Week 4: Update

Once again I set myself less tasks to do this week, due to working a few days during the week.

Firstly, I starting to research some experts I could use for my project, to start to get a feel of who I could use. However, until I had got a little bit more information I was reluctant to contact any, as I wanted to have good and important questions ready for when I messaged them.

Secondly, I decided to conduct a survey, asking a few questions about peoples personal experiences and opinions about how their nerves and anxiety can affect them in different ways. I did this on SurveyMonkey and then shared the link around on social media, mainly targeting people I knew played sport, and asked them to share it as much as they could.

The questions were mainly on a rating scale, however I did ask some basic, personal questions at the beginning so I could see the range of ages, gender and sports the people I surveyed played. The questions about my topic we're on a rating scale as this meant I could analyse my data easier.

The survey consists of 10 questions, and I will analyse my results next week so it gives me enough time to get a good variety and range of people to answer.

( https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PM7TJ6B )

Week 3 Update

This week I set myself less to do as I was away Monday-Wednesday and was working the weekend. As a result I set myself two resources to read/watch and analyse and further add to my notes.

The first source was an article on Google Scholar and was based around Tennis and how anxiety affects both genders and different levels of performer (elite or foundation level.) It gave me an insight into different factors in the extent anxiety affects our performance. It also contained and was focused around a study which has given me a broad idea of the kind of research I could do.

The second source was a website, and even though it was short it gave me an idea of how anxiety can affect us before and after sport, not just during like most articles I have read.

Week 2: Update

This week I started the main portion of my research.

Before I did this however, my plan was slightly altered as I was busier than I thought I was going to be! Nonetheless, I read/examined and wrote down the key points from my first three sources into a notebook which will contain all my collective notes for the project.

Source 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEmXtP_e26E

The first of the sources was a YouTube video. The video was 4 minutes long, and I watched it 4 times. The first watch was to just listen to make sure it was relevant to my research and to get the overall idea of the video. Then the 2nd and 3rd time I made my notes from the video (watching it twice to make sure I had everything.) The last time I watched it I double-checked I hadn't missed anything important whilst I summed up the information.

Source 2: Inside Sports Psychology

The second of my sources was a textbook I had found when doing my research in the LRC. The index said it had around 25 pages to do with anxiety in sport. I scanned the pages to find the ones most relevant to me, which allowed me to narrow the number I had to read down. I then read the pages and highlighted what I believed to be relevant and then wrote it down in my notebook.

Source 3: http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/stage-fright-performance-anxiety

My third source was a website I found on google. However, this source wasn't as specific as all my other sources will be, as it gives a generic overview on how anxiety affects all performance, as well as treatments/symptoms/causes. I wrote down very few notes and I know it isn't specific enough, however it did give me a good overview of what I was researching and gave me the foundations of my information and the sort of things I want to look for.

Week 1: Research Update

The first week of my plan (6th July) was to find most of my research material.

As a result, I went into the LRC at college and my local library to find titles of books I could use in my investigation. In the LRC itself, I found one detailed textbook (Inside Sports Psychology,

ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-3329-9) as well as a few textbooks that gave me very broad information that I wouldn't need for my research.

 I then started to look on Amazon. I typed in 'Sports Psychology' into the search bar and clicked on many titles. I then used the 'look inside feature' to search the word anxiety to see if it was contained (and contained well) in the book. From here, I found a few titles including 'Pure Sport: Practical Sports Psychology' ISBN-13: 978-0415395588 which I purchased as it gave me a good amount of detail and wasn't overly expensive.

I then started using JSTOR/Google Scholar and Infotrac to find pre-existing articles on my topic. I used the advanced searches to narrow down the articles, and then clicked on and scanned separate articles to see if they looked relevant. I saved links to the articles I want to look through onto a word document, so I am able to clearly see all my sources so far.

Planning Review

Research Plan for my project, starting from the week beginning 6th July to the week beginning 31st August.

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Week 1: 6th July

Objectives || Find 90% of my research material (I may find more as I go along, however I would like to find as much as I can to start with, mainly so I don't overload myself with information or get side-tracked.) Make a list of all research I need to do.

Resources || College/Public Libraries, Google Scholar, Jstor/Infotrac, Google, Amazon/Book Stores (Textbooks.) Write the source links and/or titles in a central word document/post.

Problems || I am away Monday/Tuesday and at a University Open Day on Wednesday and have Karate in the evening. As well as this I  have a driving lesson mid-day Thursday. I also am working Saturday until 4 and have a Karate Assessment on Sunday.

Solutions || I have already found some of my research material, so I will have less to research. Also, I have set myself less tasks this week, so I don't overwhelm myself with tasks I cannot complete.

Deadlines || Complete Research by Sunday Evening, giving me 2 full days and 2 half days to find as many resources as I can.

Notes || During this week I was much busier than I originally thought, so even though I did find a good amount of resources (I mainly found reports, documents and textbooks) I didn't find all I was planning to find. However, I made up for this by researching the rest as I went along and adding them to my log, as this allowed me to save time and use sources relevant to the weeks research.

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Week 2: 13th July

Objectives || Read/highlight/upload findings in 3 sources (as specified below in my source list.) Write up my notes and analyse my information.

Resources || Inside Sports Psychology /

 

Problems || I have a test on Tuesday that I need to revise for. I also need to pack for a few days away the week after. As well as this I will be with friends Wednesday and Thursday

Solutions || I will do all my work for the week after Tuesday as I can then have Monday and the first part of Tuesday to revise. I can pack for my days away on Tuesday as well, giving me Friday and Saturday/Sunday evening to well as read sources.

Deadlines ||  Complete reading by 7pm Sunday.

Notes || Once again I overestimated the amount of free time I had. Even so, I did manage to read my sources but I did so during car journeys or when waiting for friends/family when I was out. This meant during the free time I had I was able to write up my notes, meaning my work was completed as planned.

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Week 3: 20th July

Objectives || Read/Highlight 2 Sources I have found and add the information to my notes.

Resources || 2 Sources I have Found (Including Pure Sport: Into Sports Psychology)

Problems || I am at Alton Towers Monday-Wednesday, am working Saturday/Sunday and am driving at 5 on Thursday. I will also be tired from my holiday due to the long hours of walking and travelling in a short space of time.

Solutions || I have given myself less to read/research this week due to a busy schedule, so I should be able to get all my set work done.

Deadlines || Friday Evening for the reading, so I can write important notes up on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Notes || I wasn't able to get all my set work done this week, mainly due to the fact I forgot how ill and tired travelling makes me, so therefore I wasn't able to complete the reading when I wanted to. By the time I felt better I had work, however to make up for the week I read one of the articles after I came back from work on Saturday. The work I didn't complete this week I managed to do during the week of the 27th, as I had a quieter week.

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Week 4: 27th July

Objectives || Conduct a survey to see people's opinions about my question/topic. Start to research people I could use as experts

Resources || Email, Google, Internet, SurveyMonkey

Problems ||  I have a driving lesson at 11 on Monday and I am working on Tuesday evening, Saturday and Sunday. / As well as this people may be on holiday so cannot complete my questionnaire.

Solutions || Have Saturday/Sunday off and complete the work during the week. /  Make sure I spread my survey around on social media pages too, so even if people are away I still have enough to complete it.

Deadlines || Friday Evening

Notes || This week went better than the last few had, mainly because I planned my research to fit in with my time so I could do some work and relax as well. As well as this meaning I didn't get as distracted or tired, it meant I could complete the research I ran out of time to do last week, putting myself back on track. After the week I altered the rest of the weeks of my plan to try and give myself enough time to complete my work without rushing and take a break as well as it worked well.

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Week 5 : 3rd August

Objectives ||  Interview some athletes I know about their opinions about my topic/personal experiences. Analysis of Survey from previous week.

Resources || Survey created on Word, Email and Survey Monkey.

Problems || I have a Karate assessment/grading. I am working Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well at Saturday. Athletes I would like to interview may not be free at the time to complete it.

Solutions ||  Arrange with interviewee's a time that suits them and myself. I also made sure I had a spare person I could ask, so if one person couldn't I had a back up. I will try get the interviews done as early in the week as I can so I am able to analyse the data.

Deadlines || Friday Evening

Notes || Similarly, this week also went smoothly. This was because after altering my plan, I had a ratio of time to the amount of work I set myself, meaning I could get everything done. Fortunately, the athletes I sent the survey to sent their replies/told me their replies quickly so I was able to further analyse the more detailed findings from my second set of research.

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Week 6: 10th August

Objectives || Fully plan my primary research, backed up with 1 more article into similar research.

Resources ||

Problems || We have Results Day Thursday and I may not want to do research that day, as I may need to go into college.

Solutions || Have my plan for my research done by Wednesday and write it up fully Friday. Read the article before I start planning my research to give me an idea of what's been done/what I could do.

Deadlines || Friday Evening

Notes || The research was harder to plan than I thought it was, mainly due to there being so much I could do but no being overly sure on what I think would be best. As a result I wrote a few ideas down and gave myself a few weeks to decide. When I got back to college, I gave my supervisor the two best ideas I could think of so she could look over them and give me feedback. Doing this allowed me to see more research into my question before finalising my experiment, meaning it should be better and more relevant when I conduct it.

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Week 7 : 17th August

Objectives || Read 3 more articles or books of my choosing and write up notes. Make sure at least 2 of the articles include or focus on information about controlling anxiety, as many of the ones I have looked at so far are based on the affects of anxiety.

Resources || Source List / JSTOR / Google Scholar / Library / Google

Problems || I am working Tuesday evening and Wednesday. I am going out with friends on Monday/Thursday.

Solutions || Fit in reading around plans (for example, reading articles after plans with friends or before I go to work)

Deadlines || Friday Evening

Notes || When I first made the plan for the week, I had enough time to read/write up on 3 more articles and books. However, at short notice some friends and I arranged plans as I hadn't seen them in a month, therefore I didn't have as much time as planned. This meant I was only able to write up notes one source, however I did find two other good sources that I read later than planned (one following week  and one during a college free.) As a result of the week, I leant to also keep time for improvising plans or have a back up option if something came up (eg reading a smaller article that was a page long if I didn't have much spare time)

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Week 8: 24th August

Objectives || Contact at least 2 experts and read another source. Start to Plan resources I will need for Primary Research

Resources || Ebay/Amazon, Resources List, Google, Email/Phone

Problems || College Enrolment on Friday and Driving at 11 on Monday.  I am also working Monday/Tuesday and Thursday evening. / Equipment I need for primary research may be expensive.

Solutions ||  I have given myself slightly less to do this week due to being busier, and I can complete my tasks around my plans. / I will look around different websites for cheaper equipment, meaning I can plan what I need and what I can do without.

Deadlines || Sunday Evening

Notes || As I was finding contact details for experts, I saw that most of them were university lecturers or teachers. Because of this, I didn't contact experts straight away, as I believed that they may not read their emails when on holiday from work. As a result, I found a few people I could contact and waited until the second week of the college term to contact them. Instead, this week I read one of the articles I failed too last week, and planned the resources I could get for my research.

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Week 9: Commencing 31st August

Objectives || Have my research completed and all notes written down into a logical order.
 Do any last-minute research.

Resources || List of resources.

Problems || I need to get ready for college the week after. I am also away the Monday/Tuesday.

Solutions || Have the evenings to get my things sorted and my bag packed. If needed make sure I have a day that will allow me to shop for any last minute items.

Deadlines || Friday Evening

Notes || I didn't complete all my research, mainly because I knew there would be some research I could do when I returned to college and that there would be research I would later need to do to fill in any missing gaps from the project. I read over my notes and used this week to find out what I wanted more information on and sources that could help me do that which I studied when I returned to college. This was helpful as it let me see how far I was in research compared to where I thought I was and allowed me to plan further ahead.


// Plan Added Onto After Summer Holidays //

Due to the restart of college in September I wouldn't have as much free time as previously in the summer and it would be hard to pinpoint when I am free each week and as a result I decided it may be easier to plan for the month instead of plan each week.

September:

Objectives || Focus on completing more secondary research. I would also ask my PE teacher some questions in relation to my topic to use as an expert. I would mainly focus on factors that can affect how we interpret anxiety and whether these are beneficial or inhibiting.

Problems || I don't know the amount of college work I will get and how busy this will keep me. I also will have driving lessons and out of college clubs to work around.

Solutions || If I set myself a set amount of articles to read and assign that reading to a free or two per week I will get my research done. As a result, I will set myself to read two resources per week (that I have found prior to that slot)

Notes || Assigning a free to do my research was a very effective method. Having a set time slot made me focus more on my work and gave me some familiarity which I will continue using throughout my project even if assign frees to general EPQ work.

October;

Objectives || Make sure my experiment is written out and planned in detail and run it by my supervisor. I will also carry on with my research but will also neaten up my notes and make sure my blog is up to date.

Problems || Similar problems to last month being I will have an unknown amount of college work to complete. I also have more driving lessons as I will have my driving test and am going away in the half term.

Solutions || Allocation of a free to my EPQ work will make my research more productive. If I take some work away with me I can also complete it in the hotel room in the evenings.

Notes ||  I set myself to read 6 more sources during this time which I did successfully. I did however run into some issues with my experiment so I had to put it on hold for another month. I did my research very quickly so I think it would be a good idea to set myself more to read.

November;

Objectives || Buying the materials I will need for my primary research (if possible) and design an in-detail plan, including a back up if all fails. Consult with the people I will be using in my research to start taking averages. Also continue with research and a report plan.

Problems || I will need to revise for my November mocks. I will need to find time to complete EPQ work around college and need to find times that the people I will be conducting my research on.

Solutions || As I did in October, I have allocated slots in my timetable at college during frees to work on EPQ work, which will allow me to get everything done under focused conditions.

Notes || I designed a plan in detail for my research and ran it past my supervisor. I also researched different report/referencing styles I could use writing my report as well as making a layout plan.

December;

Objectives || Completion of Primary Research. Consolidation of my research (including summary notes) and starting written report.

Problems || I will have a history coursework draft to complete this month. As well as this the Christmas Holidays may keep me busy (due to work mainly.)

Solutions || Arranging set times to complete EPQ work so I can balance it with everything (for example allocating a day or two in the holidays to complete any work I need to.)

Notes || I was once again unable to complete my research due to the difficulty we have had obtaining the needed equipment. Speaking to my supervisor she advised I could leave out the experiment and just complete my report of surveys and my secondary research (however I did mention I may complete an observation or another interview to try and counter this)

January;

Objectives || Completion of research report. Analyse survey and write up findings.

Problems || I  will have a history coursework draft to carry on working on that will take a large amount of my time.

Solutions || Dedicate times in my timetable to both so I have enough time to complete it.

Notes || I completed and handed in my first report draft by my deadline.

Learning New Skills: How to Plan/Contacting Experts

In a meeting today, we were given some more tips and information about effective planning and ways to contact experts as doing these efficiently will greatly increase our marks.

Planning

We were advised to complete our plan as soon as we could, mainly so we could get it checked with our supervisor before the summer.

A good plan has clear objectives with indication for success as well as being thorough, specific and detailed. As well as this, a plan needs to predict the activities, sources and problems we may complete/use/face as well as identifying solutions to any problems we face. Also, we can make notes about what we've learnt about each week from our planning for example we learnt to give less work if we are busy one week.

For my plan, I will set myself certain goals per week and set specific self-made deadlines to complete (objective) as well as a list of resources I will be using as well as problems/solutions. This way I will stay organised of what I need to do and by when so I can keep on top of my research.

Contacting Experts

As well as tips for our planning, we were told tips and given advice for the best ways to contact experts for our project. As contacting experts will give us good and trusted information as well as show our use of resources, we were advised to contact as many as possible, and to look on the internet, on university websites/open days, with friends and family and our teachers/supervisors who may specialise in our topic or know someone who does.

When contacting these experts, we were told to ALWAYS use the 4 (5) P's

Prepare in advance about what you want to know, so you aren't wasting time or finding the wrong expert.
Politeness. The more polite you are to the experts (using correct modes of address/grammar etc)
Precision, asking exact questions not asking for them to teach you a whole topic.
Persuasion and Patience, being persuasive in our email's or contact and also being patient when waiting for a reply is essential to get the answers you want, and using follow up emails in case they have forgot to reply.

As well as this, we were encourages to research the people before diving straight into the emails, and making notes about how the finding/interview went and recording/screenshotting their reply to put into our work.