What have been the major obstacles you have faced in putting a research project together?
I have found that when researching primary sources, it is difficult to find a vast amount. My topic is focusing on Kristallnacht through the lens of the British press and when trying to get hold of different forms of mass media, newspapers tend to be the most common way to find useful sources, however aspects such as radio broadcasting are harder to locate as I would like to get hold of transcripts for my dissertation also.
What strategies have you adopted to overcome these obstacles?
I have looked through the national archives along with the British newspaper archives to in depth look at certain newspapers from the events, however over the course of the summer, I will try and hold on to different aspects of the British press at the time of Kristallnacht, as I said, that primary sources are a lot harder to come by than secondary sources.
What has this taught you about approaching your dissertation?
This module has taught me to research thoroughally when sitting down to help get a good grasp on the topic I am going to undertake. I feel like doing a lot of reading and researching over the course of the summer will help me have a good understanding of the the dissertation topic I am looking at. After writing my proposal, I feel like time management is good to focus on for me as it gives you a longer time to reading your research and fully understand, especially, when reading books, articles or journals, the author’s argument and how to interpret that in my dissertation.
Which aspects of the 9X6 module have been the most useful in helping you get your project ready to start?
I felt that during seminars, when discussing the coursework of this module, I liked the small groups to look over examples of essays/papers from other students who had taken the module, to understand the key aspects of what to include in essays and what not to, and understand what others feel are the advantages and disadvantages before starting to write up the dissertation proposal. I also find the seminars very useful when learning about what to do for the coursework as it gave me a good understanding when writing up my proposal.