks tap onto the elec lines).
Financial stress would have to be defined, what is financial stress for one could well be riches for another student. I suggest you interview college students, and financial officers at colleges, and if a few parents. Frankly, there are more than a few parents that desire their offspring at college to suffer some financial duress...character building.
Qualitative Strategies. In addition, explicitly identify your biases, values, personal interest in the area and experience with it, explaining how each would affect your study.
To find questionnaires and journals on the topic of financial stress among college students, you can follow these steps:
1. Start with a general search on a search engine like Google or Bing. Use keywords such as "financial stress among college students questionnaires" or "journals on financial stress among college students". This will give you a list of potential sources to explore.
2. Look for academic databases or repositories that host research papers and journals. Some popular ones include:
- Google Scholar (scholar.google.com): This search engine specifically indexes scholarly literature, including journals, articles, theses, and conference papers.
- JSTOR (www.jstor.org): A digital library that provides access to scholarly journals, books, and primary sources in various disciplines.
- ResearchGate (www.researchgate.net): A social networking site for researchers that provides access to many research papers and publications.
- PubMed (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov): Primarily focused on medical and healthcare research, PubMed is a valuable resource for finding relevant studies on this topic.
- ERIC (eric.ed.gov): An education-focused digital library that indexes research papers, journals, reports, and other documents related to education topics.
3. Explore the databases mentioned above by entering relevant keywords in the search bar, such as "financial stress," "college students," and "questionnaire." Look for specific articles or studies that discuss or provide questionnaires related to financial stress among college students.
4. Pay attention to the publication dates of the articles to ensure you are accessing the most recent research. Additionally, check the abstract or summary to see if the article is relevant to your specific topic.
5. Some academic journals offer free access to certain articles or have open-access publications. Look for indicators like "Open Access" or "Free" on the journal's website or search results. You can also use the advanced search filters in databases to narrow down results to open-access sources.
6. If you encounter articles behind paywalls or access restrictions, you might need to consult your school's library. Many universities and colleges provide access to a wide range of academic databases and journals for their students. Consult your library website or contact a librarian for assistance.
Remember, when using others' work for your assignment, cite the sources properly to avoid plagiarism and give credit to the original authors.