Interesting idea and methodology

This response submitted by Carolyn (hayensca@muohio.edu) at 1:46 pm on 10/13/01. Additions were last made on Friday, April 19, 2002. Section: Cummins

Hello team,

You've proposed an intriguing idea, and I particularly like the fact that you have outlined an interesting methodology for investigating your question. I also think that you demonstrate emotional engagement with your topic which is always a good idea when you are investigating something!

I am, however, confused about your question. How does measuring the diversity of fish in three different spots in a stream relate to the idea of human influence (specifically urbanization)? Is the stream so long that its mouth is at a place where no humans have touched it? How would you know whether something that happened at one end of the stream did not affect something much later down the stream? For example, somebody could have dumped something toxic in the stream way upstream and it affected wildlife way downstream. I guess I am not sure how the study you propose doing is exactly going to answer your question.

Also, why do you limit your research to only Internet sources? The Brill library is full of much more reliable and pertinent information than the WWW. With so many folks on your team, you might consider assigning at least one person to conducting library research on similar studies.

In fact, I would like to see you spell out more clearly the roles and responsibilities each of you on the team plans to take.

Finally, I would encourage you to create a conclusion that specifies the significance of your inquiry, and I would urge you to do closer editing and proofreading.

We would be happy to help you with all of these issues in the Writing Center! Drop by for some specialized assistance.

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