Hi Blog,
This is Eva Harden! Today, I will be giving some updates on what I have learned so far, then I will be transitioning into how my social identity affects my project, and lastly, I will be giving a few musings about being a researcher!
- Updates
Thus far this summer, I have learned quite a few things. First and foremost, I feel like I have finally been able to master the Qualtrics platform for making surveys! Coming into the summer, I was still a bit intimidated by the platform despite having used it a little bit before, but now I fully understand its functions! I am also learning how to use the data analysis platform JASP, which has been both a challenge and a pleasant surprise. I thought it would be extremely hard, but the interface is quite intuitive, which has made it easier than expected!
- Social Identity
My social identity greatly shapes my understanding of my project. Specifically, being a woman of color affects the way I look at sexual assault and its repercussions. I also believe that is one of the reasons I am so assiduous about my research; it is an opportunity to help better understand a problem that is faced primarily by women. Being a woman of color, combined with the background I have gotten so far in my WGS major, always leads me to try and understand the various ways in which my research could apply to different women!
- Life as a researcher!
Life as a researcher has taught me many things so far, one being to trust the process! The research process mimics a wave that ebbs and flows; no week is ever the same. One week you could be recruiting participants for a study, and the next week you could be analyzing data, all whilst writing up your results! The trick is to trust the process 😀