The goal of the research projects and presentations exercise is help you more fully connect the theory of feminist or gender based sustainability studies research to the practice of it. Based on the readings and podcasts about research ethics, feminist methodologies, paradigms, ethnography, feminist oral history, and more, you will design your own research project, which you will submit in proposal form during the final week of class. You must cite at least 5 readings or podcast episodes from the class syllabus, and 8-10 readings or podcast episodes from outside the class syllabus.
It will consist of the following components:
Introduction: What is your project? What issues or problems do you want to study and why?
What are your central research questions? (1-2 paragraphs)
Background: What do you know about this topic? How do you know that this is an issue worthy
of study? What are the ethical issues? How/why is this an issue related to feminism/gender and
sustainability? What does the published literature say? What are the gaps in the published
research, and how will your work fill them? What feminist frameworks or paradigms are guiding
this work? (2-3 pages)
Recruitment plan: Who will you recruit to participate, and why? How will you recruit them?
Will you use incentives?
Explain your incentive justification. (2-3 paragraphs) Include a separate
1-page sheet that details how you will obtain informed consent. (1 page)
Research methods: Explain, in detail, how you will collect data for this project. How will you
access the field/community/research site? How many times/how often? How will you build
relationships with research participants? How often will you be in contact with them? How will
you collect and store information (recording, filming, handwritten notes, etc.)? How will you
protect the confidentiality of your data? (1/2-1 page)
Data analysis and sharing: How will you analyze the information you collect? What will you
do with it (will you produce a final report, an academic paper/article, a handout or brochure for
community members, a research poster to present at a conference, etc.?) How will you share this
product, and with whom? Provide a justification for your methods of sharing and those you will
share it with. (2 pages)
Sample Solution