Following the first session of CRI2013, I will be completely honest, I was scared. The rigid amount of self-determination and motivation required initially felt overwhelming as many worries arouse in my head, what was I going to research? How am I going to do it? How is a research diary useful? How hard is an ethical statement? However, following complementing CRI2013, I can undoubtedly say that taking this module was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

My research centred around the crown court of Northamptonshire, that led to myself spending two weeks in the courts during the easter break. Being within such a place to collect real world contemporary data was incredibly eye-opening and very enjoyable. Not only this, but it also emphasised the practicality and usefulness of a research diary that I initially couldn’t understand. Initially, keeping the diary and attempting to be constantly honest and reflective felt tedious, however, as the weeks passed it became incredibly useful as a tool for reflection and data collection critical for various learning outcomes, so be patient and trust the process!

Now, I cannot emphasise enough to listen to Jes when she states that the ethical statement is not as easy as it seems!  As a person who believed the ethical statement would be easy, it does require time and significant consideration, however, its totally worth it. As I have, you will gain a far deeper understanding of how to complete an ethical statement than those who didn’t take this module that is undeniably critical for third year.

Finally, a massive thank you to @jesjames50! During this module Jes was endlessly supportive and unbelievably helpful, there truly couldn’t be anyone better to lead this module, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her guidance.