As i move along, i encounter people that i can interview for the PhD. I am aware of being anxious about a number of things, dilemmas i need to answer before i proceed: … Read more »

As i came back from the supervision meeting with W. yesterday, it was clear for one more time that the Phd process involves continuous challenges around making decisions: around my theoretical stance (postmodern or what?), about what to include and what to exclude in the Literature Review, about who to involve and who not to involve in the data collection, how strict my sample boundaries shall be, when do i stop collecting data, how am i going to analyse the data, to what extent do i want to expose myself as a researcher in the heuristic process etc etc…these are just a few of the dilemmas. … Read more »

Am having the first supervision meeting with William for this academic year today. Here are the issues I wish to raise:

1. Data collection so far, make a timeline ahead (W: continue what i do for now, i can later decide how to shape the Thesis)
2. My worries around too many variables appearing in the research: shall i just continue as i do now or would it be wise to set boundaries for analyses purposes? (W: this depends a lot on whether am taking a postmodern or more positivist approach to research…i can explore that decision at various points of the process until i form a genuine stance)3. Linking my PhD research to BACP developments (meeting with Alan J. in October) … Read more »

I have arranged to meet with William today to ‘touch base about how things go with the research. Since the review panel and the student conference i was busy with so many things, whilst feeling tired, hence flowing slowly, not too productive. But that is ok, i need a brake. we talked about the following: … Read more »

I saw William today and we went through the powerpoint panel presentation together before sending it to Alison. We had a very interesting discussion, he felt that the presentation was well structured and that any debate occuring shall be seen as an opportunity. I feel confident that it will go well tomorrow. When i came home, i felt the need to listen to a taped interview, as if i wanted to bring the ‘liveness’ of the researc into my mind and carry it with me to the panel. When i listen to the data, i get inspired. I think i got tired recently by wrestling excessively with the writing and wording of the proposal. I am looking forward to setting up for the data collection activities – the interviews. As the evening proceeds, i am doing some reading on heuristics, reflexivity etc to freshen up my ideas. It feels like I am ready for tomorrow…i received a text from Chris that he will be praying! Allso, William suggested that i write a paper about “blogging as a heuristic research tool”, what a great idea…