Researcher’s Reflection Space

Final Reflection

Researcher's Reflection Space

The EE process was incredibly rewarding. For me, the best part was achieving the level of perfection in my writing that I had aimed for. I feel that I’ve learnt a lot from this process, and grown as a person.

My EE demanded the need for reading challenging research papers, something I was initially intimidated by. I found myself procrastinating this, and as a result, my theoretical background lacked specificity and depth. When I finally read the papers, I overcame my initial aversion by pushing myself to learn new scientific language and mathematics. Now, I even read scientific papers for fun when I’m curious about new ideas. This also was a sort of confirmation that I wanted to study Physics in the future.

If I had to do this process again, I would try to get things done earlier. I would have liked in-depth research and preliminary data done much earlier. This way, I feel that the write-up would be a much easier process too.

(165 words)

Interim Reflection

Researcher's Reflection Space

During data collection, I used the music department’s resources to implement a successful method for my investigation. However challenges arose when I pressed a piano key: surrounding strings vibrated too. After debating ideas with my supervisor about how to overcome the issue, I settled on placing felt on the remaining keys in order to mute them. This made me realise the significance of making changes to your methodology to gather accurate data.

After finishing this research, writing the essay became much easier as I was able to see how the data and theory pieced together. Something I realised after conferencing with my supervisor, however, was that my theoretical background lacked clarity and overly relied on one research paper. To make this section more detailed, I will use databases such as JSTOR to find more papers to cite. I found that it was important to have a range of sources to develop a more thorough and credible explanation of the theory.

(160 words)

EE Writing Day Reflection

Researcher's Reflection Space

I spent the majority of today working on my experiment and gathering my preliminary data. One thing that I learnt was that it is crucial to be flexible with experimental design. I seriously underestimated how long it would take to gather meaningful data. I ended up spending a majority of my time improving elements of my design (such as the audio analysing software I used, the range of notes I was testing on, and the settings on the microphone). However I’m still proud of the progress I made today. I managed to gather data for three notes across my chosen range. This data was consistent across all the trials I did and comparable to the results I found in other research papers. It was honestly such a relief to see my experiment working after all the things I had to modify and change. I was really proud of the way I kept working through every problem I encountered.

Next, I’m planning on analysing my data and graphing it. I want to see if it matches my predicted theory.

 

Reflective Conversation 1

Researcher's Reflection Space

For my EE, I knew I wanted to integrate my love for playing the piano with my interest in physics. I narrowed down my research by watching videos on MinutePhysics and ultimately chose to investigate the effect of tension on piano string inharmonicity. To further my understanding, I also read a few research papers about the topic.

 

During the research phase, I encountered two challenges. The first was the complexity of inharmonicity’s theory. I lacked the mathematical knowledge to understand it, which was why I asked my mom to explain differential equations and fourier transform to me. My experimental design wasn’t successful either. I had to suspend my piano string under enough tension to hear audible frequencies when it was strung. However this failed even after using gym weights, and I realised I had to take a different approach. Now I need to contact my school’s music department to ask whether experimenting on a real piano would be a possibility.