In the beginning of the module, I was terrified, I am not going to lie however Jess explained how the module would work and where to reach out if I needed help at any point. I found this session incredibly useful as it gave me dates and timeline to plan and accommodate for. Jess also ensured us that she was always there to help us when we needed it via email or even in person, this was incredibly reassuring. We also spent lots of time discussing and practicing the ethical statement and the groundwork of the module before the actual placement took place. This ensured that I was more confident when actually completing the ethical statement and reaching out to different establishments about completing my research. I also began to gather literature around my chosen topic, this helped me understand potential findings before I completed my research and also when writing my placement report I had literature I could use and understand to put towards my final literature review.

 During the placement, I sat in the public gallery of the crown courts during hearings and took notes on the different technologies I saw e.g. phones, computers and even paper documents. Then I also noted how these were used in the court setting and their effects on the environment. To take notes I used my research diary as I would have not been allowed to bring my university laptop into the hearings. I found pen and paper great because I was able to write notes on situations and observations as they happened compared to when got home meaning I did not miss any crucial details from  my research days. In my notes I was able to capture the hard data such as types of technology and also the effect that these diverse types had on the crown court. During my time at the courts, I spoke to the same usher every day, this helped to build a relationship with her and meant that she could help to understand what was happening and why. She also gave me a better idea of what court room would be interesting for my research. She also taught me courtroom respect such as never leaving the court when a hearing is taking place and also standing when the judge enters or leaves the court room. This was extremely helpful as I felt more comfortable in the environment.

After my placement, I began to code my data that I had collected. I found this immensely helpful as it made these themes and similarities clear. I then used these themes to create a clearer outline of what my research had found. Alongside this I began to write my presentation around my placement, I found this particularly useful as it meant I could have a summary of everything I had done in the past weeks. It also allowed jess to make comments on my work and guide me in the correct direction if I was missing any key details. Overall, this made me feel a lot more comfortable with writing my placement report as I knew what I could do to strengthen my work. Once the presentation was done, I moved on to drafting the report. This was incredibly daunting at first, but I found it better once I broke it down into smaller sections. Focusing on one section at a time allowed me to make sure that every section included all the correct details that it needed. As I had already began to collect my literature before I did my research, it mean that I could write the literature review first and I could even begin to write this while still collecting research data. Using last year’s lectures and seminars around methodology, I was able to look back at my notes and make sensible choices of what worked for my data. This took a massive wait of my shoulders as I did not have to start from the beginning.

Speaking to Jess in our allocated session really helped me during this time as If I were unsure about anything I could ask her a question. If I could suggest anything, it would be that no question is a silly question! Having all my worries and concerns dealt with cleared my mind and allowed me to focus on the harder sections while being confident with the sections I had previously written.

Now having successfully completed this module, I am incredibly proud of myself and my work. I feel more confident about completing my dissertation in year 3 due to the skills and experience I have gained in this module. I would recommend this module to any year twos that are feeling nervous about the dissertation as it has definitely increased my confidence and allowed to gain really useful experience.

I want to thank @jesjames50 for all the help and support she gave me during this module I really appreciate it .