A Reflective Tool for Your First
Independent Research Project
Barbara Bassot
The
Research
Journal
© Policy Press 2020
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Part 1 Engaging in the research process 9
1.1 What does a research journal look like? 12
1.2 The importance of journal writing 14
1.3 The link between writing and understanding 16
1.4 How to get started with reflective writing 18
1.5 A model for reflective writing 20
Top tip – Things that can make reflective writing 23
Theme 2 Making a good start 25
2.1 What are you ultimately hoping to achieve? 26
2.2 Starting the research process 28
2.4 Making the most of networks 32
2.5 The importance of your research question 34
Top tip – The importance of getting started 37
3.2 Does planning always work? 42
3.3 Setting goals for your research 44
3.4 Dealing with procrastination 46
3.5 Reaching a large word count 48
Top tip – ‘Don’t get it right, get it written!’ 51
Contents