Research is coming along! This week has been an especially productive week for our team. We have drafted the introduction, literature review, methodology, and have a wide selection of qualitative data that we can analyse for our discussion. It is funny how professional things start to look when you stick it in a big document, put it in a font like Times New Roman, and make the text double spaced. 

Over the next week, I need to work on: refining a flowchart pathway for the theoretical framework of the literature review; ensure that all thematic coding on NVivo is complete; brainstorm ways to visualise qualitative data; and tidy up the formatting of our master document (this is my favourite part).

Our research has not been without struggle. We found out earlier in the week that, despite getting 27 responses on a joint survey with another group, our specific questions did not receive any responses. It did cause a lot of frustration, especially because the reasons for this are still unknown – perhaps an oversight of the question being included initially, or the framing of our question. Nevertheless, it was a lesson that research is fluid and we, as a team, need to be adaptable to practical constraints. So, we distributed a new survey to students detailing their experiences of ECAs in their youth, and have had over 30+ responses. 

Also – and this applies throughout the summer – it has definitely been a skill in trying to take feedback constructively and positively. Being in a group with such talented and smart individuals does come at the peril of everyone having their own interpretation of how the research be directed in. Sometimes, this produces disagreements with small minor details, but at other times, these disagreements venture out into the broader direction of the research. For our group, this was especially the case with data – the hesitancy to consider quantitative data because of concerns with the methods of collection. However, I have realised this is a crucial aspect of quality research that ensures everybody's diverse experiences, knowledge, and skills are put forward. I have learnt that the willingness to listen and adapt is key to being a team player. 

I initially entered the summer hoping to brush up on some quantitive skills. Some members of my team are very skilled at maths, and have been attempting to explain regression to me (with limited success). But, I hope that over the next week, I can at least attempt to contribute to analysing these quantitate results, providing a sufficient amount of responses.

On a personal note, it really has been a pleasure to be here. Summer in Oxford is very pretty, and I don't take that for granted. However, I am very much looking forward to be back home soon. I have to admit that I am feeling a little homesick. Even though this cohort has been lovely, I do hope to reunite with friends back home that I haven't seen in a long time. I also miss my mum's cooking. 

Scrolling through over LiA blog posts is also already making me excited (and nervous) for next year. I'll put aside that thought for another day.