Activity 2 Advantages and disadvantages of workers as researchers.

Potential Advantages

Insider knowledge of:

· Problem/question to be researched

· Sources of information

· The organisation

· Key people

Can improve understanding/working practice.

Potential Disadvantages

· To close to the problem

· Influenced by my own expectations/values

· Influenced by others

· Duality of roles

To complete this activity I have to consider my worker-research position according to the above.

The research I have decided to carry out is of a qualitative nature. These people will be people who are in the same “industry” as myself, this will make the ease of conversation and understanding when discussing past experiences much easier to follow and analyze.

The criteria under which the candidates will be selected is quite specific, and if I did not have easy access to a wide network of people that belong to the industry, this research would be extremely difficult so personally I consider it an advantage being a worker- researcher, as choosing my area of research is more easily accessible by me knowing a problem/question to be researched. I will have the access to a wide range of people and facts I need in order to support my research as I wish to use the people that I teach. I will naturally know about organisations and the subject of my research as it’s something I love & teach others to love. I find it in my interest to gain more knowledge about the organisation and finally I will know the fundamental people involved in my area of research, and will more than likely encounter others who don’t share my thoughts.

As I am able to recognise all the advantages for my research I do think that the disadvantages of me as a worker-researcher are being influenced by my own expectations and personal values, this could really creep into play as I do have high expectations and values due to my professional background. This has benefited people I teach not to mention myself, however I do know that this could affect me as worker-researcher as my area of research is something I am extremely passionate about and want to bring to light and hopefully in the long-term alter people’s perceptions. If I consider a lot of these factors, I can worry about the possibility of becoming Bias or creating an emotional attachment that will affect my way of interpreting the experiences given resolving with unfair results

I believe that I am in an effective position to carry out my worker-researcher position, although I am also prepared for the bumps in the road along the way. I understand that not everything goes as planned and I will have to learn and evaluate problems that I will face.

Research Methods Learning diary 2

Over the past few months I have learnt so much on my course at Middlesex and its starting to come to light that all of the previous tasks are the foundations for the final module The Project.

Over the past few months I have learnt how to set up a blog to represent me and my work, it has also connected me to my peers and tutors. I have produced and advertised my CV to inform others of my training and my goals/dreams. I have learned how to express my interests and those who inspire me and why. I now know about the Kolb theory something I had never heard of before and to understand what it was I researched it to broaden my knowledge thus helping me with my current module as it’s something I have experienced doing before. I know that on a daily basis I use the Kolb Theory to make things work better and now I evaluate my work more frequently.

The most significant work to help benefit this module and my project is the writing styles as I have learnt how to write academically which will be the main style of writing for my project, learning the Harvard way to reference will be required for significant information. I know how to market something which may benefit me if say for instance i want to market some of my new classes. I know how to write a good descriptive piece of writing and have learnt that this is my favourite style of writing. The need to market work and the use of descriptive writing may be required as part of my research dependent upon my project title.

During the course I have had to reflect and analyse my work which is not something I used to do, I have had to take into account comments and critique from my peers in order to improve it which was very valuable. I’ve also learnt that my comments to my peers are very valuable for them and can improve their work and felt I did this very well. I learnt that appropriate and useful feedback is vital for improvement.

Everything I have learnt will benefit me in one way or another especially for the next few months ahead.

Module WSB 3835 Project Planning and Development

Research Methods module, What is it?

This is an important module because it is a key part of the WBL programme. It is designed to equip me when undertaking a work-based project of a research and development nature.

What does the module focus on?

The module focuses on project planning, design and the identification and the use of an appropriate research approach and specific research techniques suitable for my proposed project.

Major outcomes

A major outcome of this module will be that I will have assembled my own research portfolio. This will equip me in a practical way and help me carry out the project component of my project as well as help me become more effective at work through the development of research related skills.

So what is research?

A “systematic investigation to establish facts or principles or to collect information on a subject” http://www.thefreedictionary.com/research

What do I need to do for this module?

Learn about research and ways to collect information
Learn how to plan my time
Experiment with possible project titles
Learn about ethical practices
Decide research project and possible avenues to write about
Choose degree title and give justification

Things to consider when choosing the title for the project

What do you need to find out?
Why will that make a difference to your work and career?
What impact will it have on your job, your work colleagues, and the sector in which you work?
Can you disseminate what you find out anywhere?
Will your project have some sort of impact?
Are you going to develop some new service? A new product? A learning resource?

So what next?

I need to develop some ideas for titles for my project and write down the advantages and disadvantages of the titles. Once I have narrowed them down I then need to think of all the relevant questions relevant to the title and ways to get information for my project.

Research Methods Learning diary 1 (16th Feb 2010)

Campus Session 16th February 2010 at Cat Hill Campus was extremely helpful this week. This is my first campus session since the induction day, so to put some faces to all the people that I have been reading about and leaving comments for on from the previous tasks was nice. It was also good to meet Rosemary who is extremely enthusiastic about the course and the whole blogging thing!

I like many my other fellow BAPP buddies was very overwhelmed when reading the course handbook and even contacted my advisor Peter about it before the session. He explained that it’s about learning how to research for a project so when we have learnt how to research we can put in place everything we know for the final module (actually doing the project). After the session everything started to fall into place, I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s how to research NOT doing the research.

In order to learn how to research I have to think about what I would like to research or what I would like to find out. It was often mentioned that trying to find out something that you don’t know would be a good starting point, and to try and base the title of your project on something you want to know about, are interested in or want to bring attention to. I have many ideas of titles for my project and as I am going to be learning about different methods of research and my project over the next year it needs to be something I will really enjoy writing about. My only worries are most likely to be the same as others and that is that I won’t have enough solid information and that my title will not be interesting to read.

So, now I have grasped the concept of the module I am looking forward to putting some notes together on my chosen three titles to see which one I feel has the most content and the most interesting to find out about.