Research Methods Performa-
1. Topic Area - Motorcycle Accident Factors
2. Working title - Severe Motorcycle Accidents in Asia: An investigation of accident traits, influence factors and product safety and design
3. Statement of your key research objectives (What do you want to find out?)
Why are motorcycle accidents one of the leading causes of death in Asia?
- What is the current number of motorcycle accidents and mortalities? Has there been any increase in the past five years?
- What is the nature of motorcycle accidents?
- Is there any relationship between the demography and the number and type of motorcycle accidents?
- What are locals' attitudes towards motorcycle accidents? What is their perception behind the motorcycle accidents?
- What kinds of safety features, in terms of education, information and products are available?
4. Background to the subject (Context of the research)
Most countries in Asia have a mandatory helmet law for motorcyclist. From an observation study in Indonesia showed that 89% of motorcyclist wore safety gear and only 20% of the passengers wore safely gear. Come to find of that out of those 89% who wore safety gear, 55% of those riders wore the safety gear the incorrect way (Conrad et al, 1996). Motorcyclist have a higher risk of death in a crash than any other vehicle so it's important for motorcyclist to wear the safety gear the correct way in order for it to work efficiently. Some other factors that plays a part of motorcycle accidents is alcohol consumption, poor motorcycle training, daytime headlight laws, riding speed, and risk-taking behaviors (Lin & Krause, 2009).
5. Key authors in the chosen field
- Mark Bello (Theory = Most accidents happen at intersections. Method = Qualitative & Quantitative)
- Heidi Turner (Theory = Most motorcycle accidents are not the motorcyclist fault. Method = Qualitative & Quantitative)
- C.W Chang-Jian, J.R Rabunal, & Rojas-Sola (Theory = Motorcycle brakes are not efficient Method = Pragmatic approach)
- Julian Stella, Clive Cooke, & Peter Sprivulis (Theory = Motorcycle education is poor amongst riders. Method = Quantitative)
- Kunnawee Kanitpong, & Yordphol Tanaboriboon (Theory = Driving under the influence cause many accidents. Method = Pragmatic approach)
6. What makes it worthy of study? (Sell your research idea!)
The primary reason I selected this topic is because motorcycles interests me. Over the course of my riding career, I have acquired 25 bikes inclusive of ATV's, dirt bikes, and street bikes. Recently, I lost a close friend do to a severe motorcycle accident because the other driver was not paying attention to their surroundings. After doing a little research, I found out that one of the leading causes of death in Asia is due to motorcycle accidents. I thought this was pretty interesting because in the US motorcycles accidents are definitely not the leading cause of death and I'm wondering why this is prominent in Asia. Writing my dissertation on motorcycle accidents will help me further understand different accident traits and factors related to victims of motorcycle accidents to prevent deaths in the future.
7. Chosen research methods and a possible work plan (How you are going to get your information)
- Case Studies (Can help me develop ideas and produce hypotheses which can be used for later research)
- Survey (Can help me collect data from a large number of respondents)
- Archival research (The data is already collected so this type of method will save me time on a particular research sector on motorcycle accidents)
- Observation research (gaining an understanding of naturalistic settings and understanding motorcyclist ways of seeing/thinking)
9. Resources and constraints (Evaluate potential issues - play "devil's advocate")
- Finding study participants
- Time constraints
10. Publication potential (Identify possible journals for the publication of your research)
- Traffic Injury Prevention
- Cycle World
- Accident Analysis & Prevention
- Journal of Safety Research
- Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior.
Assignment link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkm59skh2nd32as/Dissertation%20Assignment.rar?dl=0
The whole dissertation is 15,000 but all I need done at the moment is the Literature Review. There is not a specific format it should be but I would like the citations to be in APA format.
There is really no limit but just don't make it past 3800 words.