Today's guest post is by Eddie Brown, currently a final-year BA student in English Language & Literature and a 2017 Junior Research Associate. The JRA programme is open to current second-years as a paid research appointment in summer. Click here for more on the programme and how to apply. See the second-year Study Direct site for some information from staff about JRA projects they'd like to supervise, and come see us in office hours to discuss possible projects.
ffected the response type.
When Lynne Murphy first told me
about the JRA program at Sussex, I knew it was for me. I loved linguistics, and
I knew I wanted to study at the post-graduate level. Some research experience
seemed like the perfect fit. Thankfully, I wasn’t wrong.
My particular area of study was that
of compliment responses, as I investigated whether the length of a compliment
correlated with the type of response it elicited. This was an important
question to ask, as the current literature shows that not only do men and women
have different complimenting behaviours, but compliments given by men are more
likely to be accepted. I wanted to know if this disparity was a result of
gender bias, or whether compliment structure a
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| Eddie presenting her research at the JRA poster event in October 2017 |
This was by no means a topic I came
up with independently. Lynne, as my supervisor, suggested I read up on
complimenting behaviours, and we went from there. Of course, for some people pursuing
JRAs, the right topic is something they have been fascinated by for some time,
but this was not the case for me. Fortunately, at Sussex we are surrounded by
tutors who know a lot more than us, so
being stuck for ideas is not really a problem.
Once I knew what I wanted to
research and I had fully versed myself with the (surprisingly large) world of
complimenting behaviour, it was time to write my research proposal. In
hindsight, this was a pretty simple process. At the time, however, this felt
akin to being asked to perform some kind of brain surgery or fill out a tax
return. This was a feeling I experienced throughout my JRA, when asked to
devise my methodology, or analyse my data, or write up conclusions about my
research. Though daunting, this was a great way to learn: you’re expected to
learn by doing, and if you do it wrong, unlike with brain surgery or tax
returns, nobody is going to die. You’ll be corrected, and you’ll learn to do it
right. This also gave me a lot more confidence, because most of the time, the
work that I was so unsure about was completely fine.
For my research I needed to collect
a lot of data, which involved talking to many many strangers – a great, though
terrifying, skill to learn. This involved spending five days a week in cafes,
from nine to five, for about a month - great if you like coffee. For me this
wasn’t difficult, as I enjoy structure and have a fair bit of self-discipline.
The JRA worked well for me in that sense; most of the deadlines are decided by
you and your supervisor, so you have to be willing to make yourself work
despite very little pressure.
As someone who is really very bossy
and does not easily relinquish control, I loved the freedom of being in charge
of my own work, but I also appreciated the accountability of it. You have a
supervisor and a mentor to guide you, but ultimately the work is yours, a
realisation that is in equal measures tasking and rewarding. Having now
completed my JRA, I have learnt a lot about not only compliment responses, but
also the way in which academic research is conducted. Projects like these are challenging
and, at times, stressful, but personally, learning about the way in which I
work independently was an invaluable experience.
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