The Thompson Handbook discusses the different effective ways to do research and ideas to consider. After reading Chapter 14 in the Thompson Handbook, I realize some methods that will be resourcefully to keep in mind during our research process, specifically considering elements and potential logistics.
Our group decided to do our white paper on the topic of conserving energy and “going green.” Knowing who our audience is going to be is the most important factor in our project. In focusing on our subject we will look at considering the elements with our topic. How long has it been an issue? Is money part of the problem? Where and when does the problem occur? Specifically, we want consider the logistics of our potential research. Another idea the book suggests involves finding background information to help make a better conclusive research. I thought these were vital things to consider while conducting our research. With some of these questions in mind we are going plan on doing research on these suggestion on our topic. One of the positive things about our topics/solutions is the large amount of creditable resourceful website out there to find the information that we need. We are also going to analysis trends between past and present with expert predictions on conserving energy. Since our topic is conserving energy we’ll research annual savings of monthly bills for switching off your lights, unplugging unnecessary electrical equipment and using cold water/hang your clothes to dry. We will primary look at utility companies for statistics on energy consumption. There is also some relevant information out there from government agencies and the EPA on this topic. In addition we will look at the manufacturers of the compact florescent bulbs. Furthermore, we will find a lot of our research searching Google to find more relative information.
Green
I agree that there is an extremely large data base of credible sources for green technologies. This topic is so trendy/important right now that it’s almost hard to surf the net without seeing something about anything green. You make a good point on mentioning the gubment (government?) and the EPA as sources for information. These are probably the most credible sources for information, since their main goal is accurate public knowledge, at least most of the time.
I also like how you mentioned capturing the right audience. For example, some people would like to save money on energy costs or be more friendly to the planet, but they don’t know where to start. This would be an audience that would require research much different than an audience who is already eco-friendly, i.e. more basic and cost effective.
Audience v. Problem
Energy Seems Popular
Energy seems to be a very popular subject for this particular project. But it is no surprise to me that so many are choosing it for their topic. In the same respect, you are right. There are a countless amount of opportunities to find research resources. I think it is important to utilize the online researching that The Thompson Handbook suggested. The internet holds an endless amount of information on the energy topic. But more importantly, the internet offers the most recent news on the subject. Because energy is a topic that is rapidly growing in our generation, it is important to have accurate data in our white papers.
Wide range
I find it very interesting as well. However I think what is even more interesting is the fact that although there are multiple groups researching one main topic, green/renewable energy currently has so many new and different ideas/sources/topics that no one group is doing the same thing. I look forward to reading about all the different green options that people find.
Andy
Popular topic
I though it was interesting that so many groups (including mine) chose to do something with green technology. We ended up choosing to go in a different direction. In the discussion about starting up a research project, TH did mention avoiding topics that might be popular or even cliche. It's definitely worth considering, because if everyone does a similar project, its harder to do a stand-out job.
it's the cool topic
I think a lot of the groups pick green technology for numerous of reasons. It’s clear that with this new growing trend in our generation, there will be a large amount of creditable resourceful information out there for us to gather. You can easily find them by going to energy conservation manufactory product or government agencies. Some people might of pick this topic as well due to a high personal interest level as well. If you have an interest in the topic that you are conducting research in you’ll be able gather more information from it. This will help solve common related problem with procrastination.