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enthusiastic about your study and it is good

to capitalise on this. As time progresses, you

might begin to feel pressurised by the scale of

the task, especially as it often comes at a time

when you have lots of other academic work

to complete, and maybe final examinations

to prepare for too. This journal can help you

to manage the process effectively and will

help in the inevitable ups and downs of the

research process.

You will probably have been given a significant

length of time for working on your research

project; this can be comforting, yet deceptive

at the same time. In the early days it is all too

easy to think that you have plenty of time,

and procrastination can quickly set in as you

sit back and start to put things off. Before you

know it, weeks have gone by and the deadline

starts to feel much closer. Then feelings of panic

can start to surface, which can make people

feel overwhelmed and even stuck, so making

progress can sometimes start to get tricky.

This book has a strong emphasis on planning,

which helps to prevent a range of negative

feelings associated with completing a large

assessed project. You have probably already

been asked to write essays, as well as other

types of written work. This book will help you

to keep up the writing habit and includes

activities that help you to reflect on what you

are achieving in this area. It also helps you to

understand more about yourself and how you

can manage your project well.

This is not a book on research methods or on

completing a research project, as there are

plenty of those available. What it does provide

is a practical and reflective tool to use as a

‘how to’, alongside other texts which focus on

the academic and practical aspects of social

research. During your independent study you

are likely to find a small number of what you

will come to know as your go-to books on

research methods; you might even find one

to use as your first point of reference. This is

good and likely to be very helpful to you in

the research process. The Research Journal is

a book to use together with these, not instead

of them, because it is designed to help you to

establish your direction and work through the

process. In the early stages of a project, many

students say they struggle to find their feet and

using this book at this time can be particularly

effective. You will also want to use it to keep

a record of your work and thoughts on the

whole research process, and this could prove

particularly valuable if you are asked to write a