Is it realistic?

[Adelaide9216]

Hello,

I would like to start my data collection this summer. I am planning on doing approximately 10 interviews with participants for my research. Then I need to transcribe those interviews, analyse them with the help of the software N'Vivo and write my actual master's thesis. Is it realistic of me to believe that I can finish all of this before the end of 2018 considering that I will be done with my classes this term? I would like to graduate in February 2019 if possible. 

 

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

 Realistic expectation is to plan out your timeline and, whatever time you put for analyzing and writing, double it. It will (almost always) take longer to do these tasks than you expect so budget in that time now so you don't have to do a change of graduation form further down the line.

[AP]

Do you already have the people you are going to interview? Do you need IRB? Analyzing and writing, as @GreenEyedTrombonist mentioned, takes A LOT of time if done properly. What does your advisor say?

[Adelaide9216]

I don't have the actual people I am going to interview, but I've already contacted the organization where these people work. I don't need IRB. Ethics will be quite quick (2 months) because it's a low-risk research. I was planning on starting doing the interviews this summer.

[phyanth]

@Adelaide9216 Well, it would depend on when during the summer you do the interviews. Honestly, data analysis and writing your thesis will take twice, if not three, times as long as you might think. Also, for a fall graduation, you typically have to defend by October, and you would have to have a defendable, advisor-approved, thesis by September. If you don't have to work or go to school at all, and you devote yourself to writing your thesis every day, you might be able to pull it off! Just remember to not go too hard on yourself, and be prepared to possibly have to delay graduation until spring for the sake of putting out your best work!

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

And there is no shame in it taking a bit longer. I ended up graduating in August instead of Spring because my writing took longer. Now, I was also in classes in the spring, but most of that time was due to edits and rewrites requested by my advisor and committee. 

[Adelaide9216]

Makes sense. I don't mind graduating one extra semester than what I orginally thought. Thanks for your input and perspective. Really appreciated!

[dr. t]

15 hours ago, Adelaide9216 said:

Hello,

I would like to start my data collection this summer. I am planning on doing approximately 10 interviews with participants for my research. Then I need to transcribe those interviews, analyse them with the help of the software N'Vivo and write my actual master's thesis. Is it realistic of me to believe that I can finish all of this before the end of 2018 considering that I will be done with my classes this term? I would like to graduate in February 2019 if possible. 

This is kind of a meta response, and please don't take it the wrong way - it's meant well: why are you asking here? I ask because this and other questions you've posted on the board seem like the types of thing that are specifically in your adviser's purview, and ones which they should be able to answer with significantly more precision than the board. Do you not have this sort of contact in your program? Is it a problem of access, or do you not feel these are questions you can ask? 

 

[Adelaide9216]

I also ask my advisor. I speak regularly with her, but I like having other perspectives too and using this forum as well.

[rising_star]

6 hours ago, Adelaide9216 said:

I don't have the actual people I am going to interview, but I've already contacted the organization where these people work. I don't need IRB. Ethics will be quite quick (2 months) because it's a low-risk research. I was planning on starting doing the interviews this summer.

Ummm... are you sure you don't need IRB? Even if it's low-risk research, you still need to get approval.

As far as timing, a lot of that is going to depend on your personal process. How certain are you that 10 interviewees is the right number? What methodology are you using to determine that 10 is the right number? Do you know for sure how you'll select interviewees and what their availability will be? What happens if you can't get 10 done right away? Are you planning to revise the interview protocol based on previous interviews? If so, you'll need to listen to recordings and/or transcribe between interviews, which may require you to build in some time between interviews. How long it takes to transcribe depends partly on the analytical process you decide to use. Will you need to transcribe word-for-word every single thing that your interviewees have said? Is your method of analysis one which will require you to allow participants to review the interview transcripts and/or the analysis produced based on it? 

I guess I'm wondering why you're trying to graduate in February, since that's likely the middle of the term? In all honesty, and especially if you're planning to go on to a PhD as you've said earlier, you should probably take your time so that you can do a more thorough MA thesis that will be publishable. 

[Adelaide9216]

I thought that you meant something else by IRB. Yes, I have to do Ethics Board of course. (sorry, I am a francophone so I don't know how these boards are called in English all the time and depending on the country). 

For all of your follow-up questions, I have the answers to all of those. It's already been thought out and discussed with my advisor. I have applied for SSHRC last year (and got funded for the first year of my program) and FRSQC, (for next year, am waiting for the answer) so my research proposal is pretty solid and clear (but still flexible and workable for a qualitative study). 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Adelaide9216

[Adelaide9216]

I am just asking if it's realistic to do it in the time frame that I am planning myself to do (which is 2 years full-time or 4 semesters full-time). Maybe I shouldn't have asked the question here, because you guys are asking me questions about steps that I have already figured out with my advisor since last year. I'm sorry for the confusion and making you all waste your time. I don't want to explain my entire research proposal here, but it's all already been figured out (the methods of recruitement, the framework, the methodology, the software I am going to use for transcribing and analyzing data, etc are elements that I know already).

Edited January 11, 2018 by Adelaide9216

[Adelaide9216]

I now remember why I don't like Internet forums. I am never able to be fully understood + the language barrier makes it worse. And it's true that most of you are commenting without having the full picture. I shouldn't have asked it here.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Adelaide9216

[WildeThing]

How long are interviews? I did some research last semester where I interviewed 20 people (some in person some by phone). Each interview was 5 to 20m, transcribing took me about double that time at least, but my method was rudimentary and only considered the words themselves. So, maybe? Transcribing can take a long time.

[Adelaide9216]

We planned one hour to one hour and a half, one interview per participant. I will be using a qualitative phemenological approach to inquiry hence why we plan on having approximately 10 participants (but it all depends when information will be saturated but it will be around 10). 

[rising_star]

If you've already worked out the time frame and details with your advisor and they didn't reject your plan, why did you post here at all? I guess I'm completely confused about all of this. We don't and can't know how much preparation you've done for your thesis, which is why we're all asking so many questions to try to understand where you are. We don't know how familiar you are with using NVivo, which definitely has a learning curve and learning the software can take time and slow down your analysis. We don't know how many hours a day you have to spend working on your thesis, which is a factor. 

But really, why are you trying to finish in February if it's a two year program where the term runs through April/May? IME, it always makes sense to take the extra time to produce a higher quality project. I can understand wanting to have a full draft done by February (that's what I did during my own 2 year MA). That left me ample time to revise it into a stronger thesis and to visit the PhD programs I'd been admitted to.

[AP]

On 1/10/2018 at 9:45 AM, Adelaide9216 said:

I don't have the actual people I am going to interview, but I've already contacted the organization where these people work. I don't need IRB. Ethics will be quite quick (2 months) because it's a low-risk research. I was planning on starting doing the interviews this summer.

You don't IRB? Are you sure? I have at least three examples in mind of "low-risk" research that still needed IRB. Contact your advisor AND your university to clarify this, just in case. 

[Adelaide9216]

1 hour ago, AP said:

You don't IRB? Are you sure? I have at least three examples in mind of "low-risk" research that still needed IRB. Contact your advisor AND your university to clarify this, just in case. 

If you read above, I said that I just got confused because IRB isn't called IRB in my uni. Yes, I will do Ethics and had planned to do so all along. Thank you.

Edited January 13, 2018 by Adelaide9216

[AP]

On 1/13/2018 at 1:27 PM, Adelaide9216 said:

If you read above, I said that I just got confused because IRB isn't called IRB in my uni. Yes, I will do Ethics and had planned to do so all along. Thank you.

I know, I read that.

The reason I asked is because in the schools I am familiar with, students take ethics sessions and submit their research for IRB approval. The approval –again, in the places that I'm familiar with– is a university-wide standard review. The Ethics sessions are more tailored to each type of research. 

My question was aimed at making sure that you know exactly what you need to carry out this research. One colleague of mine had to postpone her interviews because she was not aware that the Ethics part and the IRB part were two different requirements for her work. Best of luck.