I am a methodologist by training and so I try to notice and point out (sometimes to my friends’ and families’ annoyance) the data that is all around us, so it is entirely appropriate that this blog would include a nod to some form of data. Enjoy!
If you pay attention, works-in-progress are happening everywhere and often right under our noses. For example, this morning I received an email from a graduate student who had questions about data for her dissertation research. I realized, quickly, that it would be easier just to jump on a video conference call chat. We did, and I further discovered that there were some “hiccups” when the data was originally imported and these hiccups had contributed to a few current issues. The issues could be resolved, but the current form of the data required a bit of time and patience to resolve. I recommended that we go back to the raw data (i.e. data originally collected in the survey), make some changes and re-import the data into the data analysis software. I helped her do this (which took about 30 minutes) and she is now off to the races analyzing her revised, hiccup-free data set.
Why do I share this story? To remind everyone working on any project that involves cleaning, editing, feedback, and refining of data, papers, photography, and music. That every project and everyone individual working on these projects had to start somewhere and often in a very messy state. Also, even when the mess is cleaned and free of hiccups (or so we think), these so-called finished products probably have room to grow and change. So, let’s all try to remember that it is okay that the work is messy AND it is even more okay to ask for some help. Productive struggle is valuable to our learning but the learning sciences also tell us that too much stress and anxiety increase our cognitive load for managing this struggle and may deter from the learning. If you find yourself unproductively spinning your wheels or, as in this story, staring at data, reach out - be vulnerable and ask for what you need. We are all a work in progress and we should help each other navigate these processes. If you do not believe me - look at the data!