Research Preliminaries Essay Example for Free

Research Preliminaries Essay This course is a brief overview about research design that is intended to cover the basics of designing and implementing a scientific study. Although this course will address every step of the research process, it is by no means exhaustive and is no substitute for a college level course in research methodology, nor is it a substitute for an experienced research advisor. Choosing a Topic For a researcher to choose a topic for a project, it is important to consider a broad area of inquiry and interest. This may be as broad as â€Å"global eye health† or â€Å"personality psychology,† but it should be an area that is of interest to the researcher. However, a broad area is useful only at the beginning of a research plan. Within a broader topic of inquiry, each researcher must begin narrowing the field into a few subtopics that are of greater specificity and detail. For example, a researcher may be interested in â€Å"global eye health,† but could focus more specifically on â€Å"proper eye care and how it affects individuals.† Although this topic is still too broad for a research project, it is more focused and can be further specified into a coherent project. Literature Review The literature review should be conducted early in the research process, directly after you choose a topic. A literature review can bring clarity and focus to your research problem and broaden your knowledge base in your research area. The literature review is crucial because an important responsibility in research is to add to a body of knowledge and to compare your findings with others. The procedure is simple: search the literature in your area of interest, review the selected studies, and develop a theoretical framework for your own study \What makes a good research question? Not all research questions are good ones—in other words, not all questions can be answered through qualitative and quantitative research methodology. A good research question needs to: 1. â€Å"Make sense†: In other words, you must clearly define your terms using known definitions outlined in the literature. For example, a poor research question would be: How do people’s lives improve after surgery? Not only does this research question fail to specify the study population, it contains the vague term â€Å"improve†. The researcher must specify what he/she means by this term—does it involve a physical improvement or rather an improvement in mental state? The more specific your research question, the better. 2. Address an important and relevant issue: Scientific research is done to increase knowledge, not simply for a single researcher’s personal satisfaction. Whatever question the researcher sets out to solve must have some beneficial implications. A good research question will also always have relevance to the time, place, and population of the study. Not already have been done: A good research study will be novel. This means that there will be some new aspect of the study that has never before been examined. In fact, not only is replication a good way to get a research methodology, it is how science is supposed to advance knowledge. When replicating a pervious study, it is best to add or change one or two things to increase the novelty of the research. 3. Be â€Å"operationalizable†: Oftentimes, beginning researchers pose questions that cannot be operationalized, or assessed methodologically with research instruments. From the example above, the idea of life improvement could be operationalized by a Quality of Life survey—a well known and validated research tool. In general, the more abstract the idea, the harder it is to operationalize. 4. Be within a reasonable scope: A good research project will be manageable in depth and breadth. The scope will depend on the amount of time and the availability of resources you have for your study. In general, the more focused the research question the more likely it will be a successful project. For example, a study that seeks to identify the prevalence eye disease in a specific village is more likely to succeed than a comparable study that seeks to identify eye disease prevalence in the world population. Qualitative and Quantitative Studies Not all research projects require study measures. Some research simply involves observing the results of events in the field and drawing conclusions based on a theoretical framework. Others may involve analyzing data from clinics or other institutions, using statistics and reasoning to find patterns that may have important implications. However, many projects involve direct contact with participants, using an operationalized definition of a phenomenon. These projects require well-designed measures in order to be considered valid. There are two broad categories of research: quantitative and qualitative. A study is classified as qualitative if the purpose is primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or event; the information is gathered through the use of variables or measured on qualitative measurement scales, and if analysis is done to establish the variation in the situation or problem without quantifying it. Qualitative studies tend to be more â€Å"in-depth†, focusing on a smaller population but probing deeper into a given problem. This research is often associated with focus groups, interviews or surveys and seeks to answer open-ended questions. Thematic and content analysis are two methods used to analyze qualitative data. Disciplines such as anthropology, history, and sociology are more inclined towards a qualitative approach. On the other hand, quantitative studies often use standardized measures, numerical values, have larger sample sizes, and analyze data using statistical programs. A study is classified as quantitative if the researcher seeks to quantify the variation in a phenomenon and if information is gathered using quantitative variables. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, and advantages and disadvantages. Disciplines such as epidemiology, economics and public health are more inclined towards quantitative research. Hypothesis A hypothesis is a suggested explanation for an observed relationship or a causal prediction about a relationship among several variables. Every research project is based on a hypothesis, which generally begins with a specific question. A hypothesis takes the operationalized definition of the factors to produce a clear prediction of the causal relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable in the statement. The independent variable is a factor that the researcher can control or manipulate (whether or not a person receives basic eye care services), and a dependent variable is a factor that the researcher cannot manipulate, but instead varies in relation to the independent variable (the economic productivity of the individual). For example, a hypothesis might be â€Å"We predict that if nearsighted participants are provided with corrective lenses that bring their vision to 20/20, they will earn more money per week on average over the course of three months than nearsighted participants who did not receive corrective lenses.† When formulating a hypothesis, it is important not to try to â€Å"prove† that the hypothesis is true. Instead, one should seek to find evidence that it is not true.

Hamlet: Act 2 Scene 2 :: Shakespeare Hamlet

Hamlet: Act 2 Scene 2 - Compare Hamlet's Reaction to Arrival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and To the Players Compare Hamlet's reaction to the arrival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with his reaction to the arrival of the Playyers. Account for his reactions.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By comparing Hamlet's reaction to the arrival of   Rosencrantz and Guildenstern  Ã‚   with his reaction to the arrival of the Players, we can observe the different perspectives of Hamlet's character. His reaction to the arrival of his old friends is similar to his reaction to the arrival of the Players in as he is happy to see them all and he reveals his sanity to them all. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive, Hamlet is overjoyed to see his   "excellent good friends" (2.2.227) with whom he grew up. Hamlet is also delighted to meet with the Players. But this is where all the similarities end. In his conversations with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet becomes suspicious of the purpose of his old friends' visit and he is perceptive enough to see through the outer disguise into the interior motives. He forces them to reveal that they have been sent by the King to find out what is causing Hamlet's "transformation" ( 2.2.5). Hamlet admits his sanity by telling his good friends that his "uncle- father and aunt mother are deceived." (2.2.348)   Why does Hamlet admit his sanity to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Is it an another attempt to at deception, or is it to implant a sense of trust between Hamlet and his old friends? Hamlet could possibly be furthering his plans for revenge by admitting his sanity. Hamlet's friends would relay the message to the King and Claudius may think that Hamlet really is mad for admitting that he was supposedly feigning madness. On the other hand, at the conversation with the Players, his behavior is spontaneous. He welcomes his "good friends" (2.2.431) and it seems that he is "glad" (2.2.430) to see them again. He is friendly, funny and very open in his communication with the Players. Hamlet notices that one of the young players who plays female roles has grown a beard and he makes a joke about it. It also indicates that Hamlet has known them for a long time. The young Prince Hamlet also demonstrates his sanity when meeting with the Players. Hamlet shows that he is still capable of reasonable thought when he recites the lines to a play that he has heard only once. Hamlet reestablishes his friendship with the Players and shows his sanity to the Players so that he can further his plan for revenge.

Macbeth Critical/ Analytical Study Essay

Guilt is a very strong, uncomfortable feeling that is often a result of one’s own actions. In the play, Macbeth, the author William Shakespeare uses character development to demonstrate how guilt can be self-destructive and ultimately lead to a negative impact on an individual’s mental stability. Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macduff all suffer from a guilty conscience which affects them in different ways but ultimately causes them to behave irrationally. A person’s guilt and disgrace has the power to drive them to insanity and sometimes self-destruction. Macbeth starts out as a brave, heroic individual who is widely respected throughout his country. However, behind the valiant image is a secret that is slowly eating away at him. Macbeth is a murderer. The guilt and shame commence when Macbeth allows himself to be manipulated to commit such a beastly act. When he first experiences his guilty conscience, he mistakes the feeling as fear. This is first evident just before he murders King Duncan and Macbeth has a vision of an imaginary dagger. â€Å"Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.† (2.1.33-34). He realizes that the dagger is just an image in his mind, but decides that it is a result of his fear and continues with the task. This is the first point where Macbeth shows a sign of a mental breakdown, although he is still able to think somewhat rationally. This ultimately evolves into a hardened Macbeth and causes him to continue with his horrific actions until he is out of control. The murder of King Duncan is followed by the murders of many others, including his closest friend Banquo. The build-up of guilt begins the affect Macbeth’s mental state more and more until he can no longer think straight. He begins to hallucinate and on occasion has visions of the ghost of Banquo. The ghost first appears at the banquet, where Macbeth sees the bloody image of Banquo sitting at the dinner table. His horrific reaction alone shows the guilt he has for the murder, and the fact that no other guests at the banquet are aware of the ghost confirms that the ghost has been made up in Macbeth’s head. This is the point at which the mental illness begins to take over, causing Macbeth to behave insanely as well. The guilt and shame of his actions is what in the end destroys him. The murder of Macduff’s family is the main example of how rampant he becomes; it is the unnecessary murder of the complete innocent. Macbeth’s disgrace is obvious near the end of the play, where he informs Macduff that he would not harm him as he is already guilty of murdering his whole family. â€Å"But get thee back; my soul is too much charged/ With blood of thane already† (5.8.6-7). He proves this when he has an opportunity to kill Macduff but instead backs down. This is the point in the play that represents the self-destruction of guilt. Out of revenge, Macduff soon after slays Macbeth, taking his life. With such a build up of guilt and shame driving him to the point of insanity, Macbeth’s mental instability eventually took over and led him to his own destruction. Macbeth’s wife experiences similar guilt, although is affected by it in a different way. Lady Macbeth is the individual who first instigates Macbeth to commit his first crime. She has a considerable amount of ambition for power, and is not afraid to execute any kind of horrific offence in order to get the power she wants. After the murder of the King, Lady Macbeth does not show signs of disgrace like her husband, in fact she tells Macbeth that they need to forget about the crime all together. â€Å"Things without all remedy/ Should be without regard: what’s done is done.† (3.2.13-14). However, guilt still haunts Lady Macbeth, but it haunts her in her subconscious. She makes it clear that she is unable to sleep at night and that she is disturbed by nightmares. Although, Lady Macbeth is only involved with the initial murder of Duncan, the several murders that follow are out of her control. Her idea of covering up and forgetting about the crime is soon taken over by an out of control guilty conscience. She begins to show remorse for the actions, but her guilt is what drives her to her insanity. The point at which this is evident is when she is found sleep walking one night. During her soliloquy, memories of the night of the murder tumble out, revealing some of her guilty secrets. â€Å"The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?† (5.1.30). â€Å"I tell you again, Banquo is buried; he cannot come on’s grave.† (5.1.44). This is also the point at while Lady Macbeth’s mental instability begins to show. She starts hallucinating that she has blood on her hands from the murder that she cannot seem to wash off. â€Å"Out, damned sport! Out, I say!† (5.1.25). Lady Macbeth’s shame overpowers her, leaving her incapable to think or act rationally and her conscience is what ultimately causes her to take her own life. Lady Macbeth loses control of her emotions and guilt and her shame overwhelms her to the point of suicide. Macduff is another character who is consumed with guilt as well, but for a different reason. His guilt is not for any crimes he has committed, but it is a result of one of Macbeth’s. Macduff leaves his family alone at their house in Scotland, while he travels to England in order to gather forces to stand against Macbeth. Because of this, Macbeth sees him as a threat to his power and does anything he can to stop him, just as he has to any other individuals who came across as a threat. While Macduff is away, Macbeth murders his wife and children, as well as any employees found in his house. Macduff blames himself and feels guilty for leaving his family alone to be slaughtered. â€Å"Sinful Macduff,/ They were all struck for thee! Naught I am,/ Not for their own demerits, but for mine,/ Fell slaughter on their souls.† (4.3.231-234). Macduff then shows his firsts signs of inability to think rationally as a result of this guilt. His immediate reaction Is revenge on Macbeth, and he is then driven by the idea of his murder. Macduff vows to kill Macbeth on his own blade. When he achieves his wish of revenge and frees the country of Macbeth’s tyranny, he does so in a way that was no better than the acts of Macbeth. Even when a person’s guilt is brought upon them by an act which is out of their control, it can still affect their mental state and cause them to lose control of their emotions. No matter the individual, or their title, guilt can take over anyone. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had guilt that led to their own self-destruction. Macduff’s led to an irrational decision and a result no better than that of Macbeth’s actions. When individuals allow their emotions take over their actions it to a lack of ability to reason, it can drive a person mad and ultimately lead to their own downfall.

How Architect Louis Sullivan Influenced American Design

Louis Henri Sullivan (born  September 3, 1856) is widely considered Americas first truly modern architect. Although born in Boston, Massachusetts, Sullivan is best known as a major player in what is known as the Chicago School and the birth of the modern skyscraper. He was an architect based in Chicago, Illinois, yet what many consider Sullivans most famous building is located in St. Louis, Missouri — the 1891 Wainwright Building, one of Americas most historic high-rise buildings.   Fast Facts: Louis Sullivan Born: September 3, 1856 in Boston, MassachusettsDied: April 14, 1924 in Chicago, IllinoisOccupation: ArchitectKnown for: Wainwright Building, 1891, in St. Louis, MO and his influential 1896 essay The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered. Louis is associated with the Art Nouveau movement and the Chicago School; he partnered with Dankmar Adler to form Adler and Sullivan, and he had a major influence on the career of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959).Famous Quote: Form follows function.Fun Fact: The tripartite design of skyscrapers is known as Sullivanesque Style Instead of imitating historic styles, Sullivan created original forms and details. The ornamentation he designed for his big, boxy skyscrapers is often associated with the swirling, natural forms of the Art Nouveau movement. Older architectural styles were designed for buildings that were wide, but Sullivan was able to create aesthetic unity in buildings that were tall, concepts articulated in his most famous essay The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered. "Form Follows Function" Louis Sullivan believed that the exterior of a tall office building should reflect its interior functions. Ornamentation, where it was used, must be derived from nature, instead of from the Classical Greek and Roman architectural forms. New architecture demanded new traditions, as he reasoned in his most famous essay: It is the pervading law of all things organic, and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things super-human, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law. — 1896 The meaning of form follows function continues to be discussed and debated even today. Sullivanesque Style has come to be known as the tripartite design for tall buildings — three definitive exterior patterns for the three functions of a multiple-use skyscraper, with offices rising from commercial space and topped with the ventilating functions of attic space. A quick look at any tall building built during this time, from about 1890 to 1930, and youll see Sullivans influence on American architecture. Early Years The son of European immigrants, Sullivan grew up in an eventful time in American history. Although he was a very young child during the American Civil War, Sullivan was an impressionable 15-years-old when the Great Fire of 1871 burned down most of Chicago. At age 16 he began to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, near his home in Boston, but before completing his studies, he began his trek westward. He first got a job in 1873 Philadelphia with a decorated Civil War officer, the architect Frank Furness. Shortly thereafter, Sullivan was in Chicago, a draftsman for William Le Baron Jenney (1832-1907), an architect who was devising new ways to construct fire-resistant, tall buildings framed with a new material called steel. Still a teenager when working for Jenney, Louis Sullivan was encouraged to spend a year at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris before beginning to practice architecture. After a year in France, Sullivan returned to Chicago in 1879, still a very young man, and began his long relationship with his future business partner, Dankmar Adler. The firm of Adler and Sullivan is one of the most important partnerships in American architectural history. Adler Sullivan Louis Sullivan partnered with engineer Dankmar Adler (1844-1900) from approximately 1881 until 1895. It is widely believed that Adler oversaw business and construction aspects of each project while Sullivans focus was on architectural design. Along with a young draftsman named Frank Lloyd Wright, the team realized many architecturally significant buildings. The firms first real success was the 1889 Auditorium Building in Chicago, a massive multi-use opera house whose exterior design was influenced by the Romanesque Revival work of architect H. H. Richardson and whose interiors were largely the work of Sullivans young draftsman, Frank Lloyd Wright. Auditorium Building, Chicago, Illinois, 1889. Angelo Hornak/Getty Images (cropped) It was in St. Louis, Missouri, however, where the tall building gained its own exterior design, a style that became known as Sullivanesque. In the 1891 Wainwright Building, one of Americas most historic skyscrapers, Sullivan extended the structural height with exterior visual demarcations using a three-part system of composition — the lower floors devoted to selling merchandise should look different from the offices on the middle floors, and the top attic floors should be set apart by their unique interior functions. This is to say that the form on the outside of a tall building should change as the function of what goes on inside a building changes. Professor Paul E. Sprague calls Sullivan the first architect anywhere to give aesthetic unity to the tall building. Building on the firms successes, the Chicago Stock Exchange building in 1894 and the 1896 Guaranty Building in Buffalo, New York soon followed. After Wright went on his own in 1893 and after Adlers death in 1900, Sullivan was left to his own devices and is well-known today for a series of banks he designed in the midwest — the  1908 National Farmers Bank (Sullivans Arch) in Owatonna, Minnesota; the  1914 Merchants National Bank in Grinnell, Iowa; and the 1918 Peoples Federal Savings Loan in Sidney, Ohio. Residential architecture like the 1910 Bradley House in Wisconsin blurs the design line between Sullivan and his protege Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright and Sullivan Frank Lloyd Wright worked for Adler Sullivan from about 1887 to 1893. After the firms success with the Auditorium building, Wright played a larger role in the smaller, residential business. This is where Wright learned architecture. Adler Sullivan was the firm where the famous Prairie Style house was developed. The best-known mingling of architectural minds can be found in the 1890 Charnley-Norwood House, a vacation cottage in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Built for Sullivans friend, Chicago lumber entrepreneur James Charnley, it was designed by both Sullivan and Wright. With that success, Charnley asked the pair to design his Chicago residence, today known as the Charnley-Persky house. The 1892 James Charnley house in Chicago is a grand extension of what began in Mississippi — grand masonry subtly adorned, unlike the fancy French, Chà ¢teauesque style Biltmore Estate that Gilded Age architect Richard Morris Hunt was building at the time. Sullivan and Wright were inventing a new type of residence, the modern American home. Louis Sullivan gave America the skyscraper as an organic modern work of art, Wright has said. While Americas architects were stumbling at its height, piling one thing on top of another, foolishly denying it, Louis Sullivan seized its height as its characteristic feature and made it sing; a new thing under the sun! Van Allen Building, Designed by Louis H. Sullivan, 1913, Clinton, Iowa. Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images (cropped) Sullivans designs often used masonry walls with terra cotta designs. Intertwining vines and leaves combined with crisp geometric shapes, as displayed in the terra cotta detailing of the Guaranty Building. This Sullivanesque style was imitated by other architects, and Sullivans later work formed the foundation for many of the ideas of his student, Frank Lloyd Wright. Sullivans personal life unraveled as he got older. As Wrights stardom ascended, Sullivans notoriety declined, and he died virtually penniless and alone on April 14, 1924 in Chicago. One of the worlds greatest architects, said Wright, he gave us again the ideal of a great architecture that informed all the great architectures of the world. Sources Frank Lloyd Wright On Architecture: Selected Writings (1894-1940), Frederick Gutheim, ed., Grossets Universal Library, 1941, p. 88Adler and Sullivan by Paul E. Sprague, Master Builders, Diane Maddex, ed., Preservation Press, Wiley, 1985, p. 106Additional Photo Credits: Terra Cotta Detail, Lonely Planet/Getty Images; Guaranty Building, Reading Tom on flickr.com, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0); Biltmore Estate, George Rose/Getty Images (cropped)