Hughes, R., Rose, A., Lozano, J. S., Garguilo, S., & Knight, D. (2022). A Model of Misconduct, Accusations, and Institution Response at US Colleges and Universities: Synthesis of the Literature and an Agenda for Future Research. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research: Volume 37, 457-517.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66959-1_1-1
Hughes et al. (2022) review the available literature from various research studies on various forms of misconduct in higher education but focus more on sexual misconduct and how it is addressed. The article describes various definitions of terms associated with sexual misconduct and comprehensively uses individual cases employing various statistics. This article is a valuable source because it focuses on adding information to what is already known concerning sexual misconduct in higher education. The general term “sexual misconduct” is coined in this article, although the authors describe various components of it. More importantly, the source analyzes cases of sexual misconduct from different perspectives, such as the victim who experienced one, the perpetrators’, the witnesses’ and the organizations.’
For this reason, all the stakeholders of higher education who are the intended audience can have a holistic understanding of the issue, which is essential in determining the best course of action. The authors of this article, led by Rodney Phillip Hughes, a professor of higher education at the University of West Virginia, have a long time experience in dealing with issues affecting higher education in America. Their work of extensive literature reviews in this article, therefore, becomes essential in supplementing the knowledge on sexual misconduct, a subject that is not widely known. Based on the fact that the article uses case-by-case analysis involving specific cases in Penn State University, University of Michigan, and the University of West Virginia, the article is one of the most essential and credible sources concerning the subject. Additionally, it is also one of the most recent peer-reviewed publications addressing sexual misconduct in higher education, which adds to its level of credibility.
Muehlenhard, C. L., Humphreys, T. P., Jozkowski, K. N., & Peterson, Z. D. (2016). The complexities of sexual consent among college students: A conceptual and empirical review. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4-5), 457-487. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1146651
The article by Muehlenhard et al. (2016) takes a deep analysis of the complexities that are associated with sexual misconduct in higher education, particularly in determining what “consent” in sexual terms really means and entails. The authors argue that determining sexual consent and where it starts is the primary source of controversies surrounding the issue, especially in the setting of college campuses, where the youthful activities of students make establishing consent even more challenging. It is also pointed out in the article that the issue of sexual misconduct on college campuses has gained widespread attention in recent years than it was several decades ago. This article is essential as a source of reference because it takes into account a specific component to research on, “consent,” which is singly the determinant of whether a sexual encounter is legal or illegal. The article also proves its comprehensiveness in addressing what consent is in the context of college campuses as definitions have been seen to change with time, and therefore, attempts to solve the “crisis of consent” by starting with the acceptable “I agree” phrase, which is already performative. I would argue that this article, having been peer-reviewed and considering the specific issues it selectively focuses on, proves to be one of the best reference sources for further research.
Streng, T. K., & Kamimura, A. (2015). Sexual Assault Prevention and Reporting on College Campuses in the US: A Review of Policies and Recommendations. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(3), 65-71. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1083737.pdf
Streng & Kamimura (2015) focus on sexual violence in higher education in the United States, which they claim to be among the most pressing issues in higher education today, and ironically, most cases still go under-reported. The authors assessed the existing frameworks and policies that universities and colleges use to combat sexual misconduct. They reported that most institutions lack clarity in establishing their countermeasures to sexual misconduct as they do not have explicit policies. Therefore, the article concludes that this reason plays a significant role in contributing to the lack of action that institutions exhibit in the context of sexual violence. This article is essential because the authors recommend various policies that higher education institutions could employ to address sexual misconduct to increase their effectiveness. It is also essential because it dwells on the federal policies under Title IX, which are responsible for sexual inappropriateness in higher education. Therefore, it makes a good source for reference. Additionally, I think the article was well researched according to the information the authors put under analysis and is therefore usable for future research.
Wood, L., Hoefer, S., Kammer-Kerwick, M., Parra-Cardona, J. R., & Busch-Armendariz, N. (2021). Sexual harassment at higher education institutions: Prevalence, risk, and extent. Journal of interpersonal violence, 36(9-10), 4520-4544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518791228
Wood et al. (2021) take a quantitative approach to addressing the issue of sexual misconduct on college campuses by focusing on specific statistics on the prevalence of these issues. Notably, the authors included sexual harassment, assault, rape, stalking, and sexual violence, among others. The authors in this article stand out because they provide a comprehensive discussion of the differences between sexual misconducts that students suffer from the faculty and those from peer perpetrators. This research sample was collected from 8 higher education institutions in the United States and included 16,758 students from diverse backgrounds. One of the essential findings of the article is that students were found to suffer more than 10% from peer-perpetrated sexual misconduct than they do from the faculty, which has been an under-researched phenomenon. This article, therefore, becomes a beneficial source of reference, especially when statistics are required to support or come up with various arguments concerning sexual misconduct on college campuses. The authors have an experienced background in issues of sexual misconduct, including the lead author, Leila Wood, who is the research assistant professor at the University of Texas, Institute of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assaults. The authors found out that white students suffer more from sexual misconduct than those from racial minorities, and victims are mostly female students. I think this article is highly credible given the authors’ background and the research method employed, survey research involving questionnaires, which generated specific and reliable data.
write