Final Reflection – Eilidh Sinclair

Whilst putting my research project together I encountered various obstacles. Firstly, devising my initial question was quite difficult, I had a few ideas but turning them into a suitable project and a question that had good detail and was not too broad I found quite challenging initially. Also, making sure not to recycle ideas was something I was wary of. Secondly, and I’m sure most people have encountered similar issues, was the problem of services being unavailable due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Places where I may gather research, such as libraries and archives have been closed for a long period of time and restrictions will still be in place when they re-open.

To overcome these obstacles, in terms of my initial question; I emailed back and forth with my supervisor who was very helpful and helped to develop my ideas by suggesting different authors and places to look for further analysis. This allowed me to then decide on my final question which was suitable and accepted by my supervisor. In terms of searching for materials given the current situation, I researched online through various archives to see if there was enough digitised materials in the event that physical archives may remain closed for a further period of time.

This module has taught me various aspects of the dissertation and the research project I probably wasn’t aware really existed. Learning how to look for materials and the different methods used to approach these materials has been invaluable, as I am now able to confidently research and know exactly what I am looking for, and how I will use this within my dissertation. The two assignments have also helped me approach my dissertation better as reviewing literature, deciding on a methodology etc has helped form the basis of my project and I feel I am in a good place to continue on myself once university is finished for the summer.

Finally, the most useful aspects of the module to me were the two assignments. They allowed my project to take shape initially with the methodology paper, laying out exactly how I would carry it out and some of the issues previous authors have discussed allowed me to also from the basis of an argument which was really helpful when it came to writing my dissertation proposal which I have found challenging but also has aided in forming an argument by reviewing more sources and setting out my aims and objectives has made the project feel like it is eventually taking shape. The module overall has been very valuable as it has helped to understand more about what the dissertation will consist of and with a year until it is due, having a good start on it in terms of research and reading will prove invaluable when it comes to working on it over the summer and into 4th year.

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