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Life after data collection

So do you believe in life after death?

Awkward way to start a blog, right?  I know! If you do, then I’m sure you’ll paint me a portrait of how it’s better than your current life. Where there will be no guns, no wars and hopefully no sugar tax. I guess if you want to get out of this life alive, there’s always a need to believe in something bigger and better than rising petrol prices and the depreciation of the Rand. So why do I ask? Well, because that’s exactly how I felt about my research. If you’ve read my last blog entry, you’ll know that my Master’s journey has been nothing short of novel drama. To keep myself sane during that period, I just imagined a time after data collection where I would just analyse my data, start writing up and submit after a week. For the most part, that dream kept me going — but imagination and reality are two different things.

When things don’t go your way through the practical phase of your MSc or PhD, you imagine your last day of data collection. You daydream about how nice it will be and how you’ll virtually have your qualification in your hand.

It’s only when you actually get all that data when reality really hits you like a one ton truck. When you fill in the last digit on your diary, you breathe a sigh of relief. Happy, and reminiscing about all the days when you thought your experimental diets would run out, or when load shedding nearly killed your day old chicks; surely nothing can be worse than that. It is only when you open your Excel sheet that you realise that a new chapter in your Masters tale is about to start: your “life after data collection” chapter. Having to punch in data acquired over a seven week period is no child’s play, especially if the data that you have is for more than 10 dependent variables.

My data capturing was kind of fun, I mean I had been looking for this data for 2 years and finally I had found it. I felt like I owed it to the Almighty to push on with a smile on my face. The crazy part is that as each digit left my diary and into the excel sheet, so did my smile. By the time I finished entering my data I was tired, exhausted and so drained.

With all the data sorted, the next step was data analysis. I think this is the part most students dread. Having to sort your data is one thing, but knowing what it all mean is a challenge for most. At what level are you testing? What does the output mean? How do you express this data? I bet these questions make most postgrad students wish they had paid more attention to their Biometry lectures.

Fortunately, at University of Fort Hare, we are blessed with minds that eat data analysis for breakfast, lunch and supper. Who knew having to wake up early everyday to attend the experimental design and data analysis class would help? (Hahahaha I hope my supervisors won’t be reading this.) The thing about analysis programs, is that if you can’t speak their language then you are doomed, if you can’t tell it what you want It to do then you’re better off sleeping in your room. For me, the program was fine … the problem was with the user (me). I had an idea of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to express the data but the way I’d analysed my data didn’t allow me to. I was busy running up walls and pulling out my non-existent hair!

That was till I decide to speak to my varsity friends and mentor, Thuthuzelwa Stempa, Xola Nduku, Soji Zimkitha and Lizwel Mapfumo. Having to brainstorm my intended outcomes and data expression made an HUGE difference.

So here I am, sitting at the lab and finishing up my graphs and writing up, imagining myself walking up to collect my second degree and making my family proud. I hope that this time my imagination won’t be too far off.

So what did I learn? Life’s filled with challenges, and the very same sentiments echo through your research life. Be it admin, data collection, data analysis or writing up. Your life after data collection might be better than mine or worse, but the moral of the blog as always is about grinding it out, spin those numbers to letters and making sure you graduate in time.

 

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Happiness is not always a four letter word!

I recommend listening to this song by “Watershed – Don’t give up” whilst you read the blog 🙂

Ekunyamezeleni ukhona umvuzo! Those who know what this means  and understand it probably  think it’s a cliché but don’t you think it’s funny how clichés more often than not hit the nail on the head? The above IsiXhosa phrase means, “If you persevere and stay true to your cause then you will be rewarded’’. As I go through social media I notice a lot of entitlement and privilege, but people often don’t appear willing to work hard to achieve a worth-while result. I have always believed that with timely planning, results are assured, and persevering through a plan is not that hard. However, as a MSc student, I have come to realize that even the best-laid plans require a LOT of perseverance and grinding of teeth… You don’t believe me? Well, keep your eyes glued to the screen.

For three months after I registered for my first year Master’s degree, I was busy with my proposal and minding my own business. Things like the background, problem statement, justification and materials and methods of the study. Being the perfectionist that I am, I had everything planned out, from my proposal draft, submitting and correcting any errors, presenting the proposal, applying for an ethical clearance, procurement, starting the trial, collecting data and analysis to finally writing up the results. I had planned to wrap-up my MSc studies within two years as it should; but God (and many, many administrators) had different plans for me. What was to unfold the next two years is something that I’m sure most postgraduates can attest to: there is always an obstacle to fulfilling your plans. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t say there’s always something that stops you from reaching your goals, I’m just saying there’s always something that delays you from your goals. Either you fail to get funding, you can’t acquire the apparatus needed in your methodology, you struggle to get laboratories to analyze data the way you want, or even the quality of the experimental animals that you get isn’t good enough.

The first six months for me were smooth sailing, writing up, presenting my proposal and getting it approved… So, I wasn’t ready for what was to happen next. I needed to order experimental seeds. Easy, right? Not so much! While waiting for the seeds (after completing tons of paperwork), I stayed busy with writing and reading experimental papers. But then suddenly it was September and I should have started Phase 2 of my project. Was I on track? No! My supplier was wondering where the payment was, and so was I…Lots of hassling and waiting followed… Upon delivery, the proximate analysis was conducted on the seeds to have nutrient specifications for dietary formulations; the results took a month or so to get back. Dietary formulation took its own time; it was not until of my second year registered that it was finalized.

Eggs

It was only at the start of my second year that I could start ordering experimental apparatus. And right then, I received an offer to be on the Professional Development Program (PDP) at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in Pretoria. I was very happy to have this opportunity, believing that I would be exposed to great facilities. I moved from Alice, Eastern Cape to Pretoria, quite overjoyed to have “arrived”. But there were demons even in this paradise. It took close to a year to procure feed ingredients and experimental birds… That was the end of year 2. And not a stitch of “real work” completed.

TempBut with the birds in hand, I gritted my teeth and promised myself that I would make this work. To cut the long blog short, I’m now in the final week of my experimental study, doing data collection with a smile on my face. The moral of the blog is that through tolerance and perseverance there is great reward. And the perseverance is not usually something that you can show – it’s often simply a process of being patient, and trying to not scream in frustration or pull out your hair. Even though my Masters didn’t go the way that I planned but I am still grateful for the opportunity that University of Fore Hare and ARC warded me. What most people would consider as chaos in their eyes is simply well orchestrated organized chaos from the almighty in mine.

In a nutshell, be aware that your PhD or MSc won’t go according to your plans. But plan anyway; at least plan on getting some sleep and time to de-stress! The reward will be great, and hopefully you did not burn too many bridges when your plans go belly-up.

Weather the storm