Using my Blog

Literature Review and my Blog

During module 2 I used my blog a lot to discuss ideas and things that I had read.  At the time I was just doing it to get my ideas out and use some writing time to help me understand what I had read.  I have mentioned this before, but for me writing about things is extremely useful in helping me to critically analyse and understand what it is I have read. It also adds structure to the process for me and stops me becoming overwhelmed and lost...I read something-I write about it, simple. Then I can put it to one side and move on to something else. I think as well time is key, time to reflect… I started module 2 thinking that as soon as I read something then I should be an expert on it and immediately understand it, however that did not happen.  There would be times I would read an article and take a few more times of re reading before I felt like it made sense to me, sometimes the penny took a little longer to drop! But now I know that’s ok and all part of the process, take time to reflect on it… question it… write about it.   

At the end of module two when writing the literature part of the proposal I found that this process was now incredibly useful as all my thoughts and feelings about a piece of literature were right there in front of me, ready for me to pull apart and put back together again.  Also this process allowed time to reflect, on re reading my blog I found other things I hadn’t thought of, different perspectives and it allowed me to see if my opinions had changed with time- mostly they had.  So for module three I intend to use my blog for this purpose again, for all the literature I read I will post a short review which I can post to others and then come back to a later date! It allowed me to become completely familiar with the ideas and theories in a piece and really get to know it. 

The workload will be more in this module and I am aware that structure, organisation and focus will be the key to keeping me on track whilst writing the literature review.     

The Interviews So Far

Back into module 3, however I've been very fortunate and been able to carry on a lot of my BAPP work over summer meaning I have had my first few interviews with dramatherapists.  I did this for a few reasons, one being that my research is focused on primary schools and I thought that approaching people at the start of a new term in September may led to a lower rate of responses as that is an extremely busy time for anyone working in a primary school! Another being that I was also free
(kind of- moved house and searched for a new job) over the summer and wanted to get ahead before the start of term at a brand new job!

So the interview... well before I go into that I just need to say that the responses I have had and the support from the people I have contacted has been remarkable, people are so willing to help and their passion for the field of dramatherapy is so strong that I really have been touched at people giving up their free time to talk to me and answer my questions... If any of you are reading this, I can't thank you all enough!

So, back to the interview's so far.  My first one was face to face and I travelled a few hours by train to get there, I really did want to have at least a few physical face to face interviews as possible so I jumped at this opportunity.  The dramatherapist was warm, kind and extremely welcoming, they even made lunch for me and I was there for while after the interview while we chatted about books I should add to my reading list and people I should contact.  I am incredibly grateful for this interview, it was my first one and I must say, I was nervous.  However the dramatherapist made it all very easy for me and answered my questions and more!

I decided to start the interview with questions to the therapist about how they got into the field, what made them become a dramatherapist.  I did this as I thought it would relax the start of the conversation and it would be more natural.  What I didn't anticipate is how interesting and useful these personal stories are, they have really made me think about why I chose this subject and what I aim to do with the knowledge I gain from this degree.  This has made my interviews more personal and I also share how I came across dramatherapy, it gives a common ground, a shared passion between me and the dramatherapist.  They have also been emotive, sharing personal experiences which lead them to where they are now and I have felt humbled to be able to hear them.

So far, the conversation style of interview has been very fruitful as I am able to still keep it in line with what exactly I want to know whilst allowing the flow to be a little bit more free and have found things out I didn't even think to ask!

There is a time consuming element to this,  a 30-40 minute is taking me a good few hours to transcribe.... from my researching about researching (!) the advice is to be as familiar as possible with your transcripts and to ensure that punctuation and expression is as close to the recording as possible.  This takes time..... for anyone starting to do it I recommend lots of short little breaks!  I think the starting part of the thematic analysis will be extremely hard... there is so much information in front of me , breaking it down and finding the themes will be a challenging time.  I am a little apprehensive about this and am looking into different ways of starting the analysis without overwhelming myself.

I have a few more interviews to do and am aiming to contact a few more people, so far this has been a more emotive and personal experience than I thought it would be.  Now it's real.  I'm actually talking to professional practitioners who have all of these wonderful experiences and are so willing and happy to share them with me.  After reading about it for so long and planning questions... then re planning questions... It has finally come to life. Just like drama, rehearsing a script is never the same as performing it live on stage, there is always more.