Welcoming Critique to Improve My Project

   As I have begun the process in designing my experiment for Honors in the Major, I have had many learning experiences that have helped prepare me for research in the future. While I am still in the beginning stages of this project, I have been surprised by the unexpected twists and turns that appear in the design phase.      

   At the end of the semester my goal was to have my project design completed and approved by the IRB (Institutional Review Board). While this seemed like a relatively simple task, it proved more difficult than I initially anticipated. Submitting to the IRB meant that my experiment had to be completely designed and planned out, including specifics for how my experiment will be administered. I had to make changes to my document several times, as well as re-think several aspects of my project to create a better experiment. This made me think deeper about my project, as well as helped me learn about this process with the assistance of a mentor. After several attempts my experiment was approved before the end of the semester.

    Throughout the month of May, I have continued to plan the course of this project. I have created the stimuli for my project and plan to begin making a pretest for my project. The pretest will help compare certain product’s popularity, which is necessary for my project. This pretest will be administered at the end of the summer. My official experiment will be administered over the online platform Qualtrics. I plan to release it at the beginning of the Fall semester, and the results will come back in a week. I will then begin my data analysis, as well as my review. 

   My biggest challenges have been to continuously think how I can make my experiment better. As a researcher you must question everything, and there is always a way to make improvements for greater validity and reliability. At first, I grew frustrated when I needed to make a correction or re-think a portion of the design. I would think I created a solid document, and then realize it was not even close to being done. To prevent frustration, I had to change my mindset and welcome critique of my work. This will only make what you produce better and create better opportunities for the future. I also believe that burnout is a very real problem, and with projects like these it can become prevalent. To overcome this, I have learned to distribute my time as easily as possible and give myself breaks when I need them.

  Overall, this project has been a great learning experience so far. I am excited to continue working and learning how I can better myself for future work.