Annotated Bibliography Worksheet

1. Citation (ASA Style):

Bohon, Stephanie A., Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, and Bridget K. Gorman. 2006.
"College Aspirations and Expectations among Latino Adolescents in the United
States." Social Problems 53:207-225.

2. What is the primary research question or thesis of this article?

Using the status socialization theory, how are “aspirations” and “expectations” aspects of
this theory impact adoloescents of various Latino countries. Past research of “aspirations”
and expectations has been limited - focusing primarily on
black – white differences.

3. What are the characteristics of the population studied? How many

people, ages, genders, race/ethnicity/nationality, professions etc.?
How were these people selected?

The individuals involved in the study were Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican
adolescents. They were selected by a study done by Add-Health which is a
nationally representative study of American adolescents in grades 7 to
12 from 134 middle and high schools in 80 communities in 1994 and 1995.

4. What research methods was employed by the researchers? Was this

appropriate for the population and the research question? Were there
limitations to this method?

Sampling of schools was stratified by region, urban location, school type (public vs.
private), racial composition, and size. Data collection occurred in two steps. First, an
in-school questionnaire was administered to all students present in selected schools,
resulting in over 90,000 completed questionnaires. Second, a sub-sample of
students (and one parent or parentlike figure) was selected for in-depth interviews at
home. This sample was stratified within schools by sex and grade. All
questionnaires were in English. Over 80 percent of selected students participated.

The primary and very important limitation was that the interviews were conducted
only in English.
5. What were the primary findings of the research?

The author states “we find that heterogeneity matters; Latinos vary considerably
from whites in the strength of their college aspirations and expectations, with
Mexicans and Puerto Ricans having weaker aspirations and expectations and
Cubans having stronger. Furthermore, Mexicans’ and Puerto Ricans’ aspirations
and expectations differ from Cubans’.

6. Critique this article, discuss method, findings, analysis, writing style,

or other elements of the research project.

Further research must recognize the heterogeneity of the Latino population. Being
able to recognize the differences among the various Latino countries will help
focus testing, programs and educational opportunities. This research shows how
different Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico are in affecting their adolescents' college
“aspirations” and “expectations”.