Journal 6 - Sources: the Challenge and Excitement!

Today I sorted through probably twenty different sources to find the basic four I want as my beginning framework. It wasn't challenging to find related topics to my research question as much as it seemed important to me to find sources that I could build my research around. I chose what I'll term the big four, each was unique in it's emphasis on one of four aspects of my research.

I'm studying development efforts in the Salvation Army Clinic in Wiamoase, so I chose to base those efforts within the UN context and hopefully will be able to link the efforts of the clinic to the efforts the UN communicated were important in the realm of health. I think that although the Millennium goals have proved a challenge to achieve, the pin-point the major problems that development efforts should focus on.

Because I know little about health clinics, I found an article prepared for a WHO conference about health and development enlightening and think it will prove helpful to my research. I'm not sure what indicators I should use to evaluate the efforts of the Salvation army Clinic, so an article about the theory and purpose of development indicators will prove useful for helping me address this community's unique characteristics. Finally, I have been studying from a book written about the foundation of Development Theory and the intricate situations and problems with that field. I think because this book is what drew me to the topic in the first place, it will be a huge resource as I prepare for this field study experience.

Doing this research has brought to my attention the difficulties that will be involved in field research. I'm nervous and feeling a little under-prepared and under-qualified as I read these articles and documents. I think that I feel more prepared for the field after the last few weeks of class, especially as I begin to see the foundation we're slowly building for this experience. I'm sure that there will be challenges dealing with language, culture, and the shortage of time and I wonder how I'll be able to successfully study this topic within the confines of these limiting factors.