Hello Everyone ... I hope you are all enjoying your summer and staying cool. Andriko convinced me to send a 'blog' about my thesis experiences.
After several months of reliving my interviews and contemplating the best way to document the lives of 8 very unique individuals, I finally had a brainwave. It was only after sending my supervisor various revised versions of themes that I finally found one that she would accept. Finally her words of wisdom hit and I came up with a brilliant concept for my thesis. I will get to this in a moment because there were several events that led up to me finally seeing the 'light'
Have you ever noticed that when you are trying to get something done it is very challenging to meet the objectives? That it is only when the task is done that it all seems so much easier? What I am trying to say is that ... last summer I couldn't find enough participants for my research ... I was getting stressed that I would not find enough people. However, this summer ... when I have interviewed all the people I want to interview ... lots of people want to talk to me about their experiences of aging with a physical impairment. It was through these conversations that I finally realized how I NEEDED to present my data. Ever since my first interview I realized that this thesis is no longer about me ... it's about the special people who trusted me with their stories. I do not want to let them down, I do not want to present them in a way that would embarrass them or make them hate confiding to me. Although, this is a huge task to take on ... I think it has been empowering and I would not change this experience.
To show you how this has impacted my thoughts, I'll tell you how my thoughts have developed. At first, before I made any personal connections with people with physical impairments I thought I could look at the topic in sections that I would call 'Inequalities'. This seemed like a logical way and fit nicely with my literature review. However, after my first few interviews I realized that the word inequality should not be included in my thesis in such a BOLD manner. My themes then changed slightly by using different words that are comparable to inequality and still highlight that there was something wrong with life with an impairment and that my participants were living tragic lives. This was not how any of them talked about their life.
Okay ... so now this is the new direction - the purpose of my thesis will be to show that people aging with a long-term physical impairment are no different than anyone else but they have to learn to do things differently or normalize their actions and are constantly adapting. Now ... instead of using inequalities I am using coping mechanisms as a way to structure my data so it makes more sense.
I am now in the process of recoding my data (all done as of last night) and working on a strong thesis statement. I hope to continue writing this week. I finished my methods section and am waiting for it to be reviewed.
I am also trying to fit in my practicum. This practicum involves researching how 3 elderly women (over 80) with developmental impairments have adjusted to a life in a long-term care home. These women previously lived in a large, provincially funded institution that is being closed. The stories I hear about these institutions are enough to make me want to throw up. I cannot imagine how they survived for so long. They are adapting quite well to their new surroundings but I guess it is not much different than their previous "home" (which I use VERY lightly!!).
In the midst of all this school work ... I am also working a bit and playing soccer. My team is doing better than last year and we have a chance of making it to the semi-finals (I don't expect more than that!!). The summer is going too fast. I will be at home still in September trying to finish my thesis and look at applying for a PhD. I think I'll return to TBay for a short visit once most of my work is done.
This update is quite long and probably not too interesting. I hope everyone else is doing well and that your thesis or paper is coming along. Make sure you take time to enjoy the summer!!
Cheers, Becky
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hey Becky.
Thanks for the update, it's always great to hear what folks are up to this summer. After all that preamble about how and you finally had a breakthrough to see the "light" I wanted to know what it was, maybe other people felt the same way. You brought us all the way up, and then, and then, and then what?
Or are you saving that so that we can all go and read about it in your published work?
Maybe you could do another post and talk about the 'institution' that the three women lived at? If you could? Or tell us about generally, why said institution is closing or is closed? And perhaps about what the situation is like, now for these three women, what does their funding structure look like. Also how did these women conceptualize their new living arrangements.
Just thoughts - attempts at getting some dialogue flowing on this here blogorola.
Post a Comment