Voting on the Olympics
Purpose: Create a Recommendation Report
Created Using: Microsoft Office Suite/Adobe Suite
Created For: Technical Writing and Presentation (TCID 2090)
Conducting Research
Gathering information from reliable sources is at the heart of a research assignment. Information comes from documentation, subject-matter experts, user data, and existing standards. The process of conducting research for a technical document requires a high degree of attention to detail and the ability to clarify/summarize complex concepts.
Context
This project was undertaken as the final assignment for TCID 2090. The goal was to select an issue, research it, and “present” it to the corresponding governmental body. I chose my topic after I had heard of cases where cities were very resistant to hosting the Olympic Games. My research efforts for this issue included analysis of historical trends, reading opinion pieces, and gathering the opinions of people through polling.
Analysis
The writing in this document is unpolished and lacks many of the fundamentals of technical writing (it was my first TCID course). However, this paper still demonstrates my ability to conduct research quickly and accurately. In fact, I probably over-researched this project because the subject was so fascinating to me.
Initially, I narrowed the focus of my research to a couple of articles and conducted an online poll to gauge people’s interest in hosting an Olympic Games. The research eventually “sprawled” into economic trends of specific Olympic-hosting areas going back to the 1960s and 70s. As the due date approached, I had to trim a large amount of tangential research that lacked relevance for the final product. The biggest challenge I faced when doing this assignment was conducting primary research. I reached out directly to several parts of the Olympics for interviews including the Olympic Historical Society and the Training Center. However, I was unable to establish any form of contact with an actual human to conduct an interview.
Reflection
This was not my first research assignment, but it was one of the more fulfilling ones. Being able to select my own topic allowed me to take the research as far as I felt necessary to complete the assignment. Research efforts were largely successful, apart from conducting primary interviews with personnel representing Olympic committees. If I were to redo this assignment, I would make those interviews the primary focus of my early research. I do not feel as though I exhausted all attempts to speak to the people who may have the best insights into the hosting of Olympic Games.