This semester, I have learned a wealth of knowledge throughout conducting a BCM 212 project called “Study methods for a work-university balance”.

As a university student with a part-time job, I find it challenging to juggle different responsibilities. Therefore, I wanted to take this opportunity to understand a question that I have always been inquisitive about – what study methods would help students achieve more with less worry.

Lesson about finding reality

Bearing in mind my personal experience with the topic, I made sure that every aspect of the project was objectively worded and explored. I realised that there was a thin line between questioning and manipulation that researchers might fall into while exchanging with participants. Their perceptions may be imparted upon interviewees through verbal and non-verbal cues.

Statistics, charts, and graphs are great tools to provide a big picture of an issue, yet, conversations and hands-on observations explain the “why” people feel or act in a certain way. With an aim to find critical insights of what study tactics really work for students, I decided to combine both quantitative and qualitative approaches to unearth the matter.

Lesson about risk management

My research took place in the transition from offline to online study mode, which came with unique emerging challenges. The fact that the COVID-19 pandemic had taken away hundreds of jobs means the responses to my topic might not accurately reflect students’ experience with work and study. I learned to be careful about presenting the context and purpose of my survey to participants by putting a note of precaution. It was quite difficult to phrase survey questions to ensure people could understand the meaning as my intentions; and I am happy that I managed to improve through reading various sources about survey design.

Moreover, thanks to the risk management practice in the assignment, I had been more aware of equipping myself with plan B when things did not go as proposed. Particularly, getting enough responses to the survey had been incredibly tough since now my target audience dispersed everywhere online. Instead of waiting for people to come, I changed my approach. I tried to participate as much as I could in each survey link BCM friends posted on their Twitter in exchange for their reciprocal help. And it worked. The responses almost doubled after a night.

Lesson about ethics and care

Dariusz once said, “We need to be very careful to notice that in interviews, sometimes we ask people to take a leap of faith we wouldn’t take ourselves.”

I learned to express my appreciation of the time and space that the participants allow me in. It started with a thought-through plan to create a positive vibe to their experience. I wanted to provide interviewees with options that they felt most comfortable with, including a choice to withdraw any information given.

Interacting with BCM students through both an online meeting and an email exchange had been a fascinating revelation. It taught me to conduct a study with empathy. I realised the importance of an interviewer escaping his role and putting on the hat of an interviewee. Both angles had their own challenges. While researchers do their best to articulate questions and be present, participants also endeavor to be useful. Mindful of what to and what not to say, both are making efforts to welcome others into deeper layers of themselves.

All in all, this project has offered me invaluable lessons to carry forward into future career. Despite the challenging pandemic situation, I have learned to innovate to solve unexpected problems and become a respectful, fair, and honest researcher. On this note, I would like to thank Kate and Stephanie for being wonderfully considerate and helpful in their guidance. If there is one thing I could have done differently, I wished to be quick to adapt to unforeseen situations rather than waiting for things to get better themselves.

In the end, tough times don’t last, tough people do. I hope to continue to grow, take more challenges, and bounce back with increasing resilience every time.