Reflect on one challenge you encountered in developing your topic or research question. What is one thing you would change about picking a topic/collecting data? How would the strategy you discussed help improve your project?

When I first started AP Research, I had no idea what my topic should be or what would make a good topic. Originally, I wanted to do a scientific experiment or do a project related to the Pink Tax and was stuck in limbo on which topic would make a better research project. The biggest challenge for me was deciding how to make the project “good” and I focused too much on the score aspect of the class rather than the actual research process. I am unsure of how ended up deciding on a topic but I did eventually land on the Pink Tax. While this topic was interesting, I found that it was difficult to acquire some sources since it was a topic that was not often studied.

Throughout the course of the class, I often compared myself to others and theirs projects and I found that was the biggest barrier to me being confident in my topic and completing a solid project. I wondered if I had picked a topic that was rigorous and required effort or if my project was “too easy”. With so many people telling me that surveys don’t score well, I felt dejected. Others in my class were completing experiments and conducting full-scale interviews, and to me it felt as though my project was inferior. But after completing the year, I’ve come to realize that comparing my project to others did not nothing to help me. I focused more on the score I would get rather than actually writing my paper.

Looking back on the year, if I were to give myself one piece of advice , it’d be to stop focusing so much on what other people are doing and to focus on what you want to do, and how you want to structure your project. It’ll be much more worthwhile if you are confident in your abilities while writing this paper, whether it be in actual topic selection or your chosen method. I’m glad I never switched my topic as I think I had interesting results. If I had listened to my thoughts in the middle of the year and switched, I think I would’ve felt even more dejected.