It took me two years to get to my actual research question and to feel like I knew what I was trying to investigate. There were the obvious things of life – work, family, health, money – but I felt like I was wading in academic treacle to get anywhere. I went down what felt like thousands of rabbit holes, trying out different perspectives around my theme, and created a plethora of conceptual models (once I had figured out what one was). I read. A LOT. It felt very tangled and messy and, looking back on it, I needed all that time to get my head around what I was actually doing.

As I was working out what I was actually looking at, I talked to many many people.  My supervisors, of course, held me accountable in academic terms to the level and quality of PhD research, even if they haven’t necessarily understood exactly what I was exploring at the time. My family often look at me as if I have finally lost it, particularly when I get excited about a bit of analysis that gives an interesting insight, but they also ask questions which make me think from a different perspective and bring me coffee too! My industry network is a fantastic sounding board, making sure that my research is grounded in practice and generating insight that is applicable and impactful for the events industry.  

At various points through the process, new collaborators have emerged, offering opportunities to explore new areas or engage industry in my research in a different way. These have been, and are, incredibly exciting and perhaps a little distracting. It has led to me being part of a national network and now leading on their industry research activities, and I am part of a team developing AI-driven experiential learning to apply the findings of my research. However, all of this has taken a lot of time and energy and, at times, has torn me away from focusing on my research and prioritising it.

There is something wonderful about people being interested in one’s research and creating something that has value and impact on the industry that I love being part of. Inadvertently, I seem to have built a new reputation and profile for myself that is based on my brain and insights, less so on my event management skills and capabilities. Not having yet completed my PhD, I feel somewhat an imposter but I am taking a moment in this blog to realise how far I have come from those first months of nervous excitement and confusion as I started, through developing my question, to collecting data and now to analysis and writing up.

I know I still have a long way to go to complete my PhD but I know how I’m going to get there, which is more than I started with! To anyone else who feels a bit lost and overwhelmed with it, hang on in there, get support, lean on your support network, stay curious and focus on the goal whether it’s hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or in a lifetime.

Blog post written by: Claire Drakeley