My process for completing academic research has changed significantly since the beginning of the fall 2020 semester. I have never completed a research project of this magnitude. I previously completed a research project in the fall of 2019 by interviewing a family about how they balance work and family life, and then coded the interview and presented a short PowerPoint about my findings but it was required for a 200 – level course. As a student, I did not learn any type of research methods, including a literature review. This was the first semester I completed a literature review or worked with any kind of processes similar to RStudio. I learned a lot of information this semester regarding how to complete research, compare variables, complete standard deviations and averages for variables. In the beginning of the semester, I knew very little regarding how to complete a full research project with an introduction, abstract, data and methods sections including qualitative data and quantitative data and also how to include figures and tables in the proper format.
When previously evaluating sources for an academic format, I generally chose anything that include a “.edu” or “.gov” or any source in my opinion was not a blog. I considered using newspaper articles as a proper source. Throughout this research, especially throughout working on the literature review, I learned how to understand what an academic source is and how to read a research study. I understand that research studies come from published journals and also can include references from other studies that would be reliable to use. I did not change any of my sources for my final paper, I only changed how I cited throughout the paper. All of my sources in the literature review and for the final paper included sources that were from journals and were published research studies. I learned to use google scholar to search for studies. I did use the information I learned regarding how to find a reliable source from a published journal in my other academic courses.
Some challenges I encountered for the research project was beginning with the literature review, I only had less than a week to complete it. This challenged me to search for sources in a timely manner and find sources that were reliable, all while trying to understand their findings and relate the findings to my own research question. It was also difficult to find research data that was relatable to my research question. COVID – 19 is new in the world still and it was difficult to find published studies that were completed to use for the literature. It was difficult to find data and understand it and compare with other research in a short amount of time, all while trying to follow the specific format. My strategy included time management and focusing on this assignment before focusing on anything else.
An additional difficulty I experienced was when writing about the quantitative data, I had trouble trying to understand how to find the standard deviation and average for one of my variables and then learning how to include this information in that section of the final paper. Also I struggled understanding bivariate analysis and how to compare both variables together. This included learning how to use RStudio, which was not an easy task. My file would not correctly convert to a .csv file, which then set back my timeline of writing. My strategy included working with Dr. Pederson to successfully upload the file and spend a few extra minutes after class working on it. Once I got my file uploaded, I had to then quickly find the aggregate and create a table in my findings section of my paper.
An additionally difficulty that I faced was again related to my computer. I found it difficult to convert my charts and tables into my final paper without disrupting the existing format of the paper. My strategy included researching a few tabs on google how to keep all of the text and tables and figures in the same format, but it finally worked. It may seem like a small difficulty but I was frustrating.
Overall, I think my confidence level towards completing research has changed. Before the beginning of SOCL 345, I was very nervous on how I would complete an entire research project, especially during a pandemic and be successful at it. I soon learned that I could be successful, as long as I followed the formatting Dr. Pederson provided in the assignment details and also using feedback as the semester progressed on how to improve my paper. I also feel confident in being able to complete research regarding any topic relating to my major using a survey and then understanding the findings and writing about them, using RStudio and information provided from survey responses. I also referenced a style guide as well, that made me more confident in my research progression. I believed that research projects were going to take much longer and more complex than what we completed in class but I soon realized the magnitude of the research project and understood that while it may challenge myself, I am advancing my skill levels which can give myself a resume booster and may set me above other candidates for a job or even participation in an additional research project outside of Longwood University. I also feel more confident in my ability to write and edit survey questions and then write and administer a proper survey. Overall, I feel more confident in my ability to complete research and my ability to succeed at this task compared to my level of confidence at the beginning of the semester.
When I hear “think like a researcher”, I think that you should be thinking academically. I also think that you should not be biased in your thinking. When you think like a researcher, you are using your knowledge from other published research and also scientific findings from your own research. Thinking like a researcher is thinking about how variables influence each other and finding themes and disparities in data sets. Thinking like a researcher involves understanding your data as a whole and attempting to prove your hypothesis with the data set you are provided, all while doing so ethically and unbiased.