Response Paper #3
Open dialogue with the circumstance one is attempting to understand is vital when creating a quality research project. My prospective grad project will be concerning the concept of happiness and how one may obtain it. After reflecting upon this idea, as well as the work done in module 1 and the previous two response papers, an issue I foresee arising would be having my single perspective dominate my research project and ultimately failing to integrate various viewpoints. A method I would like to implement would be creating surveys and questionnaires as to do my own data collection to gain differing perspectives on the concept of happiness. I would also like to conduct a few interviews on people who self-identify as “happy” but gain happiness through different ways. By completing data acquisition through the use of surveys and interviews I will gain differing perspectives and allow my project to be more diverse.
Another method I will adapt in order to further understand my concept is that I will get multiple people that I trust to look at my project once almost fully completed. I will then listen to their feedback and ask if they have any unanswered questions, or even a different perspective on the concept of happiness that I did not cover within my project. From there I will make edits to the project with the goal being to maintain a fully rounded out project and avoiding a silo perspective.
The use of media is also something I would like to implement throughout my project. An issue with the use of media may be that various people may view the same image yet each can maintain a different perspective on it. I plan on decreasing the risk of this issue by writing detailed descriptions for each media image I use within my project. Each description will state what the focus is for the image but will be vague enough regarding some of the elements in order to leave room for interpretation. Personal interpretation is something I would like to encourage my audience to have when viewing my project as each individual will interpret the same thing in a slightly different way; therefore, allowing various results to be drawn from the one project.
In order to fuse my pre conceptions with those I am attempting to understand I will take my pre conceived idea on happiness and find similarities between what I have experienced regarding happiness and what makes other people happy. By doing this I will be able to gain a deeper understanding on how and why certain items/circumstances/experiences/etc. make individuals happy.
Communication within anything is key. I have identified some potential complications within my research project and made some suggestions on how to avoid them; but not every potential complication can be pre identified. Once I began my research I am aware that complications may arise and I foresee having to create new procedures to deal with them quickly and efficiently. Unknown issues are inevitable but acknowledging that further complications are a possibility allows me to maintain a level of preparation that will be used as a solid foundation for my overall project.