I feel as though I am most strongly affiliated with the interpretive paradigm. Being an outgoing and empathetic person, I enjoy communicating with people and I frequently attempt to understand their own experiences and perception of reality. I am very interested in the different ways we all perceive a single object. As an emerging researcher however, I find that my empathy may also be a bias when I attempt to conduct a study using this paradigm. For example, I may get too drawn in to an individual’s story when studying them and loose track of my project’s direction.

I previously studied ocean sciences at the University of Victoria. In the years after as I worked on research projects I found myself more inclined to question relationships and interested in the data collected and its relation to society. One case was a project where we worked in partnership with the Haida Nation and I was very intrigued by what our project would mean for the people. A great part of my time ashore I spent talking with locals and getting their opinions about what we were doing. I would often include in my reports their beliefs and thoughts on how our experiments were being conducted.

Outside of academia I really enjoy writing and expressing my thoughts and the thoughts of others in a way that showcase nature and the outdoors. I write for some magazines and small newspapers telling of adventures and the beauty of the natural world.  I hope that my studies here at Capilano will help improve my ability to portray this world. My interests reflect my paradigm preference in that I am naturally inclined to think relatively and get intimate with my subjects of research. I have a broad range of interests, so I am uniquely able to relate to different topics and my interest is genuine and real. This intimacy and my outgoing nature really make me strongly affiliated with the Interpretive paradigm.