Primary Research Methods

The turf fields are an area of contention and really, mystery, to myself and my friends and family who play on them. After going to the site and taking pictures of all posted signs (there were more than I expected!), I needed further methods for determining the purpose and  intended participants of the turf fields. Additionally, I want to determine who is determined to maintain and operate the turf fields, and whether the public can influence their maintenance.

My main forms of primary research concerning the turf fields (beyond the pictures) revolve around two sets of interviews/surveys that I will be conducting over the next week. The first is an interview with an official from the East Brunswick Division of Parks, who operate the turf fields, and have posted their phone number for concerns and questions surrounding the turf field. I hope to conduct this interview either live in person or on the phone and see if I can get some straight answers concerning the fields and the questions I have about it. This interview has the potential to resolve many of the questions I have concerning the fields, but may also complicate my research and really make things more difficult and ambiguous.

The second set of research I will conduct is a questionnaire that I will distribute to users of the turf fields like myself. I will send it out to those friends of mine who play on the fields on Facebook. While my friends use it to play ultimate frisbee, on any given night, there are multiple groups, both affiliated and unaffiliated with town leagues, playing multiple sports. I hope to distribute these surveys to these other field users and determine whether the opinions of my fellow frisbee players follows suit with the general thinking of the users. I plan to ask questions revolving the fields’ use, maintenance, location, and knowledge of posted signs.

Getting past my own personal biases surrounding the fields will definitely be a factor in my writing of the research paper. However, I think that the purposes of the paper nearly superscede any biases I have. Knowing the intended purpose of the turf fields and the difference between that and its current use can reveal the town’s inconsistencies, but I merely participate in its use. Knowing who maintains the park will more pointedly inform the public (if I am able to publish this paper) about its use, and again, doesn’t hinge on my personal thoughts or biases. I’m hoping to discover whether the town’s plan for the turf fields and the Heavenly Farms complex is clear to the public, and whether this influences its practice on a daily basis.

Questionnaire for Turf Field Users (handed out on the fields)

Age:

Town of Residence:

Primary Sport(s) Played on the fields:

Is/Are above sport(s) township/school/league-organized or independent/pick-up style?:

Have you ever participated in an East Brunswick township/school/league-organized activity on the Turf Fields or elsewhere?:

Did you attend East Brunswick High School/Churchill Junior High School/Hammarskjold Middle School?

How did you hear about the Turf Fields?:

How often do you participate in activities on the Turf Fields?:

Are you aware of the rest of the Heavenly Farms complex near the Turf Fields, but not including the Turf Fields?:

Are you aware of the bulletin board that posts the times when East Brunswick leagues have the fields reserved?:

If so, does this ever affect your attending an event at the fields?:

Are you aware of the metal signs posted in the chain-link fence of Field A that lists rules and regulations?:

Are you aware that the fields now turn off their stadium lights at 9:15pm Monday to Saturday, and do not turn them on Sundays (Last year the lights were turned off at 10:15pm on weekends and 11:00pm on Friday and Saturday)?:

Does this regulation concern you, and, if so, do you feel you have an adequate forum to voice these concerns?:

Does it concern you that the fields are not visible from Cranbury Road or Dunhams Corner Road, the two streets it is accessible from?:

What do you see as the purpose of the Turf Fields, based on their current use and their integration within the Heavenly Farms Complex and the Fairgrounds?:

The questionnaire in the form I’m distributing it online is located here:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yuitn2zzz3z

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