Help me write research paper on bicycling?

On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 22:55:10 +0000, jobst.brandt wrote:

anonymous writes:

I'm taking a college level English class at local community college.

I'm thinking about writing my final research paper on some aspect of
bicycles and bicycling.

I am having a bit of a problem coming up with a "thesis" which means
an argument or statement.

Any ideas?

Make sure you put your name on your paper or you won't get a grade.

Pick a subject that benefits bicyclists... like why is riding uphill
at a given power harder than riding in flatland with the same output.

You must be aware that the best TT riders are often not the best hill
climbers.

Keep in mind he's an English major, not a physicist. A technical paper
may not be the best route to a good grade, unless it's a technical writing
course.

Matt O.

wrote in message
...
I'm taking a college level English class at local
community college.

I'm thinking abt writing my final research paper on
some aspect of bicycles and bicycling.

I am having a bit of a problem coming up with a
"thesis" which means an argument or statement.

Any ideas?

How about discussing John Forester's statement:

"Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles"

Matt O'Toole wrote:

Keep in mind he's an English major, not a physicist. A technical paper
may not be the best route to a good grade, unless it's a technical writing
course.

Agree

This is what I think my thesis will be:

"Riding your bicycle to work can save your life, your
money and your planet."

Then I have to set abt proving it. g

"Mark" wrote:

How about discussing John Forester's statement:

"Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles"

That IS a good thesis

wrote in message
...
Matt O'Toole wrote:

Keep in mind he's an English major, not a physicist. A technical paper
may not be the best route to a good grade, unless it's a technical writing
course.

Agree

This is what I think my thesis will be:

"Riding your bicycle to work can save your life, your
money and your planet."

Then I have to set abt proving it. g

Kurt Ullrich's paper on the environmental paradox of bicycling is probably
worth a look. He has a lot of facts in there, and a lot of assumptions that
are clearly laid out. You may not agree with them, but they are clear.
http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~ulric...viro-jul06.pdf
Ulrich notes that if you put the bike in the back of the car in order to
find a place to bike, you are using up energy, not saving it. And, even if
you are using a bike instead of a car, the fact that you are doing so
increases your life span -- and the longer you live the more energy you use.
So, the net energy impact from commuting by bicycle is different than you
might think.

There was discussion of this paper on rec.bicycles.misc which you can find
via Google Groups.

wrote in message
...
"Mark" wrote:

How about discussing John Forester's statement:

"Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles"

That IS a good thesis

Forester's book is "Effective Cycling". MIT Press. There's a lot of
material on the web, also.

In article ,
says...
wrote in message
...
Matt O'Toole wrote:

Keep in mind he's an English major, not a physicist. A technical paper
may not be the best route to a good grade, unless it's a technical writing
course.

Agree

This is what I think my thesis will be:

"Riding your bicycle to work can save your life, your
money and your planet."

Then I have to set abt proving it. g

Kurt Ullrich's paper on the environmental paradox of bicycling is probably
worth a look. He has a lot of facts in there, and a lot of assumptions that
are clearly laid out. You may not agree with them, but they are clear.
http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~ulric...viro-jul06.pdf
Ulrich notes that if you put the bike in the back of the car in order to
find a place to bike, you are using up energy, not saving it. And, even if
you are using a bike instead of a car, the fact that you are doing so
increases your life span -- and the longer you live the more energy you use.
So, the net energy impact from commuting by bicycle is different than you
might think.

If you use this, don't forget to mention the implicit assumption he
that if they're not riding their bike, they're not getting any exercise
at all, which is probably not the case for many people. Many people who
drive to work get their aerobic exercise in other ways (going to the
gym, running after work, etc), and riding to work would replace that
exercise, not start giving them exercise they weren't already getting.


There was discussion of this paper on rec.bicycles.misc which you can find
via Google Groups.


--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

"Mike Kruger" wrote:


Kurt Ullrich's paper on the environmental paradox of bicycling is probably
worth a look. He has a lot of facts in there, and a lot of assumptions that
are clearly laid out. You may not agree with them, but they are clear.
http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~ulric...viro-jul06.pdf

wow

very very interesting!

thanks!

wrote in message
...
Matt O'Toole wrote:

This is what I think my thesis will be:

"Riding your bicycle to work can save your life, your
money and your planet."

Man, this is far too broad. How long does your thesis have to be? How long
do you want to spend writing it?

If it were me, I'd do something like, "the more experienced the cyclist, the
more likely s/he will be using lights when it is dark". Something easily
measureable, with me doing the primary research.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

"Claire Petersky" wrote:

"Riding your bicycle to work can save your life, your
money and your planet."

Man, this is far too broad. How long does your thesis have to be? How long
do you want to spend writing it?

If it were me, I'd do something like, "the more experienced the cyclist, the
more likely s/he will be using lights when it is dark". Something easily
measureable, with me doing the primary research.

Hmm.... you may be right.... could be too broad.

paper only has to be between 5-10 pages with 5 sources.

I guess I could make the thesis as follows:

"Riding your bike to work could save your life?

I "think" I could fin plenty of health reason to prove
the health aspect huh?