Planning the Presentation

What is a Presentation?

A presentation is one form of the final step in the scientific research process. It works something like this:

As a result of some research and studying you have done, you find yourself curious about something. For researchers, curiosity leads to a research question (which, in turn, leads to research). The nature of the research question will dictate what information, or data, you need, as well as your data-gathering method. Once you have your data, you must analyze the data. Analysis of data leads to findings, also known as conclusions.

Conclusions often point to new theory, the generation of new research questions and new hypotheses – and a new cycle of the research process.

But how?

The final step in the scientific research process is communication, or presentation of your findings. Through presentation, other students and researchers may become curious, develop questions, make new hypotheses, etc.

They may want to replicate or challenge your research. How can they do that?

Your presentation must clearly state your methodology so that your audience knows exactly what you did and how, and it must also include sources and citations, so that your audience knows where to go to find the information you used or information similar to it.

So, What Exactly Should You Do?

The following table will take you through the basic steps of the planning process. There are two phases. The first phase is Planning the Research, and the second phase is Planning the Presentation.

I. Planning the Research

Also see The Research Paper – Step 1: The Concept Paper

Steps	Example
Narrow down an area of curiosity	“Walkable Neighborhoods”
Identify specific research question(s)	Is Sunnyside Neighborhood a Walkable Neighborhood? Why or why not?
Background info, terms, etc., needed to help me decide on data and data-gathering methods	Need to define “walkable neighborhood.” This is another term for “pedestrian-oriented design.” The Office of Transportation, City of Portland, published The Portland Pedestrian Design Guide in 1998. I read through a guide at http://www.trans.ci.portland.or.us/DesignReferences/Pedestrian/DesignGuide.PDF. Then I found a website called Walkable Communities, at http://www.walkable.org/ and from there found a poster entitled “Levels of Quality of Walking” at http://www.walkable.org/images/1_LOQWalking.jpg, which has a grid with definitions, photos, and a scale from A (Exemplary) to F (Hall of Shame). For example, a neighborhood with sidewalks that are at least five feet wide, with minimal breaks (such as driveways) scores an A in the “Sidewalk” category, whereas a neighborhood with no sidewalks, where people have to walk right in the street with fairly heavy traffic, scores an F.
Data Needed	I am going to use the “Levels of Quality of Walking” grid to assess random streets in the Sunnyside neighborhood. I can see from that grid that on residential streets, I am going to need to assess “attractiveness” and measure sidewalks and road widths, measure how far back homes are set from the sidewalk, and note average driving speeds; on main (commercial) streets, I will need to count the ratio of shops to residences, count the number of and diversity of activities, note quantity and quality of lighting, assess “maintenance” levels, and evaluate pedestrian crossings and bike paths.
Methodology	First, I need to select some random streets to study. Using a map and other information, I’ll randomly select three commercial streets and three residential streets. I’ll define a “street” as both sides of a street for one block. For my random selection process, I’ll print out a map of the neighborhood that shows street names, and then I will ask my friend to drop a pencil randomly on the map 10 times; if he drops it in the same place twice, he’ll have to do it again. I’ll write down each street in the order in which he dropped the pencil and according to where the lead pointed (e.g., SE 26^th and 27^th Ave. on SE Madison St.). Then I’ll go through the list starting with the first one. I’ll check to see if it’s primarily a residential street or primarily a “main” or “commercial” street. I will go with the first three that are residential and the first three that are commercial, whether I like them or not. For each set, I’ll have one backup in case once I get out there, I find that the street is inappropriate for observation (e.g., it may be under construction). I’m going to create a checklist grid that contains objective criteria for me to evaluate each street according to criteria similar to what’s on that “Levels of Quality of Walking” poster. The only thing I’m concerned about is assessing “attractiveness” and “maintenance levels.” I may have to go out to the neighborhood ahead of time and come up with some objective factors to take into consideration, such as amount of landscaping/greenery, clutter, obstacles, etc. I’ve decided that I will need to observe and record data two ways. One, I will have to walk the streets in order to get the detailed info I need. As I’m walking and taking measurements and filling out my checklist, I’m also going to take photographs. I know I’ll take way more than I’ll need, but that’s okay. I also will ride my bike on each street, because that’s the only way I can really assess how it is to a cyclist. This will also give me the opportunity to observe the environment from a different speed than I would as a walker. I won’t take photos or notes then, because it’d be too dangerous. I’ve decided that I need to do the walking portion on one day, because I can’t risk having variations in weather. Considering what I’m looking for, I think it would be best to go on a Saturday. I’ll check the weather forecast and plan for the nearest Saturday with minimal rain. I’ll select a few other days as back-ups, and just keep in mind that if I do end up doing my observations in the rain, I’ll need to note if and how that might affect my findings. Finally, I think that the issue of “lighting” is going to be best observed at night. In fact, if I really want to look at “safety,” nighttime would be best for that. However, I won’t do this alone. I know that assessing a sidewalk for safety involves a number of factors and I think it would be too time consuming and also dangerous for this assignment. However, if I have time, I may walk down the commercial streets with a friend at night to get a feel for the lighting. Worst-case scenario, I’ll drive down the main streets at night to get a sense of the lighting.
Data Analysis	I got all the data I need – in fact, way too much. I’m going to need to spend some time classifying, organizing, and just making sense out of what I have. I know that in the end I need to come to the following conclusion: Is Sunnyside Neighborhood a Walkable Neighborhood? If I use the poster as my guide, then I’ll consider anything with a grade of a C or better as “yes.” I’m basically going to go with the poster as my “guide” and evaluate Sunnyside on sidewalks, main streets, crossings, local streets, and avenues/boulevards. Okay. I’ve come up with a chart that shows that two of my three residential streets have A or B levels of walkability, and one has a D level. Two of the three main streets have B levels, and one has a C. I’m going to try to find one photograph for each street that illustrates one particular aspect, like this one photo I have showing multiple-use buildings, landscaping, and good lighting along this one block on Hawthorne.
Conclusions	My data all point to the conclusion that Sunnyside is a walkable neighborhood, because the average grade is a B, which is “excellent,” according to the poster. I would like to take a stab at interpreting or explaining this conclusion. According to the history I read about the neighborhood, it was one of the Portland’s first “streetcar suburbs,” so it has always been centered around human-scale (as opposed to automobile-scale) accessibility. The historical information also revealed that Sunnyside started out as a high-scale neighborhood (on the “sunny side” of Portland, away from the shadow of the West Hills), which probably accounts for why most of the homes are relatively large with rather ornate architecture in some cases. However, the neighborhood “deteriorated” into a working-class enclave as the original wealthy residents could now afford cars and had the ability to move even farther out. So, this probably accounts for the construction of apartments and other buildings that would service the middle class (like taverns, inns, small grocery stores, etc.). From my own personal observation and some interviews, it is apparent to me that within this neighborhood, people can walk to many services (shopping, buses, schools, libraries, restaurants) within less than 15 minutes, which I know from studying transportation is considered to constitute a “walking neighborhood” (need to cite a source). Looking at Census data, I see that the average density is 18 people per acre, which is the highest in Portland. I know that mass transit and high density often go together, especially in middle-class neighborhoods. According to Portland Monthly magazine, Sunnyside has 5 transit lines, which seems about average (I’ll have to do the math to be sure). Also according to that same source (http://portland-monthly.com/realestategrid.pdf), it takes 11 minutes to drive downtown. I’ll have to calculate whether that’s average or below average, but that and the number of transit lines may account for low automobile ownership (maybe I’ll have time to check vehicle-ownership data) – which would help explain why Sunnyside remains a walkable neighborhood. Also, 65 percent of the residents are renters (compared with 44 percent for Portland as a whole), and more than 50 percent are aged 39 or younger (compared with about 32 percent citywide). Forty-four to 58 percent of the residents have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 33 percent for the city. The median income in this neighborhood is about $42,000, compared with $40,126 for the city, so it’s about average. These statistics suggest a population that is young, educated, and mobile (since they don’t own their own homes). These variables seem to be correlated with the type of people who prefer to use means other than automobiles for transportation. I should probably find some reference material to back that up.
Go on to Planning the Presentation.

.