so remember that you will need to develop your
own style of reflective writing. This means resisting
the temptation to follow this example too closely,
assuming that because it is in this book this is how
you should do it. Each theme concludes with a
top tip to help you succeed in your studies or a
case study example.
Part 2 focuses on your own particular research
project; it is more personal to you and is
structured in seven sections around a series of
key questions for you to reflect on in relation
to your own work. Many students struggle
with moving from the generalities of a research
methods module to applying what they have
learned to their own project, and this section is
designed to help you to do this. The questions
in Part 2 will help you as you work through the
research process and will provide an important
record that you can return to when you get to
the writing-up stage. There are more top tips and
case studies here too. At the end of the journal
you will find a list of references.
I hope that you find The Research Journal
helpful at this vital stage of your academic
development. Good luck and here’s to your
successful graduation!
9
Part 1
Engaging in
the research
process
Part 1 is divided into ten themes and is designed to take you on a reflective
journey through the process of doing your first piece of research from
start to completion. But don’t forget that the journey is yours and how you
navigate it (for example, from Theme 1 to Theme 10 in sequence, or in
a different order according to your learning and development needs) is
entirely up to you. Taking some time to complete the reflective activities will
ensure that you think through each step along the way.
11
Theme 1
Journal
writing
This section will:
•help you to understand what a research journal looks like;
•enable you to understand more about the importance of journal writing;
•help you to make the link between writing and understanding;
•help you to start writing reflectively in relation to your research;
•introduce you to a model for reflective writing.
11
12
Theme 1.1
What does a
research journal
look like?
On the surface this sounds like a simple
enough question but delve a little deeper and
it’s not necessarily as easy as it appears. A
quick internet search shows that people do
not necessarily agree on what a research
journal should look like, and indeed there are
views that appear to be at opposite extremes:
there are those who see it as a place to take
brief notes, primarily in relation to sources
(for example, books, journal articles) and
others who advocate keeping a record of
everything! Most support the idea of writing
in it regularly but are much less clear on what
to write. The words ‘journal’, ‘diary’ and ‘log’
are sometimes used interchangeably, which
can also be confusing. In general, these three
terms tend to mean different things:
• Journal – this often means a place
for free-flow writing. Some people keep
a personal journal where they write about
their everyday lives; others keep a journal
for a specific purpose, for example for
a project or during their travels. In
everyday life, a journal can often take the
form of a nice quality notebook where
you can write freely about whatever you
have decided to focus on. A journal can
also be used as a place to keep other
things, such as photographs, diagrams
and lists. Initially
