Stories for the Archive
My PhD is entitled Memorial Benches: A Cultural Marker in the Landscape. It is a creative non-fiction place writing project which involves desk and field research. With many years of business experience behind me I felt confident about initiating and conducting interviews in my search for…
Read MoreNo Pressure
I had a title for my project— Memorial Benches: A Cultural Marker in the Landscape — and a starting date for my PhD of 1st January 2021. When I look back on it now it seems a bit crazy but, within days of…
Read MoreThe leafcutters
Leafcutter ants are an iconic image of the rainforest, with their large leaf trails making the forest floor come alive. They mimic a busy highway, moving to the sound of nature. But why all the leaves? Leaf fragments are cut…
Read MoreFrom monkeys to modelling – adapting from fieldwork to deskwork during a pandemic
I started my PhD in Conservation Ecology at Manchester Met in October 2019 and planned to go to conduct fieldwork in Peru soon after, but COVID… Like many others, I have had to drastically change my trajectory, postponing my fieldwork by many months. When I began my…
Read MoreWorking Alone Together
My PhD involves working on an interpretation of artisanal footwear prototyping as an alternative, sustainable fashion system. Artisanal fashion is a design and production approach dedicated to the creation of clothing using traditional methods. At the heart of these small-scale businesses are…
Read MoreSand in my Suitcase: Place Writing research at the most easterly point in the British Isles
My research is based on the area I grew up in, at the most easterly point in the British Isles. As I now live over two hundred miles away, the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly made this challenging. Due to restrictions, I was unable to travel to…
Read MoreMy Friends, My Voices and Me: A Mixed-methods Investigation Exploring Commonalities and Differences of Sensory Hallucinations and Imaginary Companions with Children and Young People
My PhD aims to examine similarities and differences of young people’s experiences with sensory hallucinations and imaginary companions, and the factors influencing those experiences. Due to the limited knowledge around this subject, the research will also analyse the perspectives of parents…
Read MoreThe writing-up juggling act
I recently submitted my PhD investigating pharmaceuticals as potential environmental contaminants in otters. As a mature student with caring responsibilities, the writing up process was particularly challenging, so I thought I would share my experiences and a few tips here in…
Read MoreBeginning My Research
It’s September again, and I am currently nearing the end of my Research Masters. This year I have been learning about, and researching, some topics in the field of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. I’ve been working on a project that…
Read MoreThe long trail ahead in stroke recovery
Rebecca’s image was named the Judge’s Choice in the postgraduate research category in the 2020 Images of Research competition.
Read More