research paper on alpinism: please, god, help me

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 06:45 AM

So I am starting a year-long Capstone paper. I don't have the attention span to research something I don't truly care about so I have eliminated all possible topics except mountain sports. My original idea was to look at survivors guilt in alpinists but this would require too much narrative analysis and has never been researched before. Also, people don't always like to talk about their dead friends. Thus, I have moved on and now intend to look the motivating factors in alpine pursuits. Essentially, why we do what we do. Again, there is little research on the subject but plenty of literature on how qualitative data could be gleaned and synthesized. I hypothesize that mountain athletes possess unique psyches which are conducive to high risk behavior. I suspect the presence of possible psychological complexes which may lead to this behavior. I also suspect culturally-defined behavior for the predominant demographic of alpinists to play a role in motivation. As of now, I think the best way to go about testing this hypothesis is reviewing any and all pertinent literature in conjunction with psychoanalysis of a few accomplished mountaineers, climbers, skiers, and boarders. If anyone could offer guidance or would actually be interested in doing a short interview, please let me know. My fear is that my interest in alpinism may blind me from the fact that this is a terrible idea so objective feedback is necessary and my instructor is specifically prohibited from providing as much per course guidelines.

**schuss** · 10-12-2020, 06:48 AM

I think you'll hit a blocker in that there could be physiological explainers and I doubt you have funding to CAT/MRI a bunch of people.
What major?

**glademaster** · 10-12-2020, 06:53 AM

I think he's in high school.

Just read Conquistadors of the Useless, Earle Birney's "David," and On Snow and Rock by Gaston Rebuffat, then fling shit at the page until something you like sticks.

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 06:57 AM

Originally Posted by schuss

I think you'll hit a blocker in that there could be physiological explainers and I doubt you have funding to CAT/MRI a bunch of people.
What major?

In fact, I have no funding at all. I am a senior in HS and this is for my AP Capstone diploma.

I agree that the ultimate explanation to my question is the releases of dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline, but couldn't I just look at the desires that precede this?

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 06:58 AM

Originally Posted by glademaster

Just read Conquistadors of the Useless, Earle Birney's "David," and On Snow and Rock by Gaston Rebuffat, then fling shit at the page until something you like sticks.

Thanks for the recommendations. I will definitely check those out.

**snowaddict91** · 10-12-2020, 06:59 AM

I'm not sure how in-depth your research needs to be, but you could set up a short series of questions about risk taking and risk tolerance and distribute it to a group of outdoor enthusiasts. Then you can give the same survey to a "control group," say people at the library or your classmates or something.

What class is this for? What are the goals?

**old goat** · 10-12-2020, 07:02 AM

I take it that "because it's there" would not be long enough for your project

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 07:05 AM

Originally Posted by snowaddict91

I'm not sure how in-depth your research needs to be, but you could set up a short series of questions about risk taking and risk tolerance and distribute it to a group of outdoor enthusiasts. Then you can give the same survey to a "control group," say people at the library or your classmates or something.

What class is this for? What are the goals?

That is what I was thinking. This is for AP Research so it is still high school and doesn't need to be crazy in-depth but given the lack of qualitative research on the subject, I think narrative analysis is prudent. I guess my goal is to unpack all the shit that Hillary said: "We climb for the hell of it," " It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves," etc. I don't mean this literally but I think it is a good way of conveying that the common answer to the question of "why" is often just "because" and as an inquisitor, I am not okay with that.

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by old goat

I take it that "because it's there" would not be long enough for your project

Lol, Mallory is not helping the cause with that shit.

**Cruiser** · 10-12-2020, 07:25 AM

The key with these type of projects is narrowing your focus just enough. Too tight and you can't come up with anything novel to write about. Too loose and you aren't capable of getting to the point. Try to find a facet of the issue that you can actually get some quantitative data about and then manipulate that data to identify some statistically significant correlations. Otherwise you're just jibber jabbering to fill the page.

**fastfred** · 10-12-2020, 07:25 AM

drop out of high school now
move to a mountain town get fucked up every day
stop thinking so deeply turn your brain off no one gives a fuck at the end of the day that your smart
some people smoke crack some people go outside and recreate at the end of the day both people are the same

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by fastfred

drop out of high school now
move to a mountain town get fucked up every day
stop thinking so deeply turn your brain off no one gives a fuck at the end of the day that your smart
some people smoke crack some people go outside and recreate at the end of the day both people are the same

I have considered as much and mostly agree with your points.

**I've seen black diamonds!** · 10-12-2020, 07:40 AM

Your research question needs to match your methods and data.

I'd recommend a question like: How do three ski mountaineers at different stages in their careers (aspiring, active and semi-retired) describe their motivation and risk tolerance with respect to their skiing goals?

Then you do your lit review and three interviews. Highlight the interesting differences and similarities in their responses. Don't make grand claims about all alpinists. You won't have the data for that. If you want a good grade read about interview/discourse analysis and choose an approach that fits your data. Even better, do this reading before your interviews so you can be sure to ask questions that get at what your looking for. But this will be a good bit of work, especially without any mentoring. Even the most basic discourse analysis primer will reference literature you aren't familiar with. It'll be a big old rabbit hole, but doing research without learning at least a little about methods is, well, not great.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using TGR Forums mobile app

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 07:51 AM

Originally Posted by I've seen black diamonds!

Your research question needs to match your methods and data.

I'd recommend a question like: How do three ski mountaineers at different stages in their careers (aspiring, active and semi-retired) describe their motivation and risk tolerance with respect to their skiing goals?

Then you do your lit review and three interviews. Highlight the interesting differences and similarities in their responses. Don't make grand claims about all alpinists. You won't have the data for that. If you want a good grade read about interview/discourse analysis and choose an approach that fits your data. Even better, do this reading before your interviews so you can be sure to ask questions that get at what your looking for. But this will be a good bit of work, especially without any mentoring. Even the most basic discourse analysis primer will reference literature you aren't familiar with. It'll be a big old rabbit hole, but doing research without learning at least a little about methods is, well, not great.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using TGR Forums mobile app

This is the sort of feedback I am looking for. As far as the grading goes, I am really not that concerned. As long as I provide plenty of sources from different disciplines and ample analysis, the grading board will eat that shit up. I really do want to learn the methodology. Do you have any specific recs for sources on narrative analysis?

**Svengali** · 10-12-2020, 08:02 AM

How the hell did anybody(myself et al.) graduate high school with out the interwebs?

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by Svengali

How the hell did anybody(myself et al.) graduate high school with out the interwebs?

I would love to know because I literally cannot imagine it.

**I've seen black diamonds!** · 10-12-2020, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by stealurface831

This is the sort of feedback I am looking for. As far as the grading goes, I am really not that concerned. As long as I provide plenty of sources from different disciplines and ample analysis, the grading board will eat that shit up. I really do want to learn the methodology. Do you have any specific recs for sources on narrative analysis?

You wouldn't use narrative analysis on interview data. Look for some YouTube videos about discourse analysis and if you're still interested pm me and I'll send you something.

Another viable study would be to analyze social media content around how avalanche danger is portrayed and compare it to content from forcasters/ experts. This is a totally legit research focus. It would be about identifying categories (look for youtube videos about qualitative coding) I think this would be easier to do well and as a bonus your learn about avalanches.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using TGR Forums mobile app

**steff** · 10-12-2020, 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by Svengali

How the hell did anybody(myself et al.) graduate high school with out the interwebs?

the dog ate my flash drive

**fastfred** · 10-12-2020, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by Svengali

How the hell did anybody(myself et al.) graduate high school with out the interwebs?

summer school
and you actually went out into the world and talked to people
especially if they were older and could get you alcohol

**dan_pdx** · 10-12-2020, 10:07 AM

You're getting great advice here. I do think that lit review+targeted interviews with alpinists could be a pretty good runway to then do a survey with alpinists / non-alpinists to see if the motivations that come up in your interviews are reflected in a broader population of alpinists. I don't know where you go to high school, but this is a pretty substantial project, either you're over-delivering, or high school has gotten a lot harder since my day.

**old goat** · 10-12-2020, 10:09 AM

I remembering writing a term paper in college about mountaineering nonfiction--I remember Conquistadors, one of Dave Roberts' books, can't remember the other ones or what I said about them. I remember I passed the course, whatever course it was.

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by dan_pdx

You're getting great advice here. I do think that lit review+targeted interviews with alpinists could be a pretty good runway to then do a survey with alpinists / non-alpinists to see if the motivations that come up in your interviews are reflected in a broader population of alpinists. I don't know where you go to high school, but this is a pretty substantial project, either you're over-delivering, or high school has gotten a lot harder since my day.

I’m go to an absolutely terrible public high school but the AP program is pretty good. That said, like basically any course, it is only what you put into it and what you take upon yourself to learn as the instructor has minimal oversight.

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

**Brownski** · 10-12-2020, 11:03 AM

I think there’s been a lot more research in this area then you realize. Dig in a bit more. You’ll find stuff. I have a book someplace specifically about the personality traits that drive people to get in trouble in the mountains and the traits that differentiate the survivors from the people that didn’t make it. I just ripped my book pile apart but couldn’t find it. I wish I remembered the author’s name. If I can locate it, I’ll post it up. In the mean time, flex your research muscles a little more. It’s out there.

**stealurface831** · 10-12-2020, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by Brownski

I think there’s been a lot more research in this area then you realize. Dig in a bit more. You’ll find stuff. I have a book someplace specifically about the personality traits that drive people to get in trouble in the mountains and the traits that differentiate the survivors from the people that didn’t make it. I just ripped my book pile apart but couldn’t find it. I wish I remembered the author’s name. If I can locate it, I’ll post it up. In the mean time, flex your research muscles a little more. It’s out there.

I do think you are right. There is more out there on the topic than I have made it seem. If you can find that book or remember the title or author, that would be awesome. I'm gonna start looking around for it. You think "book on mountain psychology" or something along those lines might yield results?