My Experience as a Researcher - Simon Ramirez Saenz

Research is a term or a process that in my opinion has been demonized by students because they think that it is something boring or stressful that you only have to do at the university or in academic context but the reality is another one. We are constantly doing research without even knowing it. When we have a problem in our life we start thinking about possible solutions for that problem and then we reflect about the pros and the cons of each one of the possible solutions. Then, we try the one that we think will work and if we fail, we try a different one. That is research just not recorded in a paper or in an academic way. When I was doing my thesis, I also thought I was never going to finish it because it was something new and out of this world. I complained to myself about having to do it because I thought they were going to be just a bunch of endless sleepless hours without any learning happening. Fortunately I was wrong and even though there are some difficult parts you just have to find the perfect companion and guidance. I was blessed to have such a great inspiration and guidance by my side and it was not another person than Carolina Buitrago. She had the magic of making a research path full of misteries and obstacles look like the clearest and easiest research experience.I remember one very specific moment when doing research and it was when it comes to make the text looks juicy as Carolina said. I did all the analysis and explanations that I believe were possible in the data analysis and interpretation part but it was just the beginning for her. In that moment, I have to admit that I panicked but I thanks God for that situation and to have such a demanding thesis director who was not looking for a good thesis; she was striving for perfection and I loved that of her. That was the exact moment I confirm a long way of learning and research was waiting for us. Thanks to that push I saw how whenever you commit to something, there is no better way of achieving it than by doing it as best as you can. I can’t lie saying that research doesn’t change your life because you would have to spend some time alone and away from friends(except if they are your co-researchers which can be a great strategy). You will also need to become a passionate reader because you will need to devour tons of articles. This is why my advice is to really look for a topic that drives you crazy and make research time a moment you will enjoy and not a sacrifice. However, I want to warn you about spending limitless hours at the same time doing research because it doesn’t work that way. As Carolina says, you need to let the data rest. At first, I was like no way I want to finish this as soon as possible but after I did it once I could see how new insights were just popping out from places I had go over and over before. So a little bit of procrastination comes in handy in this part. Additionally not all the changes happening when doing research are bad because that would be just cruel. It is impossible to say that research doesn’t produce an impact on its researcher. Personally, you start seeing everything in a more critical way and believe it or not you get to be more responsible even if it is just in a minimum scale. Doing research has the same effect as learning other languages; it broadens your mind because it allows you to see the world with more academic eyes. Research taught me that considering only one side of the coin is a life waste. For example, tourists are always doing research when getting to discover what a country essence really is without letting other people’s opinion prevent them from visiting one place or the other. One recommendation that I can give you is to assign mental names that are much more transparent to the different parts of your research paper. For example, for the methodology maybe “how did I do it? can fit or for the data analysis and interpretation you can name it as what did I discover? It can be an strategy that may work or not for you and that is what research is about; testing different methods and theories and take notes until you reach a point in which you feel confident enough to analize the result of all of those tests. Finally, research is all about being flexible too. Don’t panic if you have to change things on the way; these changes may guide you in the right direction.