Bibliographical Documentation of College Roommate Related Subjects

Anonymous. Personal interview. 19 Feb. 2014.

Eisenberg, Daniel, Ezra Golberstein, and Janis L. Whitlock. Peer Effects On Risky
Behaviors: New Evidence From College Roommate Assignments. Journal Of Health
Economics 33.(2014): 126-138. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

Griese, Hannah, and Elisabeth Vickers. Dorm Drama: An Analysis of First-Year
Roommate Relationships at St. Olaf College. Rep. N.p., 07 May 2008. Web. 18 Feb.
2014. <http://wp.stolaf.edu/sociology/dorm-drama-an-analysis-of-first-year-roommate-
relationships-at-st-olaf-college/>.

Housing and Residence Life. "Job Description." Welcome to Niner Housing. N.p., n.d.
Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <https://housing.uncc.edu/employment/resident-advisor-job-
description>.

Marklein, Mary. "Colleges vary on roommate picks." USA Today [Tysons Corner, VA]
30 Aug 2012, News, Pg. 03a. Print.
This source comes from a newspaper article in USA Today making it a very credible
source. The author, Mary Beth Marklein, is not of great authority. However, when it
comes to the topic at hand, as she has written hundreds of articles for USA Today, several
of which discuss college students. The source focused upon the newer technology that
several schools are using in order to match potential campus roommates. It also showed
the viewpoints of universities and colleges who are against this form of roommate
selection.
In an effort to get students to step outside their comfort zone, a majority of colleges
have adopted the tradition of random roommate selection. However, some colleges, such
as Wake Forest University and Hamilton College, see it best that students learn how to
step out of their comfort zones by not allowing students to choose their roommates; some
dont even reveal the identities of roommates until the move-in day. Being that
roommate-related conflicts are among the strongest reasons for freshman dropouts,
several colleges and universities are trying to reduce this statistic by using software
similar to whats used on matchmaker and dating sites in order to match compatible
prospective roommates. Whether or not this system of roommate assigning will be
effective is still debatable.
This source is very trustworthy and provides a lot of valuable information in order to help
us explain our topic.

Shook, Natalie J., and Russ Clay. "Interracial Roommate Relationships: A Mechanism
For Promoting Sense Of Belonging At University And Academic Performance."Journal
Of Experimental Social Psychology 48.5 (2012): 1168-1172. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
This article comes from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, printed recently
in 2012, making it a credible source. The main author, Natalie J. Shook, received her PhD
in social psychology from Ohio State University in 2007, making her an authority on the
subject. Her co-author, Russ Clay, is a Professor of Psychology at Aurora University,
making him a credible and helpful source for this work.
The article focused on the relationships between randomly assigned college roommates
and the effects it has upon the students' sense of belonging, GPA, and SAT test scores.
Intergroup contact is said to help group members learn about their similarities and
thereby disconfirm negative beliefs and feelings about other groups of people. The
question of whether or not this can help a students success and adjustment at college
remains. Previous studies have shown that minority students have a more difficult time
adjusting to college life both socially and academically as compared to majority students.
Students from more diverse neighborhoods and high schools tend to adjust better to
college life. This study measured the effect on students by their roommate situation by
looking at their sense of belonging, GPA, and SAT test score.
This source has proven to be a very credible and useful tool in gathering information for
our final project and in helping us understand our topic better.

"UNCC Confessions." Facebook. UNCC Confessions administrators, various dates. Web.
18 Feb 2014.
Being an open forum for students, the page is very credible, as it encompasses
various issues around campus and is focused upon target demographic. The posts do not
have authority, as they are not from behavioral psychologist or sociologists, but they do
include personal experience, which is a major plus.
As an open forum, this sites main focus was to manifest various problems around
campus as well as providing an opportunities for students to confess several things.
Several of these confessions are roommate related.
The UNCC Confessions page on Facebook is extremely popular among students,
including those enrolled in other colleges. It is quickly approaching 6,000 individual
"likes" and 10,000 anonymous confessions. However unorthodox, it was chosen as a
source because it gives a very wide scope of viewpoints from the exact target
demographic - college students - that we intend to discuss in our paper. It also allows us
to see how other students respond to these stories. By analyzing the roommate-related
confessions and their impressions, we are able to gather a clear understanding of both the
real-life problems associated with and the solutions for living in close proximity with
other people.
This source is very credible, as it is able to include relevant experiences about our
chosen topic from students at this university. Using this, we will be able to better
understand our topic and draw a stronger conclusion.