Category: PhD

This is week is the first week back of the Uni semester. I’ve met half of my classes so far and have a pretty serious workload so have been wrestling with getting my head around materials, admin and class management.

Today, as I ran around classes, workshops and meetings,  I had my monthly meeting with my supervisors. I feel very blessed with my supervisors because they are relaxed and helpful and I find our meeting helpful for clarification of my progress and that I get more info to hone in the focus more closely on what next steps need to be done each meeting. My next task is coming up with a Literature Review outline in 3 weeks. My brief is to read widely so then I can then know what are the crucial elements to set the context for my Dissertation.

Literature Review Intersection

So in order to achieve this, my primary attention will be on the intersection between gender, developing communities and access to education – basically, it will look like this:

Although I’m pretty confident about using ethnography as my methodology, I will still need to consider what perspective I will use – gender equity, international development, narrative theory, an activist lens, etc. This is one of the reasons for getting started on the Literature Review so I can start to get a sense of what perspectives will best suit this scenario.

Ethnographic Narrative Style

One of my supervisors suggested looking at Ruth Behar’s style of Ethnographic Narrative. I was quite intrigued by the idea that this researcher applies: ‘anthropology that breaks your heart’. So I’m going to have a look at  The Vulnerable Observer because apparently Behar has a researching writing style that is a mix of literary with sociology, meaning that instead of traditional models of research where the observer/researcher is removed and objective, Behar’s style powerfully and emotionally embeds the witness into the collection and telling of the data researched. I was quite taken with this idea because the methodology section will be a large section that locates the research within the wider discourse.

So I’m excited to be reading something so personal and emotional – international development literature is filled with amazing and confronting stories, that I have often found it challenging to hear/read/experience such memorable and pronounced stories of people I have worked or researched about who live in extreme poverty – and I have often found myself wondering what do I do now that I know such information. Once known, such stories and experiences are not easily forgotten and the impact and residue of such accounts remain with the listener.

That is why for me, it is so important to have a positive output that I can channel and process such histories once they have been encountered by me.

It reminds me that I need to be mindful, selective and resilient, so that I do not get overwhelmed by the immensity of the contact when working with sensitive and often disturbing life stories. International development workers are very prone to burn out – and this is a sad cycle as it is often this who are most passionate, are those who end up a nervous wreck and unable to live and work effectively (see post on Darfur Aid Workers).

That is one of the reasons why I strategically chose my thesis to centre on bicycles – so that the substance of my research is a positive output to address some of the perilous obstacles that many living in extreme poverty experience – it is a concrete manifestation of change and hope.

Officially, I start my Ph.D. in two weeks. I am waiting for my HDR orientation pack to arrive so I can start getting my head around what needs to happen and when.

As a pre-emptive strike, I met with my supervisors earlier this week to catch up and so I could update them. The discussion mainly focused on the Summer Project I am working on, which I hope to write up for publication. As we finished, there was mention of writing the different ‘Chapters’ of Research: one of which is ‘Methods’ or ‘Methodology’. Eck!! To be quite honest, Research Methods is an area in which I do not have a lot of experience or a solid understanding. Although it comes later down the track, I left feeling like I want to get a head start on this whole palaver and get a better understanding about all the big theories and terms related to Research Methodology. Even if it just to better understand some of the research I will be reading!

I get the differences between the two major Research Paradigms of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Models– but I am sure I am not alone in not being able to fully distinguish between Positivist and Empiricists (Quantitative) or the Postpositivist and the Constructivists (Qualitative)!! Equally, I have yet to fully appreciate if I am taking an Ontological, Epistemological or Axiological Perspective – at the moment they are just fancy academic words that wankers use to impress blind dates at a dinner party!

So before I allow myself to sound like a wanker or be unduly concerned (overwhelmed??) by such future considerations as Methods, Domains, Perspectives or Methodologies –a very helpful research project resource presented itself to me today. This resource provides comprehensive introductory content from SAGE Research Methods, that covers all the research project basics – and in these video (as well as other sources) – i found exactly what I need to get started! Hooray for Serendipity – thanks Universe for providing exactly what is needed with such impeccable timing!

Topics covered are: Methods Concepts, Designing Research Projects, Understanding particular Methods or Identifying a new Method, Conducting Research and Writing up Findings. SAGE Research Methods also provides content from over 720 books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks and journal articles – and best of all – it has 57 commissioned Research Methods Videos – which are a great place for any person who is interested in getting a general overview of what the hell it all means. I may yet be able to engage an academic wanker in some kind of meaningful dinner conversation! Hooray for academic youtube!

Although it is far too early yet to decide exactly what method I will be using in my Ph.D. – it is empowering to watch these and feel more informed and confident to start talking and thinking about it.

Below is a selection I think I will start with:

• Choosing Which Method to Use  (2015)
  How do we choose which method to use? Is it OK to have a pragmatic approach to methods? Pat speaks about the practicalities of mixed methods, some of the criticisms and her own “magpie” approach
• An Introduction to Survey Research Methods  (2015)
  What is the survey method? Patrick discusses the survey method, including its history and development. He gives tips on utilising existing data and where to source interesting data for this purpose
• Mixed Methods Research  (2015)
  What are Mixed Methods? How should we define mixed methods? Pat speaks about defining mixed methods and her own interest in mixed methods approaches
• What do you mean by the term “Ethnography”? (2009)
  Sarah Delamont gives her definition of the term ‘Ethnography’ and puts forward her arguments for the benefits of an Ethnographic Study over other Qualitative Research methods.
• Learning Research Methods  (2016)
  Victoria Edwards is a student at Cardiff University. Taking opportunities to engage in real research helped her to understand research methods and put dry, abstract methodological terms into a real world context
• Introduction to Social Media for Researchers (2016)
  Increasingly academic researchers are encouraged to be active in social media. Amy and Cheryl discuss the possibilities and benefits of this participation in the online world. How can social media be used for data gathering, data promotion and impact?