Learning diary 5

The last two weeks have defiantly been a lot harder than I imagined. At times I have felt completely lost. When I first sat down to write my project proposal I felt pretty overwhelmed like I had a huge task ahead and little idea of the best direction to take so again I turned to the trusty handbook and followed the “12 point format guide” on page 12. As I worked through the points I was forced to think hard about certain things. I realized its all very well having a general idea in your head and thinking you’ll do this, that and the other but when you have to put these ideas on paper and convince someone else that this is a worthwhile project and you know the best way to go about it you defiantly can’t get carried away with your creativity and think everything will come together at the end! So putting that idea (and the easy option) out of my head I have had to really focus my thoughts and reflect honestly on my knowledge, position as a work-based researcher and what resources I will have available to me.
The aim of my project has always been clear in my mind, It’s a question that has for a number of years played on my mind so I know it’s a worthwhile project for me to undertake.

What was not so easy was deciding on a research methodology, even though throughout the whole module this is was we have been researching and what I have been writing these diaries about I realized I had some huge gaps in my knowledge and so needed to take a day to re-read and clarify what exactly was included in each in research methodology, whilst doing this I performed a mental check list in my head to see if each approach would be suitable for my project.

Another thing I took extra time to research was ethics; at first I thought there were not many ethical considerations to take into account affecting my project as I am not working with minors and will not be working in an organisation where I could reveal someone’s identity leaving them in a vulnerable position. So I spent some time researching ethics online and found it interesting how many factors I just didn’t think about.

Although my project proposal came along slowly in the beginning, things soon began to flow better and once my proposal was finished I felt a huge weight had been lifted and feel I am making headway through the rest of the activities. I still need to
*Complete my glossary
*Fill in the various forms
*Write my critical commentary
*Write the rationale for my award title
*Make some alterations to my first draft of the project proposal.

I will take some time to think about the title of my degree, as this will have a big influence on my employ-ability and career progression.