After the critique, I realized that I have a lot of editing to do on my methods section. As a class, we went through the organization and interactions between my results and I still have to effectively convey this. I also overestimated the time I would have this past week since I am still in school and tutoring. For these reasons, I am a week behind on my schedule.
While this may sound bad, I made my schedule very lenient so that it was flexible. I planned an extra week for figuring out the discrepancies between the two times of coding and I planned to watch 6 movies a week. My schedule also planned on watching each movie twice, but I realized this was not necessary. I am still looking for a reliable statistic, but I think I will only have to watch about 25% of the movies twice for intrareader reliability. When I am done with school I think I can watch more than one movie a day.
To start my methods, first I really need to finish editing my methods. My code sheet is pretty solid though, so I can start collecting data as soon as possible. For my own organization, I would like to get my written section solid before I jump into watching movies.
I still think what I have accomplished is on target with the schedule right now. I have plenty of time especially when school gets out to implement my methods, but what is important now is to get feedback on my lit review and methods written section so that I am totally prepared for the implementation and collection of data.
Another challenging part, for me, is actually starting the implementation. I feel like there is so much work up to this point that I am afraid I will start coding and it will fail. I realize this is a possibility. To combat this, I can adjust my code and finesse my methods. Either way, it is still intimidating.
An analogy to how I imagine I would feel starting my methods...
Or a better one for my intimidation is swimming in the winter. You’re cold standing by the pool waiting to get in and you really don’t want to get in. Finally, it gets too cold and you jump in because you have to. It’s a little colder than you expected so you keep swimming, kicking really fast to warm up. Finally after a few laps, you’re really comfortable and ready to complete a good workout.
An analogy to how I imagine I would feel starting my methods...
Or a better one for my intimidation is swimming in the winter. You’re cold standing by the pool waiting to get in and you really don’t want to get in. Finally, it gets too cold and you jump in because you have to. It’s a little colder than you expected so you keep swimming, kicking really fast to warm up. Finally after a few laps, you’re really comfortable and ready to complete a good workout.
I’m still outside the pool. But I know the warm water is waiting, I just have to jump into my implementation.
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Grace, I understand the anxiety you have about starting with your methods -- it's scary! But the sooner you start, the sooner you can realize whatever problems exist with your current sheet and fix them, so I would start to analyze the films as soon as possible. By next week, I want to see that you've completed the analysis that you had thought you'd complete for last week.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I would restructure your coding sheet to reflect the organizational changes we discussed in class. I also think this will help you provide your explanations in your methods and your hypothesis in your literature review regarding the role of gender in the maintenance or rejection of the Marxist themes.
I look forward to our meeting! Try, if possible, to have done at least one movie before so we can discuss how it all went.
Hi Grace! Don't worry, I think we are all in the same boat because we have all had our methods questioned and, at least to a certain extent, "torn apart" in the past week. I agree that it will be smart to have strong methods (namely a strong code) before you dive into research, so I would definitely try to apply what we went over in class during the critique. However, I also agree with Ms. Haag that it might be useful to try it out as soon as possible, especially before your individual meeting, so that you can see if it was successful and, if not, what areas you can tweak. Getting everything solid before you leave school and have the time to buckle down and watch all the movies is a great goal. I also like your analogy of getting into a cold pool - there may be a few kinks to work out in the beginning of the research process, but you will feel so much better when you give yourself the opportunity to become confident in your research and no longer remain caught up in anticipation and uncertainty. Good luck and I am rooting for you! :)
ReplyDeleteGrace! Love the analogy and can totally relate. I agree with Mrs. Haag and Audrey on the idea that you should get started even if you think you still need to figure out your methods because you might find out that there are other things you should be accounting for -- I know I definitely had this experience in my first go at collecting data.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it was a good call to make your schedule flexible in the beginning of your research process to figure things out. That being said, you should try to really solidify it in these next weeks as you begin to finalize your methods section. This will not only set you on a good course for the next months, but it will also relieve a lot of stress later on in the process once things start to really pick up.
Revising your methods may seem really daunting right now but I am sure that you will pull it off. Keep it up!