#datresearchtho

So far my research process has been really mind-opening. I have heard about this class from my friends, and I knew that we had a research/issues paper that we were going to have to write. One of the pieces of advice that my friend gave me was to pick a topic that I liked, because that would make the writing of the 8 to 10 page paper so much easier and interesting. I’m glad that I listened to that advice. I picked to write about South Korea, a place which I love. I am thoroughly interested in everything Korean, and so doing the research is not tedious or frustrating, but interesting, and I am always learning something new. Even when I find sites that are dead ends and really don’t get me going anywhere, I still enjoy reading the articles and I enjoy learning more about Korea. Thus I haven’t encountered any hardships in researching, plus there are an abundance of journal issues and studies done on the South Korean education system. It’s wonderful!

So far I have just been doing research on the BYU databases and on google, just trying to get information in general about the education system that they have in Korea. While doing so I have really had my eyes opened to it, and it has been great. I generally save all the URL’s in a google drive, so that I can access it problem free from work, school, the library, or even my smartphone. It is great, and then I put a small explanation/summary of what the article is about. It makes going back and looking for specific pieces of information so much easier.

One of the things that come to mind when I think about changing my research process is just keeping an open mind about my research topic. Having lived in Korea for two years, I saw first-hand the Korean education system. Thus I have an emotional connection to it and it is sometimes hard for me to go at it with an open mind. I feel like I have maybe brushed off a couple of articles that maybe don’t represent the same viewpoint that I have, where I should be reading those and really trying to understand what argument is being made, why it is being made, and if it really is more viable/understandable than my current position is. That is the biggest roadblock that I have seen to my research so far. Other than that though, it is going great! I love my topic, and I look forward to writing this paper!