Something I appreciated immensely about Erin and Victoria’s session was their ability to give such direct advice when presenting a somewhat abstract topic. Erin holds a passion for her beauty works that has allowed her to structure a clear and functional research process while still appreciating the intricacies of her recipes. I found it interesting when Erin stressed the importance of asking ourselves whether our research can be organised in some type of database. I hadn’t considered the ways in which even subjective research topics could be translated to fit a numerical database. These databases provide a means to organise and search through research data and would undoubtedly ease the organisation load of conducting a research project.
Another piece of advice that I got me thinking about how to organise my own ideas is Erin’s suggestion of having two files, a dump file and a more ‘ruthless’ document where only the most crucial and relevant information is kept. While I’ve spent time assessing my interests and attempting to identify viable research topics, I have failed thus far to consider these practical aspects. Erin and Victoria’s session has provoked my own thought on how best to organise my research when it comes time to do so. I appreciated their balancing between recognising passion and ensuring that the research is both organised and publishable.
