Choosing a Research Topic
Name _____________________________ Date
__________________________________
1. Make a list
of questions you would be interested in investigating using the ecology protocols.
Example: What plants colonize wetlands after purple loosestrife
is controlled by beetles?
2. Of these questions, which seem the
most important and interesting? Pick
three:
1.
2.
3.
3. For each of the three questions you have chosen, think of how you might design a research project. Then fill out this form:
Potential
Questions
Question
|
Brief description
of research you might do to address this question |
What equipment and
supplies would you need? |
How long would it
take to carry out this project? |
Would fieldwork or
travel to field sites be required? |
|
Example: What plants colonize
wetlands after purple loosestrife is controlled by beetles? |
Conduct plot
sampling in sites where beetles have been released and compare to sites where
they were not released. |
Quadrat stakes for
making permanent plots. |
You would have to follow
the plots for several years after the beetles were released. |
Fieldwork is
required. Travel time to site is…hours. |
|
Question 1: |
|
|
|
|
|
Question 2: |
|
|
|
|
|
Question 3: |
|
|
|
|
4.
Looking over your questions, consider whether each project would be
feasible for you to carry out. Are the
equipment and supplies available? Do
you have enough time? Are there other
students or interested people available to help? Will you be able to do
whatever fieldwork is needed? Eliminate
any questions that do not seem feasible based on logistics such as these.
|
|
Would this project
be feasible? |
Why or why not? |
|
Example Project |
Yes No |
We have a site in
our county where purple loosestrife beetles were released 3 years ago and
other similar sites where they were not released. The park ranger where they
were released is willing to help us with the fieldwork. |
|
Project 1 |
Yes No |
|
|
Project 2 |
Yes No |
|
|
Project 3 |
Yes No |
|
5. Choose a project
you have decided is feasible and interesting, then continue on to the Interactive Research Planning Form #1 or
#2.