If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” - Ken Robinson
While our two compulsory courses are ongoing, I am expected to be working on my proposal. The proposal will grant me the final grade for the Research Methodology class. One of the requirements for admission to UUM is a brief proposal on our desired study. And so it is that I start developing a full proposal. It is not uncommon for students to defend their proposals six months after registration. This is possible because we have all the time in the world as beginning full-time students. However, when post-proposal defense students race for the finish line, suddenly time disappears into thin air. The post-proposal stage can get one so wrapped up that leading a sedentary life is frequent. I was told of a student who collapsed in his room and was rushed to Alor Setah for treatment by ambulance.
Now back to my topic. I want to seek practical, theoretical, and methodological solutions to a health condition in Kenya while investigating electronic media’s capability to handle it. So, I settle myself in the library to read the balance of 995 journal articles that address my area of research. I have favorite spots in the library where I feel comfortable. If I am seeking information from books, the wide, comfortable, beautiful ‘living room’ with orange sofa sets and soft carpets is my spot. It is not uncommon to find me relaxed on those seats and look like I am watching a movie more than reading. When I want to type my proposal, I disappear into the old library in one of the single carrels. I prefer this particular side that overlooks the chancellery because the sun knocks hard on my window for attention, momentarily relieving me of an Alaskan experience. If we are having group discussions, the carrels with a capacity to host about 15 students are ideal. Sometimes I just want to experience the different soothing colors that define various reading areas of the library. If today, I feel ‘red,' I read from the special collections area.
So, I pore through books, articles, newspapers, videos, and so on. By this time, I have met a very helpful Nigerian, Mark, who is done with his final thesis defense, and since the graduation ceremony is scheduled for November, he has opted to wait. He has nothing much to do, so he offers to help me with my proposal. I hand over the write-up I had used to apply, and Mark requests for a few days to work on it. On the day of the 'findings', we sit in Subaidah and go through the document which has been thoroughly corrected. I am proposing to use the quantitative method. Mark informs me he used the qualitative approach to examine an aspect of civil service in Nigeria. By the time we are through, I am as confused as ever. I thought I was clear about what I was doing, but I am not sure after this session. By this time, I have had another session with my supervisors. I am learning something from both my supervisors and Mark. No one should tell you what to do. All they can do is suggest. Both sets of scholars have asked hard questions, which sends me back to the drawing board.
I begin to think. Perhaps I can switch from quantitative to qualitative method? So, I put this proposal on hold and decide to go back to the library and borrow all the books I can get on the qualitative method. Of course, Creswell is at the top of the list. I also sample David Silverman, Robert Yin, Corbin & Strauss, Merriam & Tisdell, and others. Day after day, I read these books to develop a deep understanding of the qualitative approach. I begin to consider it seriously since I have used the quantitative approach at the master's level.
Meanwhile, I must commend the Postgraduate Students Society (PGSS) which has purposed to build research capacity among postgraduate students. I soon learn from Mark that these workshops/sessions are frequent, almost weekly (sometimes even 2 per week). The purpose is to demystify research. PGSS organizes the workshops with certification by inviting lecturers to share on a given topic for about two hours. Qualitative talks are frequent, and I purpose to attend. So, today, I am here, and the speaker is responding to a question about how to determine which method to follow. I learn that your topic and generally your study determine which method to select. For instance, if your title reads determining some attitude or perception by respondents about something, then you cannot purport to be in the qualitative realm. I glance at my topic and realize I have no clue about which methodology it speaks to. I ask Mark why he is bothering to attend these workshops at all. After all, he should be watching series and eating ice cream. But he tells me he is a lecturer who needs every information he can garner, whether qualitative or quantitative.
I trudge on with my topic and outline of my proposal, which now seems disfigured. My research methods lecturer puts in his all to assist. Whenever I go in to see my supervisors, I have changed my topic. They never betray any emotion every time I excitedly come singing that I have finally hit on ‘the one.’ I then go back to the library and download as many journal articles as possible to pursue this new topic. These articles will point me to the gap I must address. The more I read, the more I realize I cannot quite pinpoint any gap in my study, be it practical, theoretical, or methodological. I dig deep. Nothing. At this point, I am still claiming to be quanti. I scratch my head. Nothing.
One day, I decide to walk down to the nearest restaurant from the library, grab lunch, and come back to continue figuring out my study. As I pick my plate to serve, I am startled by a voice, “And who might you be?” I turn to see a tall, lean, dark-complexioned, black/African man. Two hours later, I am still animatedly talking to this Nigerian, an elderly man who appears to be in his 60s, forgetting the food, my bag, and everything else in the library.
This 2+ hour encounter with Sheikh Ali, a total stranger, will forever and pleasantly alter the trajectory of my research.
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