Career story
What keeps you motivated to do research/scholarship?
I'm motivated to explore how technology can enhance teaching and learning outcomes. Thus I'm interested by questions like: How can we make education better using technology? How can we improve systems to meet the needs of learners? Thus the process of discovering new ways to create positive change in education, and the opportunity to keep learning myself, keeps me engaged and inspired.
What helps you find a research question or project idea?
Conversations with colleagues are a major source of inspiration. Discussing challenges and emerging issues within the field often sparks new ideas and helps identify areas where further research could make a real difference. Collaboration and discussion help to clarify which questions are useful and relevant.
How do you choose the method to collect data?
Start by considering the nature of the research question, what kind of data is needed to answer it effectively. From there, select the method that will provide the most valid, reliable, and comprehensive data. The goal is always to choose the research method that best aligns with the research purpose and the type of insight I hope to generate.
If you could tell yourself advice when you were learning about research, what would it be?
Invest more time in understanding statistics. I studied for an MRes and at the time just tried to get through the statistics part of the course. I think looking back I would have invested more time and energy in that part of the course to improve my knowledge now.