When I was given the go ahead to travel to my home country and collect data for my Phd I felt relieved. Finally I was going to be able to test my ideas and models in practice. I was also going home for a few months to spend time with my family.
Nothing could be better.
As it turned out, things had changed in my country. Or at least I thought so. In retrospect, what had happened was that I had changed as an individual. My perspective of the world was different and I could not fit well in what used to be my natural environment.
There were also unexpected things. I had to spend time attending some family affairs. In addition, my initial data collection plan had to be modified. Access to certain people was not as easy as thought. I had to fit within their agenda rather than the other way round.
I was lucky because I had a good friend who introduced me to the research setting (a university), and I could also take part in some meetings with technology experts to gain an idea of what was going on in my home country. I was also invited to teach in this university. It was a nice experience, but it took time. Anyway I could do it because I was an action researcher and my methodology design allowed for this to happen.
Whenever I shared some of my findings with my Phd supervisor he left me with some very interesting but difficult questions to think about. Was this a reflection of what was really going on? Why was not I more inquisitive and curious? How was I making sure I was using my theory/framework appropriately? What role was I to play in the research setting (just observing or taking the initiative to do something about a situation)?
This questioning as well as my own reflections led me to adjust my initial plan and facilitate additional activities in my research setting. I could carry some of these activities, and I was not allowed to carry out others, and this also gave me more food for thought.
As it turned out, the data collection was not only about collecting, but also reflecting and acting on a situation.
So if you have an opportunity to collect data, just make sure you make the most of it. These are my tips to do so:
-Do not waste time asking questions for which answers are already known from other sources (reports, literature review).
-Make sure you validate the data you collect.
-Follow your methodology whenever possible.
-Do not jump into conclusions too fast about what the data is telling you.
-Be prepared for contingencies. Always have a plan B
-Try to gather different perspectives.
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