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Theme 2.1

What are you

ultimately hoping

to achieve?

At the beginning of any large task, it is good

to spend some time thinking about what you

hope to achieve and what you would like

your final outcome to be. Your first piece

of independent research is likely to be the

largest piece of academic work you have

undertaken so far. Making a start on any

large activity can be daunting and it is easy

to be overwhelmed by it, particularly when

it can make a significant difference to your

overall results. Having a picture of what you

hope to achieve can help you to make a

positive start.

Starting any large task is often one of the

most difficult things and here is one way

that could help you to tackle the sense of

inertia you might feel at the beginning of

the process. When thinking about many

aspects of our development, Covey (2004:

95) encourages us to, ‘Begin with the end in

mind’ (Habit 2). He argues that everything

is created twice – first at the psychological

level in our minds and then at the practical

level in our actual experience. Having a

personal vision for the future focusing on the

end result or outcome is one way of helping

us begin to see things more clearly in the

early stages.

At this point it is worth spending some time

thinking about what you hope to achieve in

the coming months as you embark upon your

research study. Here are some questions to

help you begin to think things through:

• What are your long-term goals for your

research? Imagine you are logging into

the portal (or using whatever method you

use) to get your results; what do you

hope it will say?

• What are you researching? Try and sum

this up in a short sentence or two.

• Why are you researching this particular

area? Again, try and write a short summary.

• What are you looking forward to most in

doing your research?

• What are the key areas where you feel you

need to develop in the area of research?

• What could hinder your progress? Can you

identify any particular barriers?

• How could you overcome these barriers to

your development?