Appendix Two
2. Critical commentary
As I reflect upon Module 3835, Project Planning and Development (Research Methods), I can see a clear progression in many areas of my learning.
Before undertaking this module I was aware of many research terms and data collection techniques due to my work as a telemarketer, throughout this project I have developed this stage further and now feel confident that I can instantly recognize different research methods and the advantages and disadvantages of them. A new term for me which has particularly benefited my work on this module is worker-researcher. I feel activity two (appendix!!!), where we had to consider our role as worker – researcher has been vital in order for me to decide the best research approach to use. I had never really explored the advantages and disadvantages of this before and the impact it can have on a research project.
I have seen a vast improvement in my use of quotation from module 3002 to the current module 3835. This was something my advisor commented on when I received my module feedback as an area which could have improved my grades. I have reflected on this and really worked hard to improve it for this module, and I can see now, after reflecting on my proposal that quotation has really enriched my work and supported my academic text. This is a skill that I now hope to carry through my professional career.
Due to being based in the Midlands and my work commitments, I have only managed to attend one campus session, and when I look back at my learning diaries I can see that the one relating to the campus session is much clearer and concise. For the most part of the module I have had to rely on the blog posts from fellow students and advisors to assist me in my understanding of the tasks set. This has become a fundamental networking tool for me, the benefits of this have been invaluable to my project. This is something I will try to engage more in throughout my career as I can now see it is always good practice to network with people within your sector and learn and share ideas with each other.
After coming from a Musical Theatre diploma background, there is a very particular way of undertaking tasks set and tasks are mainly practical, therefore I have found the university ways of learning and teaching a huge challenge, but one which I have enjoyed getting my teeth into. The very fact that our project title could be about anything we wanted was daunting for me particularly as I am such an indecisive person, however I have learnt to adapt over time. The guidelines to the module being so brief has by far been the most difficult part of the process for me and that coupled with the fact that I haven’t been able to attend campus sessions has left me feeling rather lost a lot of the time, and gaining the confidence to just dive in and give it a go was hard! The book “Doing your research project” by Judith Bell has been like the bible for me throughout this module and I will continue to use it to aid me with carrying out my project.
When I evaluate the learning diaries I have completed I can see that time management has been my main cause of stress and problem and this is something I intend to improve on in order to enable me to achieve my desired objective for the next module. I will need to have a time management action plan and stick to it.
Obviously due to the nature of my work with children, I have always been aware of ethics, however this project has opened my eyes to the depth of the subject and issues surrounding it. I now feel I have the knowledge and understanding needed to continue on to my research project.
I have now completed my project proposal and although I feel this module has been a blurry rollercoaster at times, when reflecting on it properly I can see how far I have come and just how much I have learnt and I believe it is amazing the amount you can learn just from reading blogs and text books. I have identified skills which I would still like to improve upon for the next module but overall I believe this module has prepared me well for the research project and I am approaching the next phase of my degree with confidence, and even a little excitement!

1.3 Extract Three
(5/03/2010)
This week I had a telephone appointment with my tutor, Peter Bryant and it really helped me to feel like I was on the right tracks. We spoke about my project title and Peter thought it was a good idea and a solid base for my project. He informed me that as I had already decided on a topic idea and seemed quite solid and secure with that I was ahead of many other people, this made me feel slightly less nervous than I had been feeling! After speaking to Peter I decided not to get too hung up on my topic idea as it will probably focus and change over time. I realised that I need to concentrate more on the module itself and the different research methods.
Another thing that had been bugging me which I discussed with Peter was searching for journals. He explained to me about if I use the library catalogue, I can type keywords but Google scholar will allow me to find different articles and gain the titles and abstract to search for them in the university library of journals. I felt such less pressure on me after speaking to my tutor, as I sometimes feel slightly alone in this project as I can never make the campus sessions!
After my phone appointment I began reflecting on work I had done in the past and how this might help me with my topic. I used to work in a call centre doing market research on a part time basis and many of the terms we used in the office are terms used in the book by Judith Bell and terms that I will need to use in my project. This means I already understand many of the terms, for instance, qualitative and quantitative research and coding etc.
Overall from this week I have decided I need to move away from my topic idea and start working through the module handbook more thoroughly.
1.4 Extract Four
(11/03/2010)
This week has been difficult for me. I am starting to feel very behind on my project proposal and struggling due to lack of time and not being able to attend campus sessions.
I have been relying heavily on the blogs of fellow students to see me through and have been reading up on the feedback from campus sessions.
One way of managing my time I have trailed this week has been to stick post- it notes all over the module handbook where I need to complete a task and then write lists of task and when I want to complete them. As mad as it seems I get lots of satisfaction from ticking off jobs as they are completed and have found it really helpful this week as I can see more clearly how well I am doing!
I have been searching the internet for literature using notes taken from campus sessions

Notes on searching Journals
• Annotations – notes to yourself
• Include research books in bibliography
• Google scholar – cuts out commercial stuff
• G247-RESOURCES – library of journals- learning resources
-electronic database searching
-full text and citation
-Citation databases
-call / email librarians

1.5 Extract Five
(16/04/2010)
I have run out of time for the draft copy to be submitted to my tutor for feedback which is disappointing.
Time is running out for my proposal and I am at a loss. I have been trying to utilise Kolb’s learning cycle
• Concrete (doing, feeling),
• Observation (watching, assimilating)
• Abstract conceptualization (thinking, considering)
• Active experimentation (transforming, adapting).
However it’s not helping. I have been trying to work through the activities in the handbook to feel more prepared and equipped however it is making me feel panicky about time constraints. I have read through some of the work I did in the previous handbook to try and help me with my learning.
I believe the best thing for me to move forward now would be to put the reading aside and begin to work on the proposal itself, hopefully this will make me more confident about completing the work on time. Tasks to complete
• Proposal
• Critical Commentary
• Rationale for Award Title and form
• Ethics Issues and form.