Our first week was dedicated to becoming more familiar with the research brief we had been given and understanding how we might approach our project. Our brief asked us to conduct a project on the topic of educational policy and non-attainment-based evidence while providing a few more specific angles to approach the topic with. I will admit I was a little disappointed at not being able to choose my own topic for research this summer, but I am trying to take it in stride and not let it affect my motivation for completing this project. Rather than viewing it as a missed opportunity to study a personal topic of interest, I’m trying to view this summer as an opportunity to learn more about a different field and develop new skills.
On that note, this week involved two IT training sessions. We were introduced to Nvivo, which did not seem immediately applicable to the research methods our group would need, but it was incredibly interesting to finally understand what ‘coding’ qualitative data meant. I had come across it before in various articles and papers, but the process had always seemed so mysterious to me. I’m interested to see if in the future I might be able to make use of Nvivo for my LiA summer.
At first, I struggled to make sense of what direction our group could take with our research proposal, but after conversations with groupmates and advice from our Graduate Advisor I think we’ve finally arrive at a direction for our project: To identify what challenges emerge when attempting to influence educational policy using developmental or non-attainment-based evidence, and why this emergence occurs. I’m excited to see where this project takes us!
Next week, we’ll be visiting a primary school in Oxfordshire and taking part in a local sports day. It’s been a long time since the I last went to a field day, so I’m excited to help out and hopefully create a memorable day for the kids attending. As our project ramps up next week, I also want to be more proactive about approaching my work. Rather than waiting till the evening to conduct my research or work, I want to commit myself to spending the morning and early afternoon in the library and get some work done. That way I have time to do extra work if required without cutting into my sleep and can go about my day peacefully if no extra work is required.