My next research project requires ethical approval – interviewing real live people rather than writing about people long since departed. And it’s imperative that I get my submission in on time, since the next meeting of our ethics committee is early next year.
I’ve been working on it for weeks. (Admittedly, I’m a part-time research fellow, so I technically have only 10.5 hours a week to get my research activities done. Yes, we all know that the reality is different!) Anyway, yesterday was my own deadline: it just happened to be the last day we’re open before Christmas, and the morning after my last working day this year.
Efficiency (and Thoroughness)
There’s only one way to fill in a form efficiently, and that’s to make sure every question is answered satisfactorily. To this end, I go through and make myself a list of the information I must provide. Over the past few weeks, I assembled the info. Attachments were created and labelled. And here’s where Tuesday (not a ‘work’ day) and Thursday came unstuck. I wanted to have a particular collection of old newspaper excerpts to share as an interview prompt. Finding and listing them was easy enough. Formatting the document in Word, though? With clips of the excerpts? It took hours!
Have I Forgotten Anything?
Finally satisfied, I turned back to the form. And there – I swear they weren’t there when I initially saved it! – were a couple more questions with grey-shaded boxes requiring answers. And attachments. What a good thing I double-checked. ✔️
It’s done. Phew! Details of whom I hope to interview, what I’ll be asking, and how I’ll save and use the gathered information, are all itemised.
And … breathe!
I submitted it. Ensured everyone involved could access it. At last, I can stop thinking about it until after Christmas!
Now, where’s the domestic to-do list (all the stuff I need to do, because no-one else will think about it) …?
Image by Daniel Schmieder from Pixabay
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 