BCM212 reflection

Upon reflection of my research task, I am overall happy and proud of how everything turned out, especially considering the unprecedented circumstances due to Covid19. Although I am satisfied with my efforts and work, that doesn’t mean there are things I wouldn’t change and things I couldn’t have done better. For instance, one lesson learnt was to ensure my survey questions are more targeted and specific. I believe within my latest survey, respondents may have misinterpreted what I meant. Another thing I would do with my surveys is probably to make questions mandatory instead of optional. This being as some respondents skipped questions that I could have generated more data on. 

Furthermore, this process has taught me a lot about the process of research. Research isn’t as easy as creating a poll or survey and letting people fill it out. Yes, you can collect data that way, however, that process doesn’t involve the many aspects of research. For example, I learnt that there is an immense background research necessary. This being as, looking into other research relevant to your topic is crucial in forming the basis of your research task. If you have no idea about your topic and what’s already available then how are you going to explore it? 

Another thing I learnt was that ethics is vital to research in order to protect any individuals from harm. Prior to this research task, I was unaware of the extent to which some researchers go to act ethically. Aspects such as consent forms, providing the option for individuals to withdraw their response, providing contact information and allowing responders to stay anonymous are just some measures taken to act ethically as a researcher. This also lead me to notice that surveys I have completed in the past never actually took these precautions that we were recommended to incorporate in order to act ethically. Additionally, another important thing I learnt was that data just gives you evidence however, it’s the researcher that has to draw conclusions and make connections from what they collect. This requires the researcher to 

Overall, I learnt a lot from this research process and know how to improve if I were ever to complete another research task again.