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What's it called thinking? // #spoonie
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How to set up a research journal
This is just one way you can set up a research journal but it's helping me tremendously so maybe it also works for you. My set-up is partially inspired by this video by Answer in Progress and I suggest you check out their curiosity journal.
Preparation
First you need a notebook. The trick is to find a notebook that you're not afraid to "ruin". We all want a really neat, aesthetic research journal, but the reality looks more like hasty scribbles, but that's okay, that's where the research breakthroughs happen.
I personally bought a cheap lined notebook from Søstrene Grene that I thought looked cute and put a sticker on it. That way I feel good about using it but I also don't mind when my handwriting gets messy because it was only like 3€.
You should also stock up on pens you like writing with. Different colour highlighters and post-its are also a good idea but not a must. Keep it cheap but comfortable.
Title Page
Here you should put down all the really important information: year, title, deadlines, word count, supervisors. Maybe add an inspirational quote to spice it up but keep it simple and relevant.
Key
This should either be your next or your last page. I personally use the last pages of my journal so I can add thing and find it easier. Your key is there to list abbreviations and symbols.
For example, I have different symbols for statistics, dates, new terminology, questions, breakthroughs, important notes and abbreviations for the most important terms in my field. It's shorter to write T9N than Translation.
The trick here is to have enough abbreviations and symbols to save time and effort but not so many that you constantly have to look back and forth between your page and key. They should be memorable and not easy to confuse.
Topic Mind map
If you hate mind maps you can skip this of course or use a different method but what helped me is to visualise all the topics that connect to my research project in a mind map. I then colour-coded the main groups of topics with my highlighters. It helps me to keep an overview on how many topics I need to do research on.
Proposal
If you're writing a thesis/dissertation it can be helpful to have a page set aside for your proposal and take some bullet point notes on methodology, chapter structure, research context, aims and objectives and think of some titles. You can also do this for your lit review and a list of works to include.
Hypothesis and Question Pages
I set aside four pages for this but you can adjust this to your needs. The first page is my hypothesis. It doesn't have to be fully formed yet, it can just be bullet points with five question marks. You can always revise and update it but it is important to keep an eye on what you're actually trying to find out.
The next idea is basically just stolen from Answer in Progress: a section for big questions, medium questions and little questions. These aren't necessarily hypotheses you aim to answer but questions you have about your topic that might be good to look into (maybe they lead somewhere, maybe they don't).
Research Notes
Now comes the big, fun part. Research notes are allowed to be a little messy but you should have some sort of system so you can actually find what you're looking for afterwards. I'm currently just looking at books and articles so that's what my system is based on. You can totally adjust this to include other forms of research.
What I do is that I put down and underline the author and title of my source. Underneath that I use my highlighters and mark the topic of the paper based on how I colour-coded them in my mind map. You might have to do this after you've finished reading. For example, if a text talks about censorship and dubbing in Germany, three of my topics, I will draw three lines in light blue, dark blue and red, the colours I chose for those topics. This way you can easily browse your notes and see which pages are talking about which topics.
When it comes to the actual research notes, I include the page number on the left and then take bullet point notes on whatever is relevant. These are often abbreviated and paraphrased but if something is especially important I will write down a full quote.
As mentioned earlier, I have a key of symbols I use so I can simply put down a '!' in order to differentiate a research breakthrough from a normal note. You can insert your own thoughts much more easily when you know you'll be able to tell them apart later on. At the end of each article, book or even chapter I write down my main takeaway.
Other Notes
This is your research journal and you can do with it what you want. I also added lists of films that might be relevant for my research, a list of databases and publishers to check for papers and tips on research strategy.
If you're working with interviews or surveys you could write down your questions. If you're nervous about your research you could include a list of reasons why your research project is important or why you're doing it. You can include a to-do list or a calendar to track meetings with supervisors. Anything that helps you with your research.
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That Taboo Subject
Cutting. Self-harm. Self-injury. Whatever word suits, it’s all the same.
Cutting has been a friend to me for 3 years, maybe more. A friend, dark angel, whatever it is, it’s stable at the very least.
I started cutting because I was curious. I’d heard of cutters, I didn’t think it was glamorous or anything, but I was plain curious. So I walked into the kitchen one day (a day that I had stayed home from school depressed) and picked up a knife. That was the only time I’ve ever used a knife to cut. And it was so tiny, barely a scratch. Just a little red line that hardly bled at all. But I felt it, and it stung, but it made me feel and that was something I was searching for. Something to make me feel.
I didn’t do it again for months. I watched that scratch heal, I watched the scar fade. And I asked myself should I do it again? I just didn’t know. And with what, the knife again?
And so months later, as I felt more and more alone, I took apart a shaving razor. (Which is so fucking hard to do.) And the thing is, that kind of made it more special. I worked for my blade, and now it was going to work for me. That blade changed the game. It sliced, didn’t scratch and I bled so much.
I started off on my wrist, but I realized that it would be too noticeable. I got to work on my inner thigh. It didn’t give me that rush, that high. I tried my hip. A little better, but not as good. I have a scar on my hip that says FUCK, scrawled messily and very faded now. I remember carving that.
So no, nothing was working and I was beginning to suffocate in my depression. I needed an out. I’d cut a few times on my wrist while experimenting on my thighs, but not anything substantial. But by then I was going out of my mind. Thus started my need for bracelets and long sleeves. (Do you know how much bracelets rubbing against healing cuts stings?)
Off and on I became dependant on cutting. Sometimes I did it to feel, sometimes I did it out of self hatred. Sometimes I did it and couldn’t justify why. I guess that’s what you call an addiction.
Sometimes the need burns through me, begging me to please hurt myself, please make myself pay for the sins I didn’t commit. And I pull out my blade, which I keep on me at all times, and stare and think. Do I feel like going through at least a week and a half of bracelets and sweatshirts? That’s normally what makes me put the razor back. But sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I just don’t care and I go for it.
You know, blood bubbles for a while before it spills gorgeously. And dried blood makes a great band-aid. And healing cuts are art to my fucked up mind. I can’t get enough. Scars are beautiful.
Maybe one day I’ll stop. I hope and look forward to a day when the thought doesn’t cross my mind at least once a day. But until then I’ll continue to draw butterflies, and attempt self-control.
It’s a work in progress.
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Study plan printable
Hi everyone!! I made a study plan printable for next semester and I thought I would share :)
It’s A5 size, so I print two of them per page, that way I have four of them per piece of paper & I don’t waste too much paper. I hope you will get some use out of them.
You can download them by clicking on the link below. It will lead you to my Google Drive where you can download the pdf :)
study plan download
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"defend your thesis" why are you attacking my thesis
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Decision Fatigue
Yesterday, I learned something about this concept of fatigue that comes along with too many choices that we are supposed to make in a day.
I have 4 things on my to-do list every single day, without a break, but somehow I barely end up doing one or two and mostly feel exhausted and fatigued. From what I've understood while researching, it is important to let your brain rest. Even the slightest decisions of choosing what food to eat and which t-shirt to wear, we are exhausting our brain every minute. By the end of the day, we either use avoidance strategies or we make poor desicions that lack self-control.
It is important to let your brain rest and not overburden it with unnecessary decision making. The most we can do is plan ahead of time and let that work for us. With too many decisions pending every single day, we feel overwhelmed and as a result become fatigued.
I have been experiencing this since the last 3-4 days and I'm realising how important it is to just let go. Most of all, I have to stop expecting so much out of myself.
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things are coming together for my paper, and it’s exhausting, it’s satisfying, it’s exciting
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disappointment is such a big part in academia and I hope it was talked about more.
so here is a reminder that when you see a lot of success and growth on social media, it is okay to feel disappointment and sadness. academic rejection is an important part of growth too. and as much as you doubt it right now, consistent work will matter in the future.
it's a long road and there is still a long way to go.
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How it started: “I’ll just glance over this paper I just need to know a few key points”
how it’s going: “wait that’s… that’s very cool lemme make note of that” *highlights entire paper*
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thinking about temples, the idea of a sacred geography, compiling — in my head — a new list of things to read on this, and just generally enjoying the beginning of a new research project
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back to the grind - wish me luck for my test on monday
desktop wallpaper: @emmastudies
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So something I realized about the struggle of going over the word count and being too verbose in my writing (this goes for me and my undergrad students tbf) :
An (~academic~) article/essay is not a place to commit to paper and show off everything you know about the thing, every single detail because you researched it so much and you want to show how much there is to know, and how much knowledge you have aquired on the thing, what an expert you are…
Instead, you just write what is needed to make your point. What is essential. And it may be only 30% of everything you actually know on the thing. Which is disappointing because you want to show how hard !! you !! worked !!! But the reader, for this paper, for this thesis, for this essay, only needs these 30% of what you know. And putting more is just… not helping.
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april six 2021
So lately,, I've been wanting to journal again, right? In high school, I documented daily my feelings & thoughts nearly all 4 years. Then I stopped. Well, happy to say: I have started a "pseudo-journal" as of a few days ago. (Why pseudo?) Well,, it's coming out a lot more like these little essays on the topic of time, selfness & reality. Oops. // Pretty sure it's because I'm reading "Nausea" by Sartre again. "Our Mathematical Universe" by Tegmark doesn't help. / The existentialism in this one is strong.
#psychblr#philosophy#studyblr#existentialism#writing#mental illness#bibliophile#study aesthetic#literature#spoonie#study#deskspace#100 days of productivity#journal#journaling#math#physicsblr#selfieforselfiessake
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update: my professor emailed me if I wanted to join her research! She is a well-rounded research scientist and there was only one spot out of 2 undergrad positions. I’ve never been a part of any study and now I get to conduct then present a poster board at a few conferences and compete in the undergraduate research competition!
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Link
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