Last summer, I spent ten weeks conducting research through the Research Experience and Apprenticeship Program (REAP). My mentor and I analyzed public opinion survey data from El Salvador and Brazil. Our aim was to discern any differences between the two populations in their receptiveness to antidemocratic propositions such as, “A military coup is justified when there is a lot of corruption." Furthermore, we looked at the relationship between support for antidemocratic measures and the respondent’s reported level of satisfaction with their president (Jair Bolsonaro for Brazilians, Nayib Bukele for Salvadorans).
For most liberal arts students, research looks quite different from the regimented lab work that students partake in within the STEM fields. Although I met with my mentor once a week in person on the UNH campus to check-in and set new weekly goals, the bulk of my research was self-directed, self-motivated, and unstructured. I enjoyed the freedom of conducting work independently, but I also found it difficult to maintain consistent motivation and output over the course of ten weeks. Towards the homestretch of my research period, I finally got into a rhythm that I plan on replicating in my future research pursuits. For any liberal arts, social science, or interdisciplinary researchers, I hope that my experience helps you design a research strategy to plan for the demands of self-guided work.
Getting Started and Managing Sources
The guiding question of my project was: How does the state of democracy in El Salvador compare to the state of democracy in Brazil? I started my research by writing an outline. For each section, I conducted a literature review through the UNH library website which gives you access to a huge repository of academic articles. I found scholarly sources and newspaper articles by identifying pre-existing research on the question, but more importantly, by identifying gaps to explore to generate my own original research.
My work took the form of a research paper. It was around thirty pages long and used twice as many sources. My paper quickly became unwieldy, and the sources were difficult to keep track of, so I used a tool called Scrivener to organize my writing. Scrivener describes itself as a digital “three-ring-binder” that you can use to easily navigate the different sections of your outline. Scrivener offers a 30-day free trial to test whether it suits your needs. While I found Scrivener helpful for managing a long research paper, you could also consider simply creating separate documents for each of your research sections and collating them in your final drafting process.
For managing sources, I used the free application Zotero. Once downloaded, Zotero allows you to add sources to your “library” and then organize them into self-contained folders. Zotero will automatically generate citations in your preferred style. My advice is to properly cite everything as you go. This means properly formatting your source and putting it in the right location rather than revisiting it later to format correctly. This saves both time and confusion along the way when the number of sources climbs beyond twenty.
Time Management and Staying Motivated
Each week, I collaborated with my mentor to create goals. We also developed a general schedule of when we wanted to complete certain segments of the project. On my own, I planned daily activities in more detail. Parkinson’s Law states that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion," so this guided my time blocking strategy. I used Google Calendar to map out my days and was mindful not to be overly generous with the time I allotted for specific tasks. I trained myself to strictly adhere to the time blocks and aim for completion rather than perfection. I reserved weekends as more loosely planned revision days to fill in any gaps or add more detail where needed.
Every day, I identified the most onerous task on the agenda. The statistical portion of my project was the most challenging, for example, so I would start the day working on statistics. This approach was given the memorable name of “eating the frog” by the author Brian Tracy, who wrote the book Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. “Eating the frog” means that you should aim to eliminate the hardest task of the day right away, so that the difficulty of your day diminishes. This also meant that I could keep my evenings free to relax.
Key Takeaways
The summer I spent conducting research through REAP was perhaps the most challenging academic experience I’ve had as a student. Yet it was also the most rewarding. I realize in retrospect that producing an original research paper on political developments in El Salvador and Brazil was not the only benefit gleaned from this experience. Just as importantly, I developed an approach to liberal arts research that I can recycle for future pursuits.
My advice is to go into your research with a growth mindset. Look at your first research experience as an opportunity to learn the challenges of research. Take time to develop effective skills and strategies and you will overcome any hurdles you encounter.
