Tornadoes and Their Overall Effects like Damage and Even Collapsing of Buildings - Research Proposal Example

Title of the topic area This research is about tornados and their overall effects like damage and even collapsing of buildings. Abstract Tornados are known to commonly occur in some parts of the world. They are very common in Australia, United States, and United Kingdom. The research concerning tornados and their effects of collapsing buildings will be carried out using different methodologies. They include both qualitative and quantitative methods. Different methods will be used in collecting the relevant data. They include interviews, questionnaires, and observations among others. Data analysis will also be carried out accordingly. Introduction A tornado can be described as air that rotates violently from the sky to the earth. It is sometimes seen to look like a funnel. Tornados normally have the characteristic of contacting both the cloud and the ground. In most cases, storms are known to produce or to be accompanied by tornados. (Schaefer and McGill, 2004) Research remains to be a very important venture. This is due to the fact that it enables the stakeholders to accrue important information concerning the area of study. In this twenty first century, there are various methodologies available that make research very manageable. This also includes technological advancement that has made people across the world to carry out research in different regions without necessarily traveling there. The aims of this research are to ascertain the magnitude of the tornados in relation to collapsing of buildings. (Schaefer and McGill, 2004) It further aims at finding out the relationship between the magnitude of tornados and the extent of damage caused on buildings. This paper is a research proposal in relation to tornados and their effect of collapsing buildings. It includes various methodologies that will be used in the research. Methods that will be used in collecting data are clearly elaborated too. Also included in this paper are the methods that will be incorporated in the overall analysis of data. Hypotheses The following hypotheses will be used when carrying out research in relation to tornados causing buildings to collapse; Only tornados of fujita scale F4-F5 cause buildings to collapse Tornados normally cause total damage of any building that they attack Occupants of collapsed buildings caused by tornados normally die on the spot Tornados that cause the collapse of buildings normally last a very short time. All the buildings around the area where tornados occur are usually affected Methodology There are various data collection methodologies that are used in collecting of information during research. All these aid in ensuring that maximum information is acquired in the area that is being handled. This research concerning tornados and overall damage of buildings will involve different methodologies. These will be both the qualitative and the quantitative methodologies. Quantitative methodologies will enable to accrue data in figures in relation to tornados. This includes interviews among others. (Rutman, 1999) Qualitative methodologies on the other hand are very essential in showing quality information in relation to tornados. This includes surveys. All this combined will help in getting the right information in relation to the research topic. Methods to be used As earlier on illustrated, different methods of data collection will be used in the research. They include interviews, questionnaires, observations, and relevant records related to occurrence of tornados. Interviews A research interview is simply a social interaction between a researcher and a respondent with the aim of getting some specific information. The respondent is normally identified by the researcher and in most cases he or she has knowledge in the subject. The researcher in this case normally has questions previously prepared which the respondents are asked. Concerning this research; assistants will be needed in order to allow easy facilitation of the interviews. In this case, questions will be prepared before hand concerning the occurrence of tornados and their effects on buildings. (Patton, 2005) The populations will be identified and research assistants will help in gathering information from these groups. The groups will be informed on the time and the place where they will meet so that they can give their input. A suitable time will be used when majority of the respondents can be found. In case their schedules will not allow a communal meeting, then phone interviews will be carried out. Questionnaire It is a research instrument that consists of questions which help in information gathering. The questionnaires will be prepared both in soft and in hard copy. Those on a soft copy will be emailed to the respondents. These questions will be given to the respondents and later on the answers collected. (Brendan, 2006) The following questions will be used in the questionnaire. How long did the tornado take to collapse the building? Did all the buildings in the vicinity collapse? What was the approximate fujita scale of the tornado? (Choose one of the scales indicated below) F0-Minimal damage 115km/h F1-Cause damage 180km/h F2- Approximately 250km/h causing roofs to come off F3- Very strong of approximately 330 km/h causing walls to rip off F4- Approximately 400km/h F5- Approximately 500km/h leaving no trace of the building How long did the tornado take to collapse the entire building? Was the extent of damage directly proportional to the strength of the tornado? Using the above questions, the relevant information concerning tornados and how they cause buildings to collapse will be accrued. Observation Observation method will also be used to collect information concerning tornado damage of buildings. All the research assistants will be on the look out especially in areas that are normally highly affected by tornados. VCSR cameras can be used in such areas to aid in getting the correct information. Data analytical methods It is never enough just to collect data, its analysis is very essential in order to come up with the final conclusion concerning the research. After carrying out research in this topic on collapsing of buildings by tornados, the data collected will be analysed using both the collating and the relative standard curve method. (Alreck, 2002) In the collative method, the data collected will be compared and contrasted. This data analysis method is whereby one brings together the data collected from various sources and compares and contrasts them. This is whereby there are more than two variant articles of the same information or in this case collecting the same topic of research. This means that the information that was collected through questionnaires, interviews, observation etc will be analyzed. They will be compared and contrasted and then the final conclusion made concerning the research. The other method that will be used is the relative standard curve method. This is whereby curves are used to analyze data that was collected through the above named methods. Through this the data will be analyzed and the overall conclusion made. The strategies that will be used to minimise bias include having a team of five experts to analyse the data. This will definitely increase the validity measure of the report. Research population Research populations are very essential when planning for any research. They always have to be identified before hand. They include people who have relevant information in relation to the research being carried out. The research populations that will be used in this research include the people living in areas that have adversely been affected by tornados in the past. (Schaefer, 2004) Another group will involve experts in meteorological department and news reporters. This is due to the fact that they normally have valuable information related to the research topic. They will be from parts of United States, Canada and Australia. This is due to the fact that such populations have first hand information concerning tornados and the way they cause buildings to collapse. Sampling Sampling method will be used to get the number of people to give the relevant information concerning tornados. First of all clusters will be put in place in relation to research populations. In some areas, random sampling will be used to get the respondent people or population. The size of the samples will be from five to ten people from each cluster. The sample groups will be located in areas that have been adversely affected by tornados in the past. The numbers of case studies that will be used in this research are a minimum of five and a maximum of ten. These will help to get all the relevant information in relation to tornados and collapsing buildings. (Rutman, 1999) Ethical considerations Ethical considerations when carrying out this research are in relation to data collection. Since majority of the respondents may have been affected in one way or the other, the questions should not revive their pain. One has to put in mind that when buildings collapse, there is death and also loss of property. This means that the questions have to be very objective in nature. For instance questions that concern the relatives that were in the house at the time of collapse should be avoided. Some questions like did any of your relatives, friends or family members die on the spot should not be included. This is due to the fact that they can spur emotional feelings of loss which is very painful. For instance a question can be asked concerning whether there was destruction of property and not how much was in the house and how were they affected? Timescale/ research planning In order to enhance success in any research, planning has to be done. This includes planning for every activity and the time that it is expected to take. This research is expected to take minimum of four and a maximum of six months. During this time all the data will be collected and a final report written down. Dissemination and outcome This research will first of all be disseminated through a seminar where the relevant stakeholders will be invited to listen to it. It will also further be put online where it can be accessed by various stakeholders despite their geographical location. It will be downloadable and any person who accesses it will be given the opportunity to rate it and also give other feedbacks in relation to the report. (Patton, 2005) Conclusion Research is a very important venture since it enables one to get the relevant information related to a specific topic. This research is in relation to the damage that tornados cause on buildings. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies will be used to get the information. Methods that will be used include questionnaires, interviews and observations. The information will further be analysed using collating and the relative standard curve method. The research population will include people staying in areas that have been adversely affected by tornados in the past. It will also include experts from the meteorological news departments. Ethical issues will be upheld in the entire research. There will be planning of activities in relation to the time that it will take. These entire aspects when well carried out will see to it that relevant and valid information is collected. Read More