Society and Culture Association
Personal Interest Projects
Resource List extracts
Resource Lists
The resource list should include annotated references used in the
Personal Interest Project and/or a list of other kinds of resources,
for example films, internet sites or electronic resources referred
to during the preparation of the project, and resource persons
(eg people interviewed).
The references should be accurate and include
publication/production details. For each internet site, the URL
and the most recent date the site was visited should be included,
along with a short annotation on its usefulness to the Personal
Interest Project.
Assessment and Reporting in Society and Culture, page 11
Examples of Resource Lists
Sample 1
Books
Dumbest Generation, the: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and
Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone under 30) by Mark Bauerlein,
Published by Penguin Books (2008)
This text, which concluded surveys undertaken by Bauerlein about the changing
attitudes of young Americans and reading habits, was extremely useful in
providing the influence technology has had on Generation Y. It was bias in the
fact that Bauerlein greatly argued the negative impacts of technology; however
surveys undertaken by Americans were useful. However, the text was based on
American adolescent studies so could not be used greatly to support my
argument with Australian Generation Y’ers
Leading a Digital School: Principles and Practice edited by Mal Lee and Michael
Gaffney Published by Acer Press (2009)
This text was helpful in providing an outlook at what the future holds in regard to
technological advancements in Australian schools. Although it did not necessarily
include how technology may affect books, it did allow an example of the effect
technology is having in Australia for Generation Y individuals.
Examples of Resource Lists
Sample 1
Newspaper Articles
“Australians deserve access to cheaper books” by Sydney Morning Herald
journalist Michael Wilding (printed 17/07/09)
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/australians-deserve-access-to-cheaperbooks-20090716-dmvk.html
This article was helpful as it provided an outline of why Generation Y may not
read books due to financial cost. However, it was biased as it
“Can read, won’t read books” by BBC journalist Martha Buckley (printed:
17/08/2005) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4156744.stm
This article was helpful as it provided a BBC case study on the number of
books read by adults in the UK. Although the data and surveys were old, it
enabled an outline of what factors have influenced reading undertaken by
adults. However, the statistics were about UK adults and thus could not be
applied to Australian individuals.
Examples of Resource Lists
Sample 1
Transcripts
Transcript of interview with Mark Bauerlein and Paul Comrie-Thomson (13
October 2008) by ABC Radio National:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/counterpoint/stories/2008/2389054.htm
This transcript was really useful in providing an outline of my Chapter One. It
helped me obtain opinions and information of later useful authors such as Mark
Bauerlein. It was bias as it was undertaken over the radio however ABC radio
ensured that information given to the public was accurate, as I later discovered.
Transcript of Lateline’s presenter Ticky Fullerton on topic titled “Debate rages
over book import restrictions” (07/05/09)
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2008/s2564086.htm
This transcript was useful in providing a basis of the import cost and restriction
of books in Australia as well as authoritative and civilian opinions on the matter.
The opinions and statistics provided were also useful and reliable as ABC radio
similarly ensures that information given to the public was accurate.
Examples of Resource Lists
Sample 2
Primary Methodologies
Questionnaire
Surveying a large number of people (50) enabled me to see an overall picture of
the attitudes towards Disney in Australian society. I discovered that not only
were participants keen to praise Disney, but they also felt compelled to defend
Disney and this result supported my secondary research that indicated a
widespread reluctance to criticise or condemn The Walt Disney Company.
Focus Group
This methodology was extremely useful in helping me form the basis of my
primary research. The discussion presented me with a variety of perspectives
from my peers that helped me understand how people perceive Disney and how
they feel it should change (if at all) in the future. All six participants were around
the same age and from similar backgrounds and although they had differing
views perhaps I could have selected a broader demographic (as I did with the
questionnaire) in order to gain more conclusive results.
Examples of Resource Lists
Sample 3
Secondary Research
Pascoe, C.J. (2007) “You Have Another World to Create: Teens and Online
Hangouts” (online) www.digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu – accessed 10/02/07
This ‘post’ is an evaluation of a New York Times article discussing how teenagers
have less and less places to “hang out”, and how the internet has become this
place. This post is relevant to my study as it is an “average Joe’s” perspective on the
online phenomenon of MySpace. The reliability of this source is questionable,
however as this article was simply used as background information on this topic,
this is not a major issue. There is no evidence that this post is biased.
Willard, N. (2006) “The ‘MySpace Phenomenon’”, (online),
www.galeschools.com/article_archive/2006 - accessed 18/02/07
This article gives a brief overview of what MySpace is and addresses the safety of
these “online social networking sites”. This article is relevant to my study as it looks
at the ways in which teenagers may interact with this site. The author of this article
is well-versed on this topic, making the source reliable. There may be a slight bias
with this source as Willard’s interests lie with the safety of children on the internet.
Examples of Resource Lists
Sample 4
Secondary Research
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cost-of-youth-day-blows-out-to150m/2008/03/04/1204402456394.html retrieved 1 June 2009
http://news.smh.com.au/national/aussies-say-catholic-church-out-of-touch20080714-3elk.html
http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/bryant05.htm
http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm