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[[Category:Research]] |
Revision as of 01:23, 10 March 2008
The intention of this category is to give ideas for any kind of projects, whether practical, theoretical, literature review, or a combination.
They may be, for example:
- personal,
- academic (theses or smaller projects, individual, group or class),
- organizational,
- commercial (provided it is not simplly for advertising purposes)
- joint, with other people or groups that you connect with on Appropedia.
They may be large or small, from a few hours work or less, to a PhD topic.
Note that just because a question seems obvious doesn't mean that someone has already done the research.[1]
How to put pages in this category
The pages in this category use the {{suggested project}} template. To find the specific idea for the project, go to a page (linked at the bottom of this page), search the page for the text "suggested project" which will appear next to the question or proposal. Note there are sometimes several suggested projects on a single page. Additional ideas are listed under #Additional suggested projects, below.
Please don't remove the {{suggested project}} template without very good reason. If a project is underway or complete, and has been written up and linked, change the template to the {{suggested project (partly done)}} template or the {{completed project}} template (to be created).
Suggested approaches
Note that the person who suggests the project may not yet know whether a literature review will be enough, or if more research will be required.
A step at a time
You don't have to do everything. Just because you can't see a project through to completion, it doesn't mean you can't contribute. You may choose to do one or some of the first steps (e.g. a literature review, or some very simple experiments) and write them up on Appropedia. If so, please be sure to link the new page from where the suggested project is described.
Literature review
A literature review is very valuable, either as a project in its own right, or as the first step in a larger project. Important findings are often difficult to find or examine more deeply, especially for time-poor development professionals and those with limited English skills, so writing up the results of your review on Appropedia can provide a valuable resource for others.
Places to look:
- Wikipedia - is often a great starting point. A good Wikipedia article gives more than one side to arguments, and lists very good internet resources for the topic.
- A good library (large community library, state library or university library).
- Google Scholar - some results are restricted access, but some are free.
- Google books
- Google search - with the right search terms, and you can often find very good sources. Experiment.
Remember to view all sources critically, especially when claims are not sourced.
When writing up the literature review, use references, whether the name and page of a book, or a link.
Research projects
If conducting a research project, in most cases it hese projects might best be approached initially with a literature review. However, just because someone has looked at the question before doesn't mean you shouldn't do it - especially if only one or two have done it:
- Follow sound principles of scientific investigation, and your work may help to confirm important findings - or show where other studies were flawed. (Scientists often make mistakes!)
- You may discover additional results, refine the results further, or show where the results are or aren't applicable.
Practical project
To increase your chances of success, try networking with other users with similar interests - look at Category:Users by interest; also check who has contributed on articles in your area of interest (click the History tab). You can also leave a note on the Village pump (and give time for people to answer).
To propose a project
You may propose a project using one of these methods:
- mention the idea on a relevant page, followed by the {{suggested project}} template.
- create a new page, also using the {{suggested project}} template somewhere on the page. A separate project page is suitable for a very long project description.
- describe your idea briefly in the Additional suggested projects below (if it's not listed elsewhere and tagged as described)
Additional suggested projects
You may wish to sign and date your suggestion. This does not mean you are responsible for carrying out the project.
You may add comments below a suggestion, (using a double colon, :: at the beginning to double indent the line). For example please mention if you are doing the project, or have written it up (with a link to the page).
- Compare the cost-effectiveness of low-environmental-impact hot water systems in a particular setting. This may consider home-made options (expected to be suitable for tropical and developing word settings) and the low cost mass-produced Chinese systems, mentioned at Wikipedia:Solar hot water.
- The "Universal Nut Sheller" or W is made with fiberglass molds costing $300. Is it possible to use cheap cardboard forms instead?[3] Check first whether this has already been done, and what the results were.
- What exactly is the environmental impact of plastic bags, and what are the effects of different strategies? E.g. "biodegradeable" or UV-degradeable petroleum based plastic; bioplastic; banning plastic bags as in Bangladesh; or mandating HDPE bags only[verification needed] as in South Africa. (Are there other options...?) How significantly do bags and plastic film contribute to landfill, and is newer technology, thinner film, helpful in reducing landfill?[expansion needed]
See also
- Prizes and competitions - some of which pose specific problems which can be explored as projects.
Note regarding subcategories
All the entries below should be regarded simply as articles, not as subcategories of suggested projects. (Where a topic page appears under subcateories, this just means that the above template is used on that topic page, not that it is meant to be a subcateory of "Suggested projects.")
Notes
- ↑ Consider the case of two 14-year-old New Zealand girls who made the news in March 2007 when their school science project revealed that Ribena, the popular black currant drink, did not have the high levels of vitamin C it had claimed for decades. Schoolgirls rumble Ribena vitamin claims The Guardian, March 27, 2007. Also widely reported elsewhere.[1][2]
Pages in category "Pages needing expansion"
The following 200 pages are in this category, out of 201 total.
(previous page) (next page)A
C
- Carbon fiber production
- Carbon fiber production/vi
- Carbon fiber production/zh
- User:Chriswaterguy/Content/Ideas
- Cloughjordan Ecovillage
- Colonization
- Commute by human power
- Composting toilet
- Composting toilet/ko
- Composting toilet/zh
- Control and treatment of bedbugs
- Control and treatment of bedbugs/fr
- Control and treatment of bedbugs/hi
- Control of head lice
- Corn as fuel
- Costs of electric and hybrid electric cars
- Creative Commons Attribution
- Cycle rickshaw
- Cycling
- Cycling/ar
E
- Earth sheltered building
- Earth sheltered building/ar
- Earth sheltered building/ru
- Earth sheltered building/zh
- Earthquake proofing for buildings
- Earthquake proofing for buildings/de
- Ecotourism
- Ecotourism/ar
- Ecotourism/es
- Ecotourism/hi
- Ecotourism/it
- Ecotourism/ko
- Ecotourism/ru
- Electric lighting
- Elements of a thrivable city
- Energy
- Energy from wastewater
- Energy/ar
- Energy/pt
- Energy/vi
- Ethanol Legislation
- Ethanol Legislation/ar
G
- Green beans
- Green beans/de
- Green beans/zh
- Green chemistry
- Green cleaning
- Green cleaning/id
- Green desktop environments
- Green hotels
- Greywater
- Greywater/ar
- Greywater/id
- Greywater/ja
- Greywater/ko
- Greywater/tr
- Greywater/zh
- Groundwater recharge
- Groundwater recharge/mr
- Groundwater recharge/ru
- Growing tomatoes
- Growing tomatoes/fa
H
- Handwashing
- Heart stents
- Hexayurt project/big
- Hexayurt project/big/tr
- How not to save the world
- How to avoid the heat island effect
- How to avoid the heat island effect/ko
- How to keep clean indoor air
- How to make a seed ball
- How to make a successful new wiki
- How to make a successful new wiki/th
- Help:How to port pages
I
- Improved solid biofuel stoves
- Improved solid biofuel stoves/es
- Improved solid biofuel stoves/id
- Improved solid biofuel stoves/ko
- Improved solid biofuel stoves/nl
- Incentives for sustainability
- Incentives to pollute
- Appropedia:Incubator/Psychological technology
- Appropedia:Initiatives/Service learning
- Insulated glazing
- International volunteer opportunities
K
L
M
N
P
- Parabolic solar cooker
- Parabolic solar cooker/ko
- Parabolic solar cooker/vi
- Plastic bags
- Point-of-use water treatment
- Polymer environmental-friendly resin
- Polymer environmental-friendly resin/de
- Polymer environmental-friendly resin/uk
- Portable composting toilets
- Post-earthquake rescue efforts
- Principles of clothes washing and washing machine design
- Principles of clothes washing and washing machine design/hi
- Principles of clothes washing and washing machine design/id
- Principles of clothes washing and washing machine design/ja
- Principles of clothes washing and washing machine design/ru
- Principles of clothes washing and washing machine design/zh
- Psychology
- Publishing for profit with open licenses
R
S
- Safety of energy sources
- Self-sufficiency
- Self-sufficiency/mr
- Sewage treatment using catfish
- Sewage treatment using catfish/id
- Sewage treatment using catfish/zh
- Social outsourcing
- Solar energy
- Solar energy/id
- Solar energy/ko
- Solar energy/ru
- Solar energy/tr
- Solar energy/uz
- Solar energy/zh
- Solar powered air conditioner
- Solar powered air conditioner/tr
- South-North knowledge transfer
- South-North knowledge transfer/es
- Sustainable and restorative seafood
- Sustainable and restorative seafood/id
- Swiss Centre for Appropriate Technology