Doing Your Research

Doing Your Research

This week I set aside a considerable amount of time to sink my teeth into ‘Doing Your Research’ by Judith Bell. Not only has reading this book enabled me to progress significantly with my inquiry as my research methods have advanced but it was also extremely beneficial in the sense of visualisation. The book begins with a maze / diagram almost like snakes and ladders; allowing readers to understand where they are prior to reading the book and where they will be upon completion. 

This also foreshadows the path of research inquiry as it is unlikely to be direct and will entail many twists and turns and maybe even a couple of dead ends before reaching the end goal. 

As Module 3 is the research project itself and I am a Module 2 student this maze will help me visualise the bigger picture; the end goal. Primarily I am focusing on Chapters 1-6 and developing an understanding of my research tools which delves into Chapters 7-12.

I have already began the groundwork in Module 1, researching case studies and styles of research enabling me to complete the ‘Layering the Groundwork Checklist’ in the book (another extremely useful tool). 

Via Skype discussions I have been able to meet my supervisor / talk with Adesola who has been extremely helpful in clarifying the Module and learning tools within My Uni Hub. 

I have also successfully refined my research question (see previous blog post) and most recently have been considering ethics within my inquiry in much more detail. 

My next step is to complete a literature review. A literature review is a comprehensive study and interpretation of literature that relates to a particular topic. When you undertake a literature review you identify a research question, then seek to answer this question by searching for and analysing relevant literature using a systematic approach.

In my case my research topic is ‘does the context a dancer performs in change the way they dance’ in particular in the area within a classical ballet company. Moving forwards I now need to begin research in the different research tools available when collecting data and choose which method will be most appropriate for myself. 

Bibliography

Bell, J and Waters S (2014) Doing your Research Project, first published 1987. England: Open University Press