P&O
How to’s…
No matter what type of research proposal is chosen it should ask these questions: What you plan to accomplish, why you want to do it and how you are going to do it (“Personal Meaning”, Wong). It should have supportive information that holds the paper together. The method chosen is important for the researcher to, to tell the audience on how you conducted the research. The proposal is not just about the quality of the research and writing, but it should also mention the “limitations and weaknesses of the proposed research” (Wong).
An outline is a structured preliminary account of a project. It allows for the writer/researcher to summarize their ideas and helps with where certain pieces of information go. According to Dr. Zeitz an outline should include 8 main “ingredients.” It should have a title, and should state the purpose of the research. Then it should transition into the introduction. This is where the writer will explain why this research is important (“Outline,” 2009). The Methodology should follow the introduction and it will be here where the researcher is identifying the method and procedures that were used in gathering the information. After stating the information that will be evaluated, then the researcher should analyze and disuse their ideas(“Outline,” 2009). The ideas should be backed with supportive evidence. Once the writer has been able to clearly explain and support their thoughts they can than conclude the research paper. This is where the answer will be summed up as well as the researcher’s findings. And last but not least is the References (“Outline,” 2009).
References
Wong, P.T.P. How to Write a Research Proposal, International Network on Personal Meaning. Retrieved January 31, 2010, from http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_how_to_write_P_Wong.htm
Zeitz, M. (2009, March 9). Outline for Research Paper. Retrieved February 3, 2010, from http://www.uni.edu/zeitz/seminar/assignments/semoutline.html
The Outline
Title: The “Green” House Affect: Trash-picking and the Green Movement?
I. Purpose
A. Personal Experiences combined with today’s view of the green lifestyle
II. Introduction
A. How has the current green movement altered social norms pertaining to the perceptions of trash-picking?
III. Body
A. The trends of the Green Movement
1. Alternative resources
2. Repurposing
3. Trash-picking
B. Today’s economy, going green saves money?
1. Lifestyle people are choosing
2. My experiences along with supportive evidence can give a new perspective on understanding the simplicities to the complexities of going green.
3. Does buying a new washer, save you money on water, and saves the polar bears? Or would fixing your current washer be better for the environment? (Just a thought need more evidence)
C. Research, reusing in the community
1. Instead of worrying about those “polar bears,” worry about how much you are wasting and change what you CAN.
D. Results will be used to support my hypothesis
1. Depends on the interviews with family
2. Depends on who answers my questions
E. How do people view trash-picking?
1. If people view the terms, trash-picking and repurposing, differently
2. Also how environmental awareness is viewed.
IV. Methodology
A. Primary Research
1. Interviews
a) Nuclear Family Members
2. Survey Questionnaire
a) People of different education levels and class levels
V. Analysis
A. The history of Environmental Awareness in the US
1. Who, What, Where, When
2. Where and why my house was built, when it was
B. The Green Movement Today
1. When did it start being green
2. Is it a trend
C. Trash-picking, dumpster-diving, is it normal?
1. Is it a class thing, some find it practical, some find it gross
2. Is repurposing “okay”
a) Does it vary among classes
b) Affect on a home
c) Who does it?
D. Alternative Energy Resources
1. Used in the US
2. Passive Solar Energy, a common term?
3. Cost efficient?
E. Going green is expensive
1. Does spending more on green products save money in the long run?
2. When it becomes cheaper to buy a new product, then fix the old, why not buy new?
F. I think that repurposing and trash-picking can be interchangeable terms
1. How does this affect my audience?
VI. Conclusions
A. Review the results
1. What evidence from the primary research fits best with my hypothesis
2. What are the weaknesses that I found and how it contradicts my initial idea.
The Proposal
Title: The “Green” House Affect: Trash-picking and the Green Movement?
“I’m not an environmentalist. I’m an Earth warrior,” (Darryl Cherney, Smithsonian,1990). My own personal experiences have formed my current views on environmentalism. The purpose of this project is to take my views and experiences of growing up in an environmentally friendly atmosphere to the new trend/ lifestyle of “going green.” The new green movement has brought around lots of new ideas. Including “green” houses according to Spivey green homes not only save money on gas and oil but have health benefits for the occupants (“Green Saves,” 2004). My house uses a common type of solar energy called passive solar. In 2008 Ghosal, Sujata, Tiwari, and Sahoo concluded, alternative energy resources used for heating like passive solar systems are more cost efficient (p.1). Since this type does not collect the sun’s rays for reusable energy, the house is power completely by eclectic. We also use a wood burning stove to heat the house during the winter (as you can see in blog 4 entry, finding wood is no problem). Another idea is repurposing objects around the house instead of tossing them. At my house this is how it goes, instead of throwing away a broken outdated chair, just fix it, repaint it and use it in a different room. I feel that this research is very appropriate for today’s economy and how “going green” is now become a lifestyle so many are now choosing. According to Pesantes (2009), there are other reasons why people are dumpster diving besides the recession (“Artists and entrepreneurs”). My experiences along with supportive evidence can give a new perspective on the simplicities to the complexities of an eco-friendly lifestyle.
This is the fireplace in the living room of the house, all of the stones that surround the fire are from a house that was burnt down. In some places it is visible to see the carbon stained on the stones from the house fire.
For my primary research I am going to use both interviews and survey questionnaires. The interviews are going to be from my nuclear family members. Their experiences will be the main part of my primary research, I feel that interviewing my father, who built the house, and why he did what he did, will be the best place to start. This is the backbone of my idea and for the project to turn out personal, that interview should be the backbone of my research. For the other family members I would like to understand how they view themselves in relation to the house, and to see if they are environmentally friendly in another aspects other their lives. As for the questionnaire I would like to ask people with different education and class levels to see how they view trash-picking. My research will be important for widening ideas of reusing objects and localizing the big picture of saving the planet. But first I need to find out how others view the green trend’s link to the economy, before I can jump to any assumptions. I do hope that people view trash-picking in a negative way, but repurposing objects in a positive practical light. It would validate my point, and hopefully my audience will then realize the similarities between the terms I am asking, and allow for me to express my personal experience with environmental awareness. I want to stress the different class levels, because seeing how people view trash-picking, and what that word brings to mind, will not only help in understanding this trend but will also help me to clarify my audience. For the people who will partake in the survey, I would like to find out if they do things that are considered green.
Since I have not done any actual primary research yet, I feel that my assumptions are the starting point of my research and what I am expecting from this project. I realize that certain words trigger different responses from everyone, so throughout my research I am going to ask different people of how they view different situations; these questions are going to come from my assumptions. With that research I will then have new assumptions to ask myself, why is “going green” a popular trend now? Does repurposing objects vary among social classes? Is it just seen as an act that the homeless do? How did repurposing affect my home? Does spending more money now on green products save money in the long run? When an object becomes cheaper to buy new, then replace a part, why not buy the new one? Do people in the US find these two terms (trash picking and repurposing) as well as others to mean the same thing? How can using the other affect the view of the audience? I hope by the time I need to start concluding the project I end up with more answers than questions, but I will just have to wait and see.
After reviewing my results of the interviews and questionnaires I will gather the evidence that fits best with my research topic. I am hoping to understand and will be able to support my original question, clearly. I will like to conclude my findings with strong supportive evidence. I will also show the results that do not quite match with what I was looking for to show where the weaknesses in my piece are.
References
Cherney, D. (1990, April). Smithsonian. The Quote Garden. Retrieved February 10, 2010, from http://www.quotegarden.com/environment.html
M.K.Ghosal, Sujata Nayak, G.N.Tiwari, N.Sahoo. (2008, January). Modeling and Experimental Study for Winter Performance of an Earth to Air Heat Exchanger. Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR Ejournal, 10, 1-14. Manuscript EE 07 012.Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www.cigrjournal.org/index.php/Ejounral/article/view/1008
Pesantes, E. (2009, March 29). Artists and entrepreneurs race to trash bins to search for useful items: It’s not just the desperate? Artists and peddlers also search for goods. South Florida Sun-Sentinel, State and regional news. LexisNexis database. Retrieved February 16, 2010, from http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T8580975585&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T8580975593&cisb=22_T8580975592&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=222065&docNo=17
Spivey, A. (2004, April). Sustainable Development. Going Green Saves Over Time. Environmental Health Perspectives, 112(5), A276. Retrieved February 7, 2010 from JSTOR database.
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