Week 5 to Week 7: a messy reflection like how I am
It has been a month since I wrote my last blog. During this time, my small brain was occupied with many courseworks and tasks. Honestly, my project plan didn’t have much progress except a barely adequate essay. The essay kindled my interest in the topic, but it did bring me more concerns. So, this blog is a summary or a clarification of my thoughts in the past few weeks.
The first group supervision made me clearer about my plan of the project. The comment from Juli and peers really inspired me a lot. After the meeting, I determined to keep the topic of COVID that I proposed and decided to use the essay assignment as a test to explore a direction. And few days ago, I just finished this essay. I tried to illustrate how health code operates as governance tool to limit civil rights and articulate with the concept of digital epidermalization. Actually I was a bit fiddling the concept to replace its racism context to political structure in mainland China, and my elaboration of the power relation was messy and insufficient. I found myself a bit lost when referring to this broader context, or I can hardly handle it without a coherent knowledge frame. I think I am currently stuck in the theoretical basis.
However, good things are that I found several great papers that analyse the topic from specific aspects, like legal challenges and central-local power relations, which provide more directions for me. And I am keeping with relevant news in various platforms and saving informations or data that I found useful so that I won’t be totally lost.
The last month was about elective courses apart from the essay. I attended two intensives—Coloniality of Data & Indigenous Futures. The course contents are not very relevant to my topic, but it was great to change my mind and expand my knowledge in these two electives—this is one of the reasons I came. I did enjoy Indigenous Futures. I was very engaged with the discussion and speeches from speakers. Though I didn’t know too much about the topic, it is really happy to learn the interesting and great insights from peers. Btw I won several badminton games against Edinburgh Napier University few days ago haha.
The method is another concern to me. I prefer to use qualitative research method and want to reach out people in mainland China for data. But I’m worrying the tightened COVID restrictions will cause some unexpected problems. I’m also seeking some possible solutions (like getting access to information from some foreign-based Chinese media?).
I don’t have precise plan about the project. After the second group supervision, I have to go back to struggle with the coming assignments. But I find this pace is comfortable. Even though I have lots of time, I would delay it until it is being urgent haha.
I would say don’t worry too much about how the tightened COVID restrictions would affect your contact with people. I did my own PhD survey during the pandemic. At first, I wanted to do all my interviews face-to-face, but I ended up doing 13 of them through Tencent meeting (video calls) and 2 of them in a written format (message exchange). They went out just fine. I recruited my participants through sending private messages to the netizens who have posted on relevant issues on Weibo; asking the influencers in related fields to advertise for my project; and sending recruiting information in relevant wechat groups. The second means turned out to be the most useful. Hope yours will go well, too.
Hi Hanyu! Thanks for your sharing and advice! It must take many efforts for the survey, and i think the snowball method is very useful. But I’m still concerning that part of my topic is sensitive for domestic people to talk about. I’m worrying my interviewees would open up to me because of censorship. (I just heard my friend working in a foreign media was hindered by this issue when she tried to investigate COVID related issue.) Sorry I dont know what your research topic is. I’m just wondering have you ever encountered this problem during your contact with people?
Hi Will, just adding to our email exchange and echoing Hanyu’s point: why don’t you do a tiny pilot research effort and reach out to two or three people now? I often find that data collection seems really daunting before starting, but once you talk to a couple people, you realise actually how much people are willing to share their experiences. It also can help refine the kind of questions you’re asking in your project proposal.
Hey Will – it sounds really interesting to focus on COVID, especially as the impact in China is still very real to people’s day-to-day lives where as here in the UK everyone talks about being ‘post-covid’ (even though it’s still active in the population!). I look forward to hearing how your idea has developed in our next group session.
Congrats on the Badminton wins!