A little celebration

Success...last night I finally fished  the first transcription phase of my research.  This does not mean that there will not be anymore transcriptions but the bulk has been done.   This process has seemed to have gone on for years in reality it has taken me two months which in itself seems life-time--an incredible amount time but it  does include the summer holidays where not as much work as I would have liked got done!  

My new phase today, is to learn Nvivo 8 so anyone with advice on how best to use it please let me know.    It has been during the past 2 months that you realise that a PhD is not about being a genius, rather it is about slog and hard work.  The old adage comes to mind: "99% perspiration and 1% inspiration" is such a axiomatic truth. 

Volunteer work

I mentioned last time that there may be a possibility for me to volunteer with a support worker in an attempt to meet those hard to reach parents.   Well this week after the Bacon 'n' Butties group I met with the centre manager.  She seemed very positive and enthusiastic about me helping out. 

I am enormously looking forward to volunteering so, the wheels are in motion lets see where they go. 

Meadowfield Parents Group

Today I attended the first session after the school holidays at the Meadowfield's Bacon 'n' Bingo Parents Session. I feel that I am beginning to be accepted by some of those present and almost becoming part of the fixtures. I started a tentative conversation with some of the mothers today about local schools these conversations seemed to flow freely and easily enough. My aim for next week is to further cultivate these conversations with a view to being able to approach the ladies for an interview.

After the session I was speaking with the support workers about the difficulty accessing hard to reach parents--those people whose voices remain unheard and who miss out and much of the community work. One of the workers said that very often "it is those parents who shout the loudest" who get all the help and support with those in real need being missed out. She explained that the only way to get in contact within some people was to go 'cold door knocking' and that they were always on the lookout for volunteers. I said that I could happily commit for six months. Let’s see where this goes. It may be an opportunity to meet with those people outside of the connected social groups.

Back to work after a long not so hot summer...

It is so scary that my last blog post was so long ago.  I feel so ashamed that my good intentions of a regular post have slipped by.   I suppose since that time we have had this not so glorious summer in the UK, rain followed by more rain.  During this six week period both my son and wife have been at home this proving to be a bit of a distraction work wise.   That saying my past month has been spent purely transcribing my audio recorded interviews--which I hope to finish soon.     So as I have not much to report here his a holiday snap!