Over the past six weeks, a lot of my summer went the way I had hoped and planned. I was able to stay on track with the timeline I set at the beginning of the program, from finalizing and distributing my primary survey and reading annual reports to analyzing and formulating the data I collected on Indian MSMEs. It was satisfying to see the project take shape, especially once the data started turning into useful graphs, tables, and statistical results. Outside of research, I also really enjoyed spending the summer in New York City and getting to know other Laidlaw Scholars through weekly workshops and discussions about the diverse range of projects.
If I could do one thing differently, I would spend more time reading about traditional vs. digital lending in India before starting my project. My research question evolved a bit over the first two weeks as I identified a clearer gap in the existing research and changed my research to bank vs. non-bank lending. Although that process made my project more concrete, having a finalized research question from the beginning would have helped me spend more time analyzing my results and writing my research paper.
My relationship with my mentor has definitely grown throughout the program. Our meetings were especially productive while I was exploring my research question and designing my survey, due to her expertise in the finance sector and experience in research. Her feedback consistently challenged me to think more carefully about my methodology and approach to presenting my findings. She also encouraged me to create graphs, tables, and charts from both my primary and secondary data and keep the central focus of my paper on my primary survey findings. It was also fun getting to meet her very cute dog during some of our meetings!
Looking ahead to September 1, I feel like the foundation of the project is complete. I have completed the analysis and the graphs, tables, and calculations that will be key to both my paper and research poster. My remaining work is to finalize the citations and edit the draft into a finished paper before designing the final poster. This project has grown so much over the summer, and I’m excited to bring everything together and share the results!