Sunteți pe pagina 1din 3

1

1/25/2019

To: T. Conley

From: Kyler Bash

Subject: Proposal for Research Project

I. Introduction:
A. In its present state, is solar panel technology sufficiently advanced in terms of utility and cost
to justify everyday homeowners to buy in and pay the high upfront costs, or would it be
smarter economically to wait for further technological advances in this field to increase
efficiency and lower costs before adapting the technology for home use?
I will look at historical information of advances within similar fields as well as expert
expectations to make an informed prediction of where the technology will be 5 or 10
years from now.

B. My question is a Question of Consequence

C. My faculty consultant will be Dr. David Zietlow (tentative)

D. This project will be mostly geared towards everyday home or small business owners who are
interested in protecting the environment or saving money through implementation of
solar technology. The medium could be either a scientific journal, or be published online.

II. Rationale:
A. Credentials:

1. I have a personal interest in this area and have contemplated investing in solar
panels myself in the past. The technology has advanced since then and I will soon
have an income that would potentially adopt the technology for my own use if
practical.
2. Academic credentials include current or past enrollment in Thermodynamics I
and II, as well as electronics courses ECE 227 and Physics I & II that allow myself
to understand the basic concepts and principals involved in solar technology, and
the economics involved.

B. Need:

1. Significance
a) Solar panels sound like a great idea and many would likely choose to implement them
for their homes if they had the money. I would like to study the savings and costs
associated with the current technology vs future predictions and see if it would be worth
working to save the money right now or if it would be more reasonable to wait 10 or so
years for the price of panels to go down and the efficiency to go up.
2

b) This project’s findings will help everyday citizen’s better evaluate the
rewards/drawbacks of upgrading to solar power now or at a later date. My research will
specifically focus on the Midwest or similar geographical region, but the findings will
likely differ depending on location, because regions further south receive more sunlight
per day/year. Additional studies or one set at a larger scale would be useful in evaluating
solar power in regions I will not be able to cover.

2. Prior Research
a. Database Searches:

#1 jstor.org
Search terms: solar + power + current + utility + efficiency
Limits: journal articles, Published in the last 4 years
Hits: 114
Significance: This is not a very unreasonable number, but should still be narrowed
further.

#2 jstor.org
Search terms: solar + power + current + utility + efficiency + panels + cost
Limits: journal articles, subject: engineering, environmental science, history of science &
technology
Hits: 37
Significance: This number is smaller than the last, and seems to have several useful
articles to look at. Unfortunately, the focus is not quite where I need it for my focus, so I
need to step back a bit

#3 jstor.org
Search terms: solar + panels + household + use + renewable + energy + efficiency + cost
Limits: Published in the last 4 years,
Hits: 27
Significance: This is a good number to work with and the hits are much more aligned
with what I needed than the previous search. I still need to find specifics for a
geographical region and physical data on current systems.

#4 jstor.org
Search terms: solar + panels + renewable + energy + future + trends
Limits: articles
Hits: 139
Significance: this number is again fairly large but actually should be useful because it
includes articles on the topics mentioned previously that I still needed. By simply
browsing the first two pages, I found 5 or 6 articles that I will likely use, and with the
articles I found with previous searches, I should be good to start off.

b. Dr. Zietlow has experience with the optimization of energy systems and would be
knowledgeable on resources that will be beneficial when working on this project, and
qualify him to serve as expert testimony.
3

III. Sources
A. Bibliographical—list the relevant databases you have searched and any remaining to be
searched [note: this list will repeat some details from the Rationale]
B. Primary—for example, in sciences, lab results & observations; in social sciences, survey &
questionnaire results, observations; in humanities, “original” texts
C. Secondary—scholarly or other commentary on topic and/or primary sources; refer to
Attachment A. List of Secondary Sources (which includes relevant hits from database
searches)

IV. Methodology: [a narrative, not a listing]


A. Explanation of the key stages in your research: see Bookmarks, 33-36 for examples
of research strategies associated with different types of questions.

V. Description of tools you’ll use—for example, particular lab equipment, hardware, etc.

VI. Resources: identify all personnel & costs (with funding source) necessary for completion
of the project

VII. Schedule: include a complete “Checklist,” with appropriate dates for all work and
assignments. Include dates for each stage as well as for each task. Delete tasks not
relevant to your project. Put all stages and tasks in chronological order.

Notes: 1) use span of dates for each stage (not one date);
2) list by task, not date;
3) begin each task with verb (e.g., “Develop plan for .
. .,” “Consult. . .”
4) include “Submit” assignment;
5) use visual aspects (spacing, typeface [e.g., boldface, underline]) to help
reader identify sections and subsections

VIII Evaluation: identify any possible problems or limitations you might encounter

IX. Attachments:
List here any documents related to the project; in particular, include a paper copy of any
bibliographies generated by database searches. Give each attachment a label and a title: for
example, Attachment A: List of Secondary Sources and start each attachment on a new page.
If you are going to use the project for your Honors Program capstone project, you must include
the signed approval form as Attachment B.

PAGE BREAK
Attachment A: List of Secondary Sources

PAGE BREAK
Attachment B: Honors Project Approval Form [if appropriate]

S-ar putea să vă placă și