This week, I was introduced to my group, our Graduate Impact Advisor (GIA) and our assigned research brief. During a team meeting, we divided our brief into four distinct elements, and each compiled related existing research ahead of our next meeting; we identified a lack of research specific to our brief and clarified our unique publishable angle.
To support our research, we attended skills workshops on both Excel and NVivo. Having no prior experience with either of these softwares, these workshops were a great opportunity to develop my technical skills and learn to represent both quantitative and qualitative data.
Although there was initially some uncertainty regarding certain aspects of our project, we were able to clarify our direction thanks not only to the support of our GIA, but also the dedication and proactiveness of our team members.
Next week, we have arranged to meet with a stakeholder to discuss their expectations for the project, and the kinds of data with which they would be willing to provide us.