I need your help

[seadog]

Hello, I can expect there are going to be a few posts like this over the next few months!
I have decided to do my dissertation on the hunting debate. I myself am pro hunting and although its going to be a critical thinking style essay with point from both sides, it will come accross as pro hunting.

The plan is to ask members of the public what they think of hunting and people who hunt, I will then give them a questionaire on basic hunting questions to show them just how little they know about the sport.
This is hopefully going to indicate how strongly people feel about something they know very little about.

I will be talking to people from the hunt saboteurs assosiation and looking at the lush campaigne supporting them.

If anyone has any stories and experiences (however big or small) reating to the bad behaviour of the HSA I would be most grateful, PM if you dont want to post on here.
I need it to come accross that the HSA although trying to protect foxes are injuring people and horses in their illegal protests.


Thanks very much

Also if anyone has any pictures of hunting that they wouldn't mind me using that would be great.

 

[combat_claire]

Having done two dissertations at Bachelors & Masters level (one of which was loosely related to hunting) I have got to comment on this.

You simply cannot start your dissertation with such a fixed idea and aim to slant your thesis to fit your established opinion. The whole point of your research project is to ask a question and then go about answering it through relevant and targeted research. Whole chapters will look at your methodology, results and what you need to improve on and if you want to pass you will not be able to hand in a polemic on hunting.

I'm not sure what degree you are reading for, but if you are desperate to relate your thesis to a topic that you are obviously interested in then why not look at the impact that the ban has had, trace the history of campaigns to ban/preserve hunting or the economic contribution of field sports.

You will also want to restrict the area of operations, if you attempt to sample the whole UK you will set yourself a near impossible task. For example I wanted to look into methods of fallen stock collection, my tutor wisely advised that this was potentially huge and suggested I narrow it down to a county level. I based my studies on Northamptonshire.

Use heaps of journals as secondary sources for your study, as well as relying on primary sampling. I would also suggest that asking for anecdotal evidence from an internet forum isn't a great way of picking a demographically representative sample.

This book is a really useful guide to methodology, hypothesis and the technical bits of researching and writing. Well worth purchasing if the college library don't stock it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Dissertation-Geography-Related-Disciplines/dp/0415341558

I don't want you to think I am being totally negative and discouraging, but hunting has always been a tricky topic to research dispassionately. It can be done. Richard Matson won the Geoffrey Craghill scholarship for his academic dissertation titled 'Hypothetical consequences of closing down a large pack of foxhounds to include its economic implication on the local community and its effect on the countryside in general' - there are copies in the library at the Royal Agricultural College. If you are a student elsewhere you can order it free on inter-library loan.