Research Project Planning

 So let's talk research projects - something which before starting module two I was pretty much oblivious to. I'd never needed to investigate a topic before by using this method so I felt like I had a lot to learn, however, after speaking to my peers who had been through the university process and had some knowledge in the area, I felt much more assured on how to plan my project and the methods that would be useful specifically to my topic. (never be afraid to ask for help right?!)

Firstly I looked into the different methods which I could use; interviews, surveys, observation etc. I had a careful think about which of these would benefit my research and came to the decision that interviews and observation probably weren't necessary for my study given the amount of time I will have to complete my research method - therefore my proposal will be based largely around qualitative data gained from surveys and questionnaires. As I will be asking three different types of subjects for my surveys, I should still have a large and varied amount of data to help support my dissertation. 

Now I had decided upon my research methods, I then began to look at the ethics surrounding this. I had always thought the ethics would revolve solely around the participants and the use of their data, so it was interesting when I listened to Astrid's tutorial, to note that we must too think about the ethics of our self as the researcher  - this was something I needed to pay more attention to when structuring my research proposal. 

The third item to look at was my Gantt chart; again a concept which was completely new to me. However, time management is something I admittedly have never quite gotten to grips with, so when creating my chart I really noticed just how helpful planning your weeks out could be. Sam kindly pointed out that I needed to re-assess my schedule as I would have far less time before my first submission than what I had accounted for and again this highlighted the importance of planning out my week and sticking to a strict schedule, especially as I will be conducting my research alongside working full time. 

I have completed my first draft and I am now working on my amendments before the final submission of module 2, yet I am already eager to see where my research project will take me in module 3. It really just shows the value of a research proposal and planning your time wisely...