Topic outline

  • Example 2: What is the impact of emerging technology on the cars we will see on the road in 2050?

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    What is the question asking?

    This question seeks to understand the ways in which technology is going to change cars by 2050. This question is specific in several ways. 

    Firstly, it is seeking to find the specific technological advances that will change cars. This means we are focusing on the technological factors likely only to change cars in the future, things like driverless cars, renewable energy, and the shared transport are all likely to come into play here.

    Also, the question is asking about a specific time period: by 2050. By having a specific point we are researching, we can easily remove research about the distant future, and instead focus on the changes likely in the next thirty years.

    Currently, the University of South Australia is conducting research around this topic through work on autonomous vehicles. Dr Ashkay Vij is conducting modelling to understand consumer behaviour and the way that it is shaped by social, cultural, and technological changes. Ideally, this will help to plan to develop cities' infrastructure on what is likely to happen in the future.


    Ethical considerations

    There are several ethical considerations to keep in mind while completing this research. 

    • Ensure that participants are voluntarily participating in the research and know that they have the right to withdraw. 
    • Utilise the data you collect with respect and integrity, this means paraphrasing and quoting honestly. 
    • Ensure that you are storing all research data securely, in particular participant questions and responses which may be sensitive and should be kept confidentially.


    Research Methods

    What research methods should we use to answer this question?

    Literature Review

    Some ideas for how we could do this are:

    • Reading journal articles
    • Watching documentaries or presentations by experts
    • Listening to podcasts
    • Reading books


    Interviews

    Some ideas for sources we could contact are:

    • Researcher
    • Automotive engineer
    • Sustainability engineer


    Data analysis
    We've collected some data, what next? As the data that we have collected is qualitative in nature, so mostly words, it's ideal that we use qualitative analysis for this. 



    What else should we be considering? Two important criteria in the Research Project are      validity and reliability. You can ask these questions of each of your sources. 

    Validity

    In research, validity relates to how well the research measures what it is supposed to measure. Validity can be divided into two groups:  internal validity and external validity. Internal validity determines if the research findings match reality, while external validity determines whether the research can be replicated in another environment.

    For example, if you are intending to research the impact of different treatment on adolescents suffering from depression, but your questions only relate to medication, you are not measuring the full impact of different treatment options. This research has low validity.

    Questions to ask of your sources:
    • Does this source measure what we need it to measure?
    • Is it appropriate for the research question?
    • Where is this source from?
    • Is it too old? 
    • Do either of these matter for the content that we are using?
    Reliability

    In research, reliability refers to the degree to which research produces consistent results. There are three sorts of reliability in research:  test-retest reliability (does the research produce the same or similar results every time?), internal consistency (is the research measuring what it is supposed to measure?), and  inter-rater reliability (do all researchers get the same or similar results?). 

    For example, if research is biased towards an opinion it can be considered unreliable. If you are seeking to understand the benefits of renewable energy, you can't limit your research to interviewing mining companies about what they perceive to be the benefits. You have only conducted research with a biased source. 

    Questions to ask of your sources:
    • Where did we find this source?
    • Is the source an expert?
    • Has it been peer reviewed?
    • Does it agree with other sources?
    • Is the source biased towards someone's opinion? 


    Sample resources 

    Here are some sample resources that we used for our research:


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