This week was a continuation of literary review and analysis regarding our research topic. There were no mishaps, and I am happy to say that we've been making steady progress towards our end goals.
We were taught how to use Zotero, which has been invaluable in supporting our research progress. Finally, the "Uncomfortable Oxford" tour we attended was incredibly educational in understanding the story of Town and Gown within the Oxfordshire region.
A highlight for the week was the talk we attended by Catherine Day and Sir Matthew Rycroft, who shared with us their experience in the Civil Service. Overall, it's been a very enriching and enjoyable week, both in terms of the events we attended, as well as the progress we made in our research project.
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Bora, it's encouraging to see that your team is making steady progress with the literature review and that you've developed effective ways of organising your research, particularly through learning to use Zotero. Establishing good systems for managing evidence is an important research skill and will prove valuable throughout your studies.
I was also pleased to see that you highlighted the sessions with Catherine Day and Sir Matthew Rycroft, as well as the Uncomfortable Oxford tour. These experiences expose you to questions about leadership, public service and the relationship between institutions and society that sit at the heart of many of the issues explored in PPE.
For future reflections, I'd encourage you to move beyond describing what you found interesting and spend a little more time analysing why. For example, what leadership principle from Catherine Day or Sir Matthew challenged your own assumptions? Did the Uncomfortable Oxford tour alter the way you think about Oxford's civic responsibilities, or about the relationship between historical institutions and contemporary society? Exploring these kinds of questions would allow you to engage more critically with the ideas presented.
I'd also be interested to hear more about your own intellectual contribution to the project. Has anything in the literature challenged your initial assumptions? Have you encountered competing viewpoints that required your team to reconsider its thinking? Those moments of tension often produce the most interesting reflections.