Use of Various Research Methods

                There are many different research methods available to use to aid in investigating various topics.  For example, a group of researchers could use experiments in a controlled environment to collect data on a particular subject or conduct individualized interviews to gather more in depth information about said subject.  Another tactic available to researchers is a poll of a target sample or a survey of some sorts.  This allows researchers to hit a wider sample of a demographic with the same material, even if that data isn’t quite as detailed as it would be if it were gathered through other methods.

                Experimentation on a group is often used for testing a particular situation on the group while also checking their results against a ‘control group’.  This control group wouldn’t be subjected to the conditions and would be in a generic set of opposing conditions.  This presents a set of data to the researchers that can be used as a reference point for the actual test subjects.  For example, one such experiment may be human trials of a new drug.  This drug has already passed various other tests and now needs to be tested on humans in a controlled set of conditions to determine if it is safe to distribute to the general population.  Participants are selected to fit the conditions the best and they may be split into several groups to test different conditions of the same experiment.  The ‘control group’ of this experiment may be given a placebo such as sugar pills.  This group wouldn’t be told that they don’t have the product and their mentality would be the same as those taking the drug.  This would allow the researchers to eliminate any psychosomatic (self-induced) effects of the drug.  This type of method is useful to test specific conditions of a situation.

                Another method of research is the use of a poll or a survey.  Polls are typically shorter than surveys and (in modern days) often take a very limited amount of time to complete and usually consist of clicking a button and pressing submit.  Surveys are more in depth and allow researchers to gather better data on a series of questions.  For my IMRaD paper on the factors that may influence cheating for ENGL 105-01, this is the method I used.  I typed up a survey that would analyze the various aspects of cheating in academics and the influence of grading on such inclinations and eventually culminated in the overall question of “Will the abolishment of grades result in the declination of cheating?”

                Since surveys are often biased and allow the test takers a certain amount of freedom to answer honestly (or dishonestly as the nature of human beings may be), interviews can help to fix the skewed data and to also gather even more in depth data on a subject.  These are often recorded to allow the interviewers the chance to review the tape and analyze it further.  These records also eliminate the need to write down the interviewee’s responses (which can often convey a sense of judgment to the interviewee).

                All of these methods are a valid way of collecting data, but each one is useful in its own way.  Experiments are useful for testing certain situations and gathering data from the reactions of the subjects.  Surveys are better used to gather the opinions of a large sample (from which the data can be analyzed and interpreted).  And interviews focus on the individual, focusing more on quality of the data rather than the quantity of it.

Engineers truly have no lives. No lives to speak of.

                Stress is a large part of life.  It has many detrimental effects, but not all of it is bad (nor is it the stress itself that is bad).  Some stress is beneficial to intelligent organisms.  I define stress as “any factor that upsets the balance of the physical body, mentality, or spirit of a sapient being”.  So things like hunger, thirst, and temperature differences all count as forms of stress because they don’t follow the being’s exact needs.  Stress is the catalyst that drives these beings to do what they do, and much of their lives can be traced back to stress in one form or another.

                For example, the urge to find entertainment (which is also a central motivator for sapient beings) is caused by stress.  This type of stress is the need for stimulation.  Whether this stimulation is verbal, social, physical, or mental, all sapient beings crave it.  We, as beings capable of gathering information from our senses and reacting to said information, desire to exercise these senses.  This motivation drives us to attempt new or novel things or simply to get up and go.

                But stress is usually referred to as being negative.  This form of stress causes the detrimental effects that we humans are so familiar with.  Stress gained in such mediums as the workplace, school, or family gatherings (Don’t say that family isn’t stressful.  We all know it is.) often result in frustration, emotional turbulence, and exhaustion.  These effects are those that result from the stress being handled badly, or by a person who doesn’t know how to handle that specific input efficiently.

                Stress initiates a form of the ‘fight or flight’ response in animals that often catalyzes an action to alleviate the pressure.  For instance if a being is hungry, then its body will let it know and the being will search for food to relieve the pain that empty stomachs can cause.  If these pressures are not taken care of, then the current stress can be added to which may result in an endless cycle.

                The biggest factor of stress in my life at the moment is schoolwork.  Schoolwork qualifies as a source of stress because it doesn’t align perfectly with the goals of my mind.  Although this is ironic because on weekends where I’ve got nothing to do I get depressed.  My mind is one such that requires constant stimulation, whether it is mental or physical.  I have to stay active in one form or the other in order to avoid such bouts of depression.  Of course nowadays, I’ve got more than enough work to keep me busy, which causes me the utmost amount of stress that I’ve experienced to date.  I’ve got several projects due in a few days, I get to write (or rant depending on your perspective) on here to fulfill my English requirements, and I’ve got tests to study for.

Well, I suppose that the phrase “Engineers have no lives” is truer than I originally thought.  Just goes to show how much I still have to learn!

Essay Formats

                There are various different types of essay formats that serve various purposes, from the rhetorical analysis essay to the IMRaD paper.  Each one serves its own purpose, being tailored to the liking of each field.  Rhetorical analyses are typically used in literature to discuss the purpose and value of various works whereas the IMRaD format allows quick and concise documentation of research for posterity.  Both formats can act as starting points for future essays to further develop their topics, albeit in a different way.

                The rhetorical analysis (in my experience) is a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of various rhetorical appeals on the selected audience.  They dig deep, delving through the surface in an attempt to discover some hidden meaning behind an author’s seemingly harmless words.  Sometimes this hidden meaning is more conspicuous than others, such as “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift (written in 1729).  This form of rhetoric (while not an analysis on the surface) is called a satire, which is defined to be “the use of wit to criticize faults in order to enact a change”.  The subheading of “A Modest Proposal” is “For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland; From Being a burden to Their Parents or Country, and; For Making Them Beneficial to The Public” after which it describes (in a very logical manner) an argument (which makes perfect sense) to sell the children of Ireland as food.  This proposal was written in a pamphlet which addressed the worsening conditions in Ireland at the time.

                To the casual reader, the idea of engaging in cannibalism in order to make the children of Ireland beneficial to the public (indeed, the idea of engaging in cannibalism at all) is simply disgusting.  Why would a man such as Jonathan Swift suggest that people eat other humans to better the living conditions of Ireland?  THIS is where the rhetorical analysis comes into play.  A cursory look over the essay in question reveals nothing but a recommendation for engaging in cannibalism.  But a more in depth look at it reveals Swift’s true purpose: to express his “disgust with the state of the nation” (www.sparknotes.com).  Without an analysis, Swift may have been seen as a madman condoning cannibalism in ‘civilized’ society.  Instead, the essay was viewed as good rhetoric.

                The IMRaD paper, the name standing for the structure of the paper itself (IntroductionàMethodsàResults à(and) Discussion), is a linear way of reporting results in a research paper.  This format flows smoothly from one section to another to report the findings in research and is thus often used as the format for the sciences.  This allows future researchers (who are doing research in the same area) to quickly determine whether or not that specific paper will be of use to them or not.

                I much prefer to use the IMRaD format, if purely for the reason that that’s the type of writing that I’m good at.  Select a topic, do the research, and report the findings in a coherent format optimized for future reference.  This kind of writing fits my mindset better than the rhetorical analysis because I’m a numbers kind of person rather than the kind of person who sits down with a book and begins to annotate it purely out of habit.  That would be the engineer in me talking, I suppose.

To be or not to be [a religion]?

                The latest paper that I wrote was a definitive argument disproving “Jediism” as a religion.  I disqualified it on the basis that it possessed no doctrine, no scripture, and no deity (three of the factors that I believe make a belief into a religion).  I particularly enjoyed writing it because it focused on a relatively controversial idea for which arguments could be made for either side.  One could argue that it isn’t a religion based on a multitude of views from it not possessing a unique set of followers to the belief not having some sort of worship of a deity.  But the argument could also be made that “Jediism” could qualify as a religion thanks to the massive amount of followers it has accumulated.

                In an event labeled the “Jedi Census Phenomenon” during 2001, voters were urged to label themselves as being ‘Jedi’ in the place of the normal religions or non-religions.  Many did, ranging from 37% (70,000 people as of 2011) of Australians to 21,000 people in Canada.  In fact, the number of people that voted ‘Jedi’ in Canada was a “rationale for making the 40-page long census form voluntary” (Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon).  This phenomenon spurred the creation of such sites as http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/, http://www.jedichurch.org/, and other such sites.

                I managed to identify the criteria mentioned above, and then disqualified Jediism as a religion based upon them.  I also provided an alternative category for Jediism to reside in.  It qualifies as a lifestyle on the basis that while it doesn’t have any deity, scripture, or doctrine, it does lay out guidelines for how to conduct oneself.  Quoted directly from www.templeofthejediorder.org, “Where there is hatred I shall bring love;  Where there is injury, pardon;  Where there is doubt, faith;  Where there is despair, hope;  Where there is darkness, light;  And where there is sadness, joy.”  These guidelines reminded me of the teachings of the pastor from Bullitsville Christian Church.  They showed themselves to me as a kind of Christianity which has been stripped of all things religious (the idea of an intelligent creator, the concept of “God”, Jesus as the Son of God, the Bible, and all teachings related to them).  Such stories as the “Good Samaritan” surfaced, making me think that this lifestyle may simply be the non-religious aspect of other religious denominations.  Like a pseudo religion or lifestyle for atheists who agree with such principles but not the subjects on faith, I suppose.

                This is not to say that Jediism CANNOT be practiced as a religion, but it doesn’t qualify as a religion according to technical terms.  Simply because a massive number of people describe themselves as religiously “Jedi” doesn’t mean that a new religion has been born.  Although there is a rather interesting converse to that:  we’ve all heard the phrase “majority rules”.  If Jediism took root and became as rooted as Christianity did, it might well become a religion.  After all, other such religions (such as Christianity) started in much the same way.

"Imagine my Su-priiiiiiiissssseeee"

              So today was the due date of the first “Major Paper” in the Honors English 105-01 class at the University of Louisville.  I wrote it in five hours, two of which were spent staring blankly at the cursor blinking on and off in Microsoft Word as I waited for some form of inspiration to strike.  Eventually, I thought of something to write and I began typing.  I managed to type out the required amount for the revision activity we did in class on the first of the month in two more hours following the first two.  I started it at 7pm and finished at 11pm.  It’s was just a regular night of homework for a sleepless college student who hasn’t learned the downside of procrastination yet and can only see the positives.

                As I typed, I can’t remember how many times I watched and re-watched the advertisements and studied the transcripts to find some hidden jewel that I could incorporate to make my normal boring writing style a bit more….appealing to my English teacher.  “Anything that would help my grade would be helpful” was my first thought.  The second and third thoughts were along the lines of “Geez, I’ll never get this done” and “God, I wish I’d have been born an English nerd instead of a science geek….would have made this so much easier”.

                I’m just glad that I endured the grueling hours of critical thinking and rhetorical analysis that came with two years of Advanced Placement English Language and Composition & AP English Literature and Composition.  During that class, I learned to hate the teacher as he constantly scarred my papers with bright red ink proclaiming the dreaded “SO WHAT????” turn that seems to be indicative of English courses everywhere.  We were on the standard grading scale for Advanced Placement tests and I NEVER scored above a six on any of the essays.  Don’t get me wrong.  A six was an excellent score but, for a former straight A student like myself, it was tantamount to failing everything that I stood for (good grades, a spotless record, and a tendency to be a stickler for the rules).  If I couldn’t write a decent paper, then what good could I do on the AP test?

                Eventually, I got through it and managed to get a seven on one of the prompts.  I was ecstatic, to say the least.  Apparently, going through that mental hell that exercised a part of my brain that I never wanted to touch had actually done some good.  And so I say thank you, Mr. Jeff Nienaber of William Henry Harrison High School.  Turns out your rigorous criteria actually improved me somehow.

                Imagine my surprise when I join the Honors English class and manage to get full credit on one of the first essays.  “A miracle!” I thought.  “It’ll never happen again.  I better enjoy it while it lasts.”  But who knows?  Perhaps I’ve gotten better at something I’m terrible at.  That IS the point of school, isn’t it?