My topic for my research paper is about the state of Texas providing in-state tuition to illegal aliens. I've located a scholarly source that I can use for my paper. The article is entitled 'Undocumented College Students, Taxation, and Financial Aid: A Technical Note." I believe this article to be a scholary scource because it was published in The Review of Higher Education which is an academic journal. The publisher is Johns Hopkins University Press which sounds official. The author Michael A. Olivas is a law professor from the University of Houston. The contents of the article does not seem to be addressed for a general audience. The typical audience seems to be other law professors or students. Thus all of these factors lead me to conclude that this is a scholary source.
The article begins with how the federal government treats the issue of undocumented college students. In the case of Plyler v. Doe, the US Supreme Court ruled that each state has the power to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Each state may set up it's own standards that determines whether an illegal immigrant can qualify for in-state tuition.
The article goes on to provide examples of state cases that challenged a state's provisions regarding the issue. Some cases such as Merten v. Doe invovled plaintiffs that challenged Virginia's refusal of granting undocumented students in-state tuition. Other cases such as Day v. Sibelius challenged the laws that granted in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. In those times the cases were dropped or ruled in favor of the state. The point that the author is trying to make is that the states have the right determine whether or not to grant in-state tuition to undocumented children.
The author then goes on to talks about federal action such as the failed attempts to get the DREAM act passed, which will provide a path for citizenship to undocumented students. He also brings up the issue of financial aid and the complexity of state tax laws. He finally challenges the categories of resident and non-resident aliens as being to limiting because illegal immigrants don't fall into either categories.
The purpose of the article seems to be educating people regarding this little known issue. The author appeals to the reader's logos by providing factual information to establish his point. His point being that more attention should be brought upon this issue. Overall the author writes an effective and convincing article.
I noticed that you used the fact that the author was a professor as an argument for the article being scholarly. I also used this point, but seeing it again made me wonder if professors ever write pieces that people just assume are scholarly due to their position. Are they obligated to write articles that are reliable? Due to their higher education do they fell that it is their duty to write scholarly papers?
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point. We shouldn't automatically assume an article written by a professor is reliable. But the only way for me to verify what he's written is valid is to look up the cases he's discussed in the article and to double check his sources. That would take up too much time for myself or the average person. That is why scholarly articles have to be peer reviewed, other professors who have the knowledge and expertise can verify the contents of the article. I should have checked to see if the article was peer reviewed before making the claim that it was scholarly.
DeleteYes - peer review is key. Professors may engage in other forms of writing, so the PhD alone isn't sufficient. I know some scholars who have authored "coffee table" books on local history and others who have contributed op-ed pieces to newspapers. Neither of these would be considered scholarly despite the fact that they were authored by PhDs.
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