Transcript Geog. 4800 - University of North Texas

I. Research Fundamentals
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Q: Which of the following is a researcher?
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
A: All of them! A researcher is someone who has
learned not only how to find information, but how to
evaluate it, and report it clearly and accurately.
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
What is research?
• Broadly:
– Gathering information
to answer a question
that solves a problem
– Helps us break free
from ignorance,
prejudice, and the
many half-baked ideas
that are floating around
our civil discourse
– New knowledge,
discoveries
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
What’s the advantage for you?
• Helps you interpret what you
read
• Facts versus interpretation
of facts
• Accurately judge the
research of others
• Must experience the messy
and difficult reality of doing
research before you can
judge the quality of other
research
» Assumptions
» Limitations
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Research = new knowledge
– Depends on what questions you ask
– Your assumptions may influence the
type of questions you might ask
• For example, the nature of poverty
– People’s own fault or a structural reality of
capitalism
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Knowledge is dependent upon
– Quality of research
– Accuracy of reporting
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Reality of Research
• Not like learning to ride
a bike!
– Challenging, but
rewarding
• Basic principles remain
the same
– Careful, accurate,
and honest
• Constantly rethink how
you do it
– Follows a crooked
path
» Unexpected turns
» Blind alleys
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Geographical Research
• Geography: The science of space and place at/near
the earth’s surface
– Most geographical research problems address in some
fashion
• Variations over space
• Places
– Characteristics
– Human/environment interaction
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Theme 1: Location
– Absolute and relative
location
– Site
– Situation
– Cognitive (mental
mapping)
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Theme 2: Place
– Places
– Characteristics
• That give meaning and
character and which
distinguish them from
other places on earth
– Interdependence
– Sites of innovation
– Sites of resistance
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Theme 3: Human/environment interaction
• Means different things
to different people
– Dependent upon
• Cultural backgrounds
• Technological resources
– Examine effects
• Positive and negative
interaction
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Theme 4: Movement
• People interact with
other people, places,
and things
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Complementarity
Transferability
Intervening opportunity
Spatial diffusion
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Theme 5: Regions
• Formal and functional
– Defined by certain
unifying characteristics
– How do regions change
over time?
– Landscapes
• Cultural, symbolic
– Sense of place
– Globalization and
regions/places
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Theme 6: Scale
• Scale
– Local, regional, national,
global
– Materialization of realworld processes
• The tangible
partitioning of space
within which life occurs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=play
er_embedded&v=AIqC79WrpKg
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Examples of basic geographic questions (Slater, 1982)
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Where is it?
Where does it occur?
What is there?
Why is it there?
Why is it not elsewhere?
What could be there?
Could it be elsewhere?
How much is there at that
location?
– Why is it there rather than
anywhere else?
– How far does it extend
already?
– Why does it take a particular
form or structure that it has?
– Is there regularity in its
distribution?
– What is the nature of that
regularity?
– Why should the spatial
distributional pattern exhibit
regularity?
– Where is it in relation to
others of the same kind?
– What kind of distribution
does it make?
– Is it found throughout the
world?
– Is it universal?
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Examples of basic geographic questions (cont.)
– Where are its limits?
– What are the nature of
those limits?
– Why do those limits
constrain its distribution?
– What else is there spatially
associated with that
phenomenon?
– Do these things usually
occur together in the same
places?
– Why should they be
spatially associated?
– Is it linked to other things?
– Has it always been there?
– When did it first emerge or
become obvious?
– How has it changed
spatially (through time)?
– What factors have
influenced its spread?
– Why has it spread or
diffused in this particular
way?
– What geographic factors
have constrained its
spread?
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/world/roadto-rio/satellite-photos-urbansprawl/index.html
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Starting Your Project
• How do I begin?
– What aspect(s) of geography do you find interesting?
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Human geography?
Physical geography?
Which courses did you like the most?
Which subjects in those courses did you like the most?
What aspects of those subjects did you find intriguing?
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Starting Your Project (cont.)
– What would you like to know more about?
– Where would you like to contribute knowledge?
– Is there a problem you would like to solve?
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Okay, I have an idea. What’s next?
• Tell me your idea (tentative topic)
• Sooner rather than later
• Develop it during the semester
• Keep me posted of developments
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Okay, I have an idea. What’s next? (cont.)
• Discuss/refine your idea by meeting with
your geography professors
• They want to help you!
• www.geography.unt.edu
• Devise a research plan!
• Often starts out as a skeleton structure
• Sometimes an idea in your head
• Be flexible, expect change
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Okay, I have an idea. What’s next? (cont.)
• Keep in mind the end product, a formal written research
proposal (prospectus):
• Title (describes the work area)
• Introduction and problem statement
• What the work is about
• Motivation
• Research question
• Objective(s)
• Background/literature review (related work and results)
• Methods (data collection, steps to address problem)
• Conclusions (expected benefits, outcomes, deliverables)
• References
http://search.proquest.com/pqdtft/index
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Okay, I have an idea. What’s next? (cont.)
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/res-pro.doc
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Who are you writing for?
– You have to know this before you begin!
• The audience for a prospectus is the reader who will
determine whether or not the research project should be
undertaken
– Examples: professor, research committee, graduate degree
committee, funding agency, company management,
government agency
– You adopt the role of someone who knows, and the reader
needs to know
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Who are you writing for? (cont.)
– Help us understand something better than our current
understanding
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Be objective, rigorous, logical
Provide supporting evidence, describe how you collect it
Use accurate terminology and reliable sources
Don’t inundate us with facts
– May help solve concrete problems
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Reasons for writing a research prospectus
– To remember or clarify information you might otherwise
forget or confuse
• Take notes (and references, including page numbers) when
you are gathering information
– To understand
• To see the larger picture
– When you arrange and rearrange your arguments, results,
literature, and so on, you are constructing a logical argument
that makes sense in your mind
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Reasons for writing a research prospectus
(cont.)
– To test your thinking
• Most of us believe our ideas are more compelling in the dark
of our minds than they turn out to be in the cold light of
print
– Ultimately, to share it with others, such as funding
agencies
• Pertinent to most geography careers
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Writing formally
• The formal rules of writing research proposals/reports
exist for a reason:
– They help us to think more clearly about our own work and the
work of others, and they embody the shared values of a
research community
– Hard to learn at first, but ultimately frees your mind to think in
a greater number of ways
• Makes your writing clearer
– Have I evaluated my evidence?
– Why do I think this data/argument/statistical technique is
relevant?
– What ideas have I considered but rejected and why?
– Why did I choose this framework?
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Some writing tips
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Convey interest, relevance
Be objective
Use small words
Avoid fancy words
No typos, grammatical problems, or spelling errors
Avoid redundant sentence structure
Avoid excessive use of acronyms
I. Research Fundamentals (cont.)
Some writing tips (cont.)
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Avoid lengthy equations without explanatory text
Avoid offensive language
Write in small sentences, be clear and concise
Write in small paragraphs, but more than one sentence per
paragraph
• Generally, a paragraph contains at most one idea or one
piece of an idea
• If you don’t understand what you have written, nobody else
will either
• Think about what you are saying
– It can sound fancy and still be nonsense!
– Read what you have actually written, not what you think you have
written!
Example Research Projects
Example Research Projects (cont.)
1. Student examples
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-wshd.pdf
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-nar.pdf
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-bee.pdf
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-lg.pdf
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-fp.pdf
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-gl.pdf
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-hml.pdf
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/st-bgb.pdf
Example Research Projects (cont.)
2. Water resources in rural Jamaica
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/ex-jam.pptx
Example Research Projects (cont.)
3. Irrigation ponds in central Bolivia
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/ex-boliv.pptx
Example Research Projects (cont.)
4. Constructed wetlands in Grand Prairie
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/ex-wtld.pptx
Example Research Projects (cont.)
5. Environmental effects of illegal immigration in
southern California
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/ex-immi.pdf
Example Research Projects (cont.)
6. Groundwater impacts of oil/gas wells in
southeastern Texas
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/ex-gc.pptx
Example Research Projects (cont.)
7. Tornado risk in Texas
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/ex-torna.pdf
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Find a topic that is doable
• Question that topic until you find a question that
catches your interest
– And is answerable!
– And has not already been addressed in the literature
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Figure out what evidence you will need to support
your answer
– If the evidence points in this direction, then it means…
– If the evidence points in another direction, then it
means…
• Determine where you can find those data
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• List topics that interest you
– Go to the library, www.library.unt.edu
• Read scientific journals
– Progress in Human Geography
– Progress in Physical Geography
– http://geography.about.com/od/studygeography/a/geojournal
s.htm
– Internet
• General search engines (Google)
– Not all sources are credible!
• Journal search engines (Web of Science)
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Read strategically!
– Skim, skim, skim (titles, abstracts) until you find a good
piece of work that interests you
• Then read a little more slowly (and take notes)
• Ask yourself, “How can this article help me develop my
research proposal?”
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• A topic is too broad if you can say it in four or five
words!
– Bad examples: climate change, sustainable development,
urbanization
– Better examples:
• Conflict between economic development and green space
preservation in Dallas
• An analysis of pollen in lake sediment in Lake Superior over
the last 5,000 years
• The role of variation in land prices and the extent of urban
sprawl in cities in the American Southwest: A case study of
Tucson
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Use “action words” (nouns derived from verbs
expressing actions or relationships)
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Conflict
Description
Contribution
Developing
Changed
Role of
Impact of
Causes of
Influence of
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Develop a specific (focused) question with at least
one action word
– No specific question = no specific answer
– What, where, and how
• Particularly how
– How did this particular geographic phenomenon come into
place?
– How has this place, phenomenon changed over time?
» Role of rail transportation in emergence and growth of the U.S.
system of cities in the 19th century
» Role of the Internet in the diffusion of branch plant
manufacturing or financial services
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Consider the relationship between your specific
question and wider society
– Role of rail transportation in emergence and growth of the
U.S. system of cities in the 19th century
• Via a case study of the Union Pacific Railroad expansion
between 1850 and 1880 in the American Southwest
– How is your topic grouped into kinds (regions)?
• What is the extent of the Mormon cultural region?
– To what extent is the Mormon cultural region expanding in
Northern Arizona?
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Ask questions derived from the literature
• Determine what issues are being debated
• Many articles finish with a paragraph or two on
“future questions”
• Many literature reviews will highlight areas of
contention
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Evaluate your questions
– Avoid:
• Questions that can be answered by simply looking up
information on settled facts
» Did railroads have an impact on settlement hierarchy in the 19th
century?
• Questions where the answers would be purely speculative
» How did 19th century farmers in the southwest perceive
urbanization in the northeast?
• Questions where the answers are dead ends
» How many cats slept in barns as opposed to in farm houses in
19th century U.S.?
• Questions you aren’t qualified to answer, or that can’t be
answered in timely fashion with available resources
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Consider the boundaries of your study area
– Spatial and temporal dimensions
– Political versus physical boundaries
– Level of detail
• A smaller study area affords more detail (for example, a
watershed)
• A larger study area dictates less detail (for example, a
continent)
– Consider logistics, advantages of “nearby” study area
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Ask yourself why your study is important
• Curiosity, well okay for a start
• How can it advance knowledge or benefit society?
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Test possible topics:
– Step 1. Name your topic
• I am trying to learn about (working on, studying)...
– Step 2. Add an indirect question
• Because I want to find out who/what/where/when/why...
– Step 3. Answer, “So what?”
• In order to help my reader understand...
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Exercise 1. Problem Statement and Methods
Outline
• Write a one-page introduction to your research problem.
This statement should describe what you are researching
and its significance. The statement should be well written,
clear, and concise. It should also include four to six
references that motivate your study.
• On a second page, outline the methodology you have in
mind. State exactly what kinds of data you will collect and
how the data will be analyzed.
• You may revise your problem statement and methods in
your prospectus.
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
• Pure and applied research
• Pure:
– When the solution to a problem does not bear on any
practical situation in the world
• Only improves the understanding of a community of
researchers
• Applied:
– When the solution to a problem has practical
consequences for society
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Browsing sources
• Familiarity with pertinent literature is very important
– Don’t “reinvent the wheel”
• Use reliable sources, especially scientific journal articles
– Having undergone peer review
• Use current sources
• Have a search plan
– Keyword searches on a journal search engine (Ingenta)
– Keyword searches on the Internet (consider reliability)
– Keyword searches at www.library.unt.edu (books, monographs,
government documents)
– Personal communication with experts (use sparingly)
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Browsing sources (cont.)
• Scan for relevance, continue reading as appropriate
– Be selective
– Do not download/copy every article that seems remotely
related to your topic and plan on reading it later
– Make good use of figures and tables
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Using sources
• To spark an interest
• To establish what related work has already been
done (literature review)
• To find a gap in the literature (that motivates your
study)
• To find a weakness/problem (perhaps an
oversimplification, misinterpretation, or flawed
argument) that motivates your study
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Using sources (cont.)
• To support your proposed method(s)
– Using a well-established statistical test or GIS routine
• To access data that you will analyze
– Consider reliability
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Using sources (cont.)
• Record complete bibliographical data
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Author
Title
Editors
Edition
Volume
Place published
Publisher
Date published
Page numbers
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Using sources (cont.)
• Cite last name(s), year of publication in text; put
complete citation in reference section
– Use PG format: www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/pg-styl.pdf
• Generally, paraphrase rather than quote verbatim
– Quotation marks around direct quotes
– Be careful about how you state what an author argued or
concluded (scope and confidence)
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Using sources (cont.)
• Do not rely too heavily on one source
– Provide balance, especially for contentious subjects
• Use primary (original) versus secondary sources
• Read useful sources more carefully and take notes
(annotations)
II. Asking Questions, Finding Answers (cont.)
Exercise 2. Complete reference list
• Provide a list of references you plan on citing in
your prospectus. For each reference, indicate the
section(s) of the prospectus to which it likely
applies:
– Introduction (motivates your study)
– Background (previous work of general importance)
– Methods (established methodology that you will utilize)
• Your list should follow PG format and include at
least 20 entries, of which at least 15 should be
journal articles.
III. Making Good Arguments
III. Making Good Arguments (cont.)
• Often made in results/discussion section of a
research report (journal article)
• Although you aren’t writing a research report, in
your proposal you have an opportunity to argue
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Gaps in literature
Significance of problem
Viability of your approach
Significance of preliminary results (if any) or expected
outcomes
• Preliminary results may strengthen the prospectus
III. Making Good Arguments (cont.)
• Stay organized, maintain a logical flow with
supporting evidence (facts, data)
• It’s like a conversation
– Imagine your reader asking questions and posing
alternative explanations
• Other causes
• Counter-examples
• Other definitions
– Acknowledge alternatives and respond to them
III. Making Good Arguments (cont.)
• Have a tentative answer (hypothesis) to your
research question as you proceed, but be open and
objective
• Acknowledge limitations of your argument
– Demonstrates openness and honesty
• Report evidence accurately
• Provide sufficient, representative evidence
• Be as precise as possible
IV. Drafting and Methods
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Drafting
• No single drafting approach suits everyone, but it’s
practically impossible to do it in one iteration
• Get your ideas on paper (or the computer), even if in
rough form
• Break it into sections and assemble phrases in each
section (outlining)
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Introduction
Background
Methods
Conclusions
References
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Drafting (cont.)
• Try an iterative approach; in each iteration, finetune some aspect of the document
• Think like the reader as you work toward a final
draft
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Drafting (cont.)
• Data are the key element of a research project
– You may collect your own data, or get it from an existing
source (such as a government agency)
– Collecting your own data often takes more time, effort,
and resources, but you have more quality control and are
generating new information (that ultimately should be
available to the scientific community)
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Drafting (cont.)
• Data often portrayed in tables and figures (maps,
photographs, charts, plots)
– Base maps portray limits of study area
• Topographic, political, aerial photos, satellite imagery
• Scale and north arrow
– Short captions for tables and figures
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Drafting (cont.)
– Large fonts, concise (avoid irrelevant information)
– Tables when precise numbers are important; figures to
show summaries or trends
– In the text, let the reader know what to look for in the
table or figure
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Drafting (cont.)
• Examples of tables and figures
• www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/ex-immi.pdf
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Methods
• At universities or other large organizations,
research projects often require approval from an
institutional review board, especially when
working with animals or humans (including survey
research)
– http://research.unt.edu/faculty-resources/researchintegrity-and-compliance/use-of-humans-in-research
• In this class you aren’t completing a project, but
proposing one
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Methods
• Projects may involve surveys; low response rate is
an important consideration
– Dillman method for mail survey’s achieves high response rates (~80%)
– Convince people that a problem exists, that is important to them, and that their help
is needed to find a solution
– Send a personalized, advance-notice letter informing them that they will be receiving
a questionnaire and identifying the purpose and importance of the survey
– Approximately one week later, send a cover letter with instructions, the
questionnaire with return postage, and a postcard with return postage to verify their
reply and request a summary of results
– Approximately one week later, send a follow-up postcard to all members, thanking
those who already responded and requesting a response from those who have not
responded
– Approximately two weeks later, send a cover letter, questionnaire, and return
postcard to those who have not responded
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Methods (cont.)
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/PHRP.pdf
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Methods (cont.)
• Representative sample of population
– As many as possible given available resources
– Case-specific (review your GEOG 3190 notes)
– Very generally, at least 30 observations
• If the population is less than 30, use all of it
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Methods (cont.)
• Different sampling strategies
– Random
• Each individual (object, household, person) has equal
chance of being selected; assign # to each member and
use random number table
– http://www.random.org/sequences/
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Methods (cont.)
• Stratified random
– Break list into subsets on basis of some characteristic
– Same proportion for each subset, or use
disproportionate if some subset(s) more important
• Cluster area
– Avoid all samples from one small area
– Each subunit of geographic region drawn randomly
– All observations used in each subunit
IV. Drafting and Methods (cont.)
Methods (cont.)
• Okay to interpret data visually
• But also apply quantitative measures, statistical
tests for objectivity
V. Ethics
V. Ethics (cont.)
• Respect opinions and rights of others
• Don’t spread rumors or make unfounded
accusations against others
• Don’t discriminate against or harass others
• Give credit for ideas and contributions of others
• Be fair when evaluating the work of others
V. Ethics (cont.)
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Don’t plagiarize
Don’t distort opposing views
Don’t invent or fudge data
Don’t damage your field site or its inhabitants
Don’t destroy data or conceal sources
Do distribute copies of your report
Do adhere to regulations of funding agencies
Tips for PowerPoint Presentations
Tips for PowerPoint Presentations (cont.)
• www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/pptgdl.pptx
Tips for PowerPoint Presentations (cont.)
• Your presentation should contain only these
sections
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Project title and your name (1 text slide)
Introduction/problem statement (2 text slides)
Background/literature review (1-2 text slides)
Methods (1-2 text slides)
Conclusion (1 text slide)
• Cite selected references (Jones, 2009) in context,
but exclude a bibliography
Tips for PowerPoint Presentations (cont.)
• Text slides should contain bullet points and may
include photos or non-distracting background
• You should also include non-text slides, such as
photos, maps, and charts
• The total number of slides should not exceed 25
Tips for PowerPoint Presentations (cont.)
• Presentations should be 15 minutes, with an
additional 5 minutes for questions and comments
• Presentation grading rubric
– www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/prbr.docx
• Incorporate any feedback on your presentation
into your prospectus
www.geog.unt.edu/~hudak/examplepres.pptx