Research Reflections - CP

My research was a rollercoaster in terms of my experience. Partly due to the nature of the topic and the nature of our program, my research partner and I encountered hurdles after hurdles in trying to deliver for our organization.

One of the first hurdle we had was in terms of our topic. While our focus was determined very early on in our program, we had chosen an evidence-based, data-based approach to our research topic. However, as we slowly and frustratingly found out as our research continued, there was a severe lack of data and research on our topic and the area we were trying to focus on, thus limiting what we could feasibly do and the extent that our research could reach. Even the data that we were able to get our hands on were sometimes convoluted and unreliable, making for an unpleasant experience trying to synthesize anything.

Another hurdle we encountered was the incongruity of our findings. In the beginning of our research, we were able to get various interviews with community stakeholders, which directed our research to certain areas that we should be focusing on. However, the subsequent quantitative data that we found did not seem to make sense with what we were hearing in our interviews. This caused us a fair bit of frustration as for a while we didn't have anything concrete for our paper. However, after looking deeper and more critically we were able to synthesize both sides and build a relatively strong narrative for our paper.

These major hurdles have been instrumental in helping us learn and grow our research further than what we initially anticipated. We had to adapt by being comfortable with the uncomfortable and willing to change and shift the focus of the research in new directions. Finally, I learned to be comfortable with asking for help from partners and organizational support, as their help became invaluable for the final outcome of our research.