This week being a free week and no assigned topic probably has more to do with why it is Sunday and I am writing blog post that was due Thursday. Thanks Jenna, you really do know how to push those of us with anxiety. But after careful reflection, and conversation I finally arrive at my blog topic for this week, and that is you guessed it, research.
I know I am going to get a few eye rolls and grunts for this, because hasn’t that been what our whole summer has been about? haven’t we all spent the last six weeks conducting research in one way or the other? But I don’t really care I am going to talk about it because I care about it. So now that we have gotten that out of the way, lets get into it.
Shall we?
Something that I am realizing through the program this summer is that I care about research a lot. And that means that I don’t only care about the act of doing research for the sake of knowledge accumulation, (cough, cough). But I care about the issues of research, how research is done and more importantly the potential of research. Because I believe that research has the potential to change the world, I know this because it changed my world. Yet when we look around there is little evidence of it actually changing anything.
I did this program because I wanted an experience with research that was not the ensconced ivory tower of the Academy. I wanted to see research do things and change things, and have a chance to be apart of that. So I thought that research in the Non-Profit sector would be the perfect answer for my frustration. Well it has been six weeks and I am still frustrated. This time I see the work being done, yet still no results. As the summer progressed and I learned more about my placement and the Non-Profit sector in general and the constraints it faces I am growing more sympathetic while at the same time, really questioning if the constraints of a non-profit are constrains that I could build a future career out of.
So now you see my current predicament. While I was ensconced in the Ivory Tower I could not wait to get out in the field and actually do research that would do something, that would actually create change. But now that I am here in the community doing research and not experiencing any results I find myself catching glimpses of the Ivory. So I guess that leaves me somewhere between the Academic Complex and Community Development?
Hi Kia,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with your post. Although I haven’t done a lot of research projects I can see both sides of your experiences. I’ve worked with a few non profits so far and have found it to be different then how they can be portrayed in classes.
All of the ones I have worked with have been extremely busy with not a lot of people to do the work. This leads to some frustration. For me at times I feel like I’m not doing anything to help the non profit because we are so busy that it makes my work seem less important. But they tell me that it is important because it wouldn’t get done unless I was here. My research is also historical research as opposed to the health research I’m more interested in. So it’s harder for me to envision the positive impacts it could have on the people.
But back to your post. I think it’s natural to feel somewhere in the middle of the academic complex and community development. You have now experienced both and there would naturally be pros and cons to both. It’s easier said than done but I would try not to worry about it too much. You can always change what your doing over time and switch between the field and the ivory tower.
Best,
Kyle