Process Paper

Christen Barnes
How did I choose my topic?

As my teacher was going through the thick packet of hundreds of topics that I
could research with my classmates and I, he briefly went over “Sears”. He explained
that Sears would be very interesting to Research because it would be a great topic for
“Breaking Barriers.” He then explained that it began as a catalog and it was the “Old
age Amazon.” As a child and growing up I was always fascinated with magazines and
shopping. I quickly considered this as a possible topic and went on to do a little
research on it myself. I then realized that this would be the perfect topic for me to do.

How did I conduct my research?

My research began the same day and time that I chose my topic. At this time I
was still not 100% sure that this was the topic that I was going to do but it ended being it
from me doing a quick research run. I went to the school library the next week and
began a more in depth research. I gathered as much information as I could about what
it was, who started it, why they started it, how they started it and what the impact of
them starting it was. Later that week, I searched up what the catalogs consisted of.

How did I select my category and how I created it?

I chose to do a website for my category. I’ve always had an understanding for

technology and things such as power points and I just thought that creating an entire
website would be an amazing way to explore technology even more! At first I wasn’t
sure what website I was going to use because I had never created one before so I
looked at what other students used on NHD and found Weebly. I then went on weebly,
created an account, and quickly started working on my website.

How does my project relate to NHD theme?

My topic relates to this year’s theme of “Breaking Barriers” in a very lucid way.
Sears Roebuck and Company revolutionized retailing in a rapidly expanding,
increasingly prosperous nation. The way that they impacted and changed America
would stay forever. Before Sears catalog, American citizens couldn’t easily get or even
 Process Paper
Christen Barnes
afford very many things that we sometimes take for granted today. Such as
refrigerators, irons, everyday tools and even clothes. Without Sears’ foundation of
retailing and shipping, the world would most likely look very different than it does today.
The world in the 1800’s would have never thought that you could pick up a book, pick
what you wanted, send it back, and then get the item that you purchased within a
couple of days. It was just too crazy of a things. So I would say that Sears Roebuck and
Company broke many barriers in the best way they could have.

Student-Created Word Count: 455

Process Paper Words: 486