Welcome to Alyshia’s Research Project Blog!
On this blog, you will be able to see my slow and gradual progress of research detailing a certain topic (that I have yet to chose). The Research Project details the investigation and progress of my research , so please look forward to that 😀
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Initially, I had been thinking of many different musical industries to conduct my research on. The Western Pop Market was the first idea I had, before looking at Japanese Rock, Korean Pop and classical music. With these topics, I had similar ideas for all of them, such as promotion activities, musical characteristics and the record label. However, I found it quite difficult to find exactly what I wanted to research. As a result, I brainstormed a list of topics that were music-related, as I still wanted to do something that I was interested in. Among them, I had written down “Music Therapy”, and had decided that it would be an extremely interesting topic to do. Music is a passion of mine, as well as Medicine. So, I figured that having a research topic that encapsulated both my areas of interest was a good choice.
Upon deciding my new topic, I have conducted some light research about Musical Therapy. The first website I found was that of the Australian Music Therapy Association, where I gained information about what music therapy was, who it could help, as well as a list of certified music therapists across Australia. After this, I watched videos of music therapists detailing what their job was, and a few of their experiences with patients who music therapy was able to help. From these few videos, I became extremely interested in the topic, and due to that, I decided to make music therapy the focus of my research project.
Previously, the topic was: “How does organic farming affect the environment?”
After further research, I found that there were various amounts of positive things relating to organic farming and the environment. In fact, negative things about how organic farming affects the environment was minimal to non-existent. Thus, I have once again made a change (albeit small change) to the question. My question is now:
“How does organic farming positively affect the environment?”
Before starting the research project, a smaller, compressed version of it is to be completed. This involves the debate and research regarding organic food. The initial question relating to this topic was:
“What are the pros and cons of organic food?”
4 sources were analysed from different mediums, such as journalists, organisations and news sites. The things that were talked about in these sources were extremely extensive. However, there was a particular sub-topic addressed on multiple sources, and that was the relationship between organic food and the environment. Personally, the environment is something that I love, and am more interested in. Researching this topic would also narrow down my search. Therefore, the new research topic question is:
“How does organic farming affect the environment?”
There are many different topics that are able to be researched, such as a celebrity’s birthday, how your grandparents raised your parents and what supermarket sells strawberries the cheapest. On a daily basis, we conduct research. On a bigger scale, research is conducted by scientists, teachers, students and more, in order to extend previous knowledge or create new knowledge for the benefit of others. In order to know what they want to research, they must consider if it is worth researching. In my opinion, a topic is worth researching if it is:
Some topics that we thought were worth researching included:
However, I do believe that research can also be conducted that relates to personal hobbies, or something that greatly interests you. This research can be used to improve your understanding of your hobby. Although this research may not necessarily be as impactful, it can be interesting and fun.
Research can be defined as: The investigation of old knowledge or creation of new knowledge that can be used to conjure new concepts or enhance understandings. There are many different ways to conduct research due to different types of knowledge. There are 5 ways in which research can be grouped: Basic, Qualitative, Quantitative, Conceptual and Applied.
Basic Research: This type of research is used to find facts or information in order to improve on/strengthen an idea in order for further development.
Qualitative Research: Qualitative research is conducted in order to gain an understanding of a concept/opinions/ideas. This can be used to develop an idea for quantitative research
Quantitative Research: This research relates to measurements, meaning that the research is focused on the numerical/mathematical analysis of data.
Conceptual Research: This type of research is common amongst philosophers, as it uses abstract thinking rather than materialistic evidence. Conceptual research involves thoughts to create new ideas.
Applied Research: Applied research aims to improve or solve a practical problem. The research found in this area can be helpful for decision making.
There are a variety of accepted ways to conduct research because there are different types of knowledge. Research aims to consolidate or gain knowledge, and since there are different types of knowledge, there must be different types of research. By knowing what you want to research, you must know how to conduct this research in order for reliability and consistency. For example, you cannot research about the amount of pies sod at a bakery by using conceptual research. Instead of using conceptual research in this situation, quantitative research should be used. A more appropriate topic for conceptual research would be something that couldn’t be measured.
Adding onto the pie scenario, different types of research can be made in order to find ways to increase sales and profit. Qualitative research can be used to find out whether customers like the pies, or if they prefer pies in other bakeries. Applied research could be used in order to increase customer interest, whilst basic research can be used to improving how the pies taste. The reason why there are many different types of accepted research is because they can all be used in different scenarios or situations.
This is a class activity based on “Why We Must Read Outside Of Our Comfort Zone“.
CONNECT: Explain how you feel connected to something in this article.
The article explains that people’s attitude to something they disagree with has become less welcome. I can relate to this, even if I am not directly involved. On the internet, an unpopular opinion is often met with hostility. Well constructed view-points are often not met with the same well-constructed responses. Sometimes, a small misconception can cause many people to respond with anger, because on the internet, being anonymous seemingly gives people courage to respond rudely. Since people search articles that support their views, they are never exposed to the other side of the argument, even though these contrasting views can help them grow in their thinking.
Something that I never made the link towards was the fact that the internet will give you what you are looking for. Everything you search for on the internet in recorded, and used to calibrate recommended searches. When a person looks for articles to strengthen their argument, the internet will only give more articles that possess and discuss the same values. It narrows a person’s thinking because both sides to the argument are not considered. The youth of today’s society practically spends their time on the internet. Public places with physical articles such as libraries are not as common. Even at the library, a computer is more frequently used for research.
NOTICE: Explain something you notice in this article.
The article was very clear and concise about what it wanted to convey, and the author was obviously not attempting to create discourse. I noticed that the article was very open to the idea of having both sides to the argument, something that I agree with. If you have an opinion, you have the right to state it. However, the problem is when the internet clouds your judgement. The article explores the detrimental effects of the internet and provides a solution to the attitude of users. The internet can be extremely beneficial due to the simple size and amount of information it has. It suggests that people should read things out of their comfort zone to extend their thinking and provoke more engaging and well-thought discussions.