One of the research participants suggested I increase the font size of the consent forms to make them easier to read. I changed the size from 11 pt to 14 pt and the line spacing from single to 1.2.
I had used the original English format, but academic documents tend to be written in small text like 10 or 11 pt, which is often too small to read. I should have considered using a format that is easier for older patients to read.
I now feel relieved to have finalised all my ethics documents.
I started working on my ethics application in Week 19 (in May this year), revised it, got ethics clearance, translated it, conducted preliminary fieldwork, amended my research protocol, revised the relevant documents, translated them, had my translations checked by a professional and sent them to the research participants. All of this took about eight months, meaning that I spent so much time dealing with ethics paperwork in the first year of my PhD.
On Wednesday, after a regular research seminar at my school, I went for a coffee break with some colleagues. This was a great opportunity to talk about research and get some advice.
On Friday, a new friend of mine invited me and Luca to his house for dinner. It was a great pleasure to meet his wife and his friends too. The house was full of books, crammed into tall bookshelves in rooms and corridors. I was impressed with his wife’s cooking, a three-course meal followed by cheese, apple crumble, chocolate and coffee. Their hosting was perfect and we really enjoyed it!
My achievements in Week 49
- finalised all the ethics documents
- baked gluten-free brownies
Goals for Week 50
- submit my funding application