I interviewed Danielle Walter about her research project. I chose to interview Danielle because I knew that she was pretty far along with developing her research and that she was working with Animating Democracy to publish her work. However, I didn’t realize she was doing the Research Capstone, which I’ didn’t think I’m interested in doing. However, she did bring up some great points about how the Research Capstone can help you stay on track with your research since you are doing your research with a class schedule. I know that a lot of the 2nd years are struggling with a lack of schedule and motivation, so that is something I should definitely consider in my process. Also, what I found interesting in Danielle’s track towards developing her project was that she didn’t chose her internship based on her research. The internship reaffirmed the need for her research, but it wasn’t exactly related with her research. This is much different to my approach. It’s good to know that your internship doesn’t necessarily have to line up with your research. She also said that something important to think about is what I want the final product of my research to look like? How do I want it to be used? I feel as though I have an idea of the final product, but that will vary greatly upon the organization I work with. Perhaps I should develop a topic that is not so dependent upon an organization. With that said, here are my learning goals:
Research Methods:
Studying case studies: How many case studies? Will I be able to draw larger conclusions by comparing these case studies? Do I need to pick case studies I have to physically visit?
Collecting narratives: How many narratives do I have to collect to constitute as a good sample? Are narratives seen as legitimate qualitative data? What kind of resources will I need to find to back-up trends found in the narratives? How will I find people to interview?
Literature review: Has someone already done research on my topic? What kind of research exists on storytelling? Will it be harder to apply my lit review to a Professional Project? What databases, search terms should I be using?
Learning Goals:
I will not decide on the path I will take too soon. I should use the resources and knowledge I gain this quarter (especially the Lit Review) to better shape my ideas and narrow my topic.
I will develop a better understanding of the various methods I can use to do my research.
I will search for related research and see what scholarship already exists around storytelling and creative expression.
I will do more research into the organizations I want to work with and try to discern if my ideas are feasible.
I will take advantage of all opportunities to gain insight into my research process and proactively seek out advice.
And no matter what, I will be excited about my research!