So, for my literature review, I think I have enough resources now. I have a list probably three times longer than I need and spent way too many hours amassing them but I ran myself mad trying to find particular sources, more journal articles than general books because of the manner of the lit-review.

Acquiring resources, assessing them and making sure they’re going to do what you need and want them to do is something that I enjoy (although there are aspects of it that are a bit of a pain) but I was surprised that it’s actually a skill to develop that not a lot of people can pick up easily. It’s the third year and people are still confused about the whole process, which I imagine must be frustrating and jarring.

It’s this part of the process that I dread starting the most but actually also enjoy the most. When I’m putting together something and it’s stitching itself up nicely, I always think about doing research in my own spare time. The difference is that I know I won’t be doing actual ‘research’ (or at least it won’t feel like it) and I have way too much I would like to write about. I guess they wouldn’t be ‘research’ per se, more like informative pieces or thoughtful/persuasive essays backed by literature.

It does feel weird, though, how you look for pieces that inform/back what your agenda is, and though I know that’s the point, I wonder if that’s what I’m doing wrong with this literature review. Am I too concerned about establishing an agenda/direction for the answer to the question that I am going to pose at the end of it that I’m not actually conducting the lit-review correctly? I didn’t search for specific texts that pointed to part of the answer I’m likely to find during my research project but most of them easily enforce my point. Or, maybe I’m just thinking about it too much?

In my experience, I spend a lot of time screaming “I don’t know what I’m doing” and it often comes out okay. But I don’t want to become complacent because of that.

This is going to be one of the last essays I write for this degree and it’s about a topic I care about, and so I want to make sure I do it right.

Write it right!