So, after meeting with my supervisors today I'm pretty much changing my research question (don't worry, it's not all that drastic, I guess). My original question was basically, "Can a nutrient-removal / stormwater management constructed wetland treat the effects of acid sulfate soils?" That primary question is now going to be, "How do acid sulfate soils affect the treatment capabilities of an existing constructed wetland for nutrient-removal / stormwater management?" It may sound kind of like a semantic difference, but it changes a lot of how the research can be applied. For example, the first question would mostly be seen as useful to areas of the world where constructed wetlands exist alongside acid sulfate soils, and they want to know if those wetlands can be used (these soils exist in about 30% of the world in terms of terrestrial environments [that aren't covered with ice]). The only problem is that it meant it only applied if the wetland was specifically going to purposefully get used to treat these soils. The new question applies to pretty much any constructed wetland that's already in place for some purpose other than relieving acidity, and will help show whether or not that acidity can actually be remedied (in this type of environment anyway). Because the soils have similar effects as something like acid drainage from a mine, it means that the results could be used in more areas to relate adding the waste to a wetland that already exists. And then the same follow-up questions still apply, like how does stormwater affect the wetland or which parts of the wetland do more (like plants vs. sediments, etc.). So we came to the conclusion it made the project more applicable to a broader audience, which is always good. I'm coming to the realization that science is almost more about selling what you're doing to the most people than it is about doing the right project (although, I guess if you're a good scientist you do the right work and sell it to the most people). I'm also finding it interesting that this all sort of ties back into climate change...and it might be an effect of climate change that hasn't been mentioned very much (one reason the soils release acid is because of drying, and the latitudes further from the equator are expected to receive less rain due to climate change). That doesn't really fall into my question, but at the same time may make my project more applicable as the problem becomes more prominent (I'm learning that these soils are now being found in almost 200 million hectares of Australia, a bunch of northern Finland and Sweden, Chinese river deltas, areas of the mid-latitude US coastline, etc.).
Anyways, I'm re-working sections of my proposal. It's taking a while to get the right references for the right sections, but maybe I'll send a version home or post it for downloading or something soon so that you can get a better idea of what I'm doing!
P.S. I highly recommend the book, 'Successful Scientific Writing: A step-by-step guide for the biological and medical sciences' (I should note that Borders shows it with a green cover, but the version I have has a red cover, which Borders shows as a different version of the book for biomedical science, so I don't know whether it's a different colour over there). I'm borrowing a copy, but will probably want my own version eventually. Anyway, it gives a lot of good advice about writing (other than learning about selling your project, reading all these articles is really making me realize how important writing is...I've read some that may have had decent findings that I don't even want to reference, because they ask one question and don't answer it in the end...makes you wonder what the editors and reviewers were doing). Anyways...this one is a writing book that I think is good...there was another that I borrowed that I really didn't like. My favourite is a Calvin and Hobbes comic that they show where Calvin says, "I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! Want to see my book report?" Hobbes says, "The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in Dick and Jane: A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes." Calvin reples, "Academia, here I come!" Ahh...if only wordy titles were all it took.
Anyways, I'm re-working sections of my proposal. It's taking a while to get the right references for the right sections, but maybe I'll send a version home or post it for downloading or something soon so that you can get a better idea of what I'm doing!
P.S. I highly recommend the book, 'Successful Scientific Writing: A step-by-step guide for the biological and medical sciences' (I should note that Borders shows it with a green cover, but the version I have has a red cover, which Borders shows as a different version of the book for biomedical science, so I don't know whether it's a different colour over there). I'm borrowing a copy, but will probably want my own version eventually. Anyway, it gives a lot of good advice about writing (other than learning about selling your project, reading all these articles is really making me realize how important writing is...I've read some that may have had decent findings that I don't even want to reference, because they ask one question and don't answer it in the end...makes you wonder what the editors and reviewers were doing). Anyways...this one is a writing book that I think is good...there was another that I borrowed that I really didn't like. My favourite is a Calvin and Hobbes comic that they show where Calvin says, "I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! Want to see my book report?" Hobbes says, "The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in Dick and Jane: A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes." Calvin reples, "Academia, here I come!" Ahh...if only wordy titles were all it took.
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