My Research Project Experience

First of all, I would like to say that it was a wonderful experience working with 3 efficient, hardworking and of course, also extremely nice guys in my group. One of the most significant things throughout this whole project experience is to be able to establish friendship ties with these 3 lovely guys (Liang Fu, Kheng Aik and Jacky), getting along and working well with them (I hope they are thinking along the same line too…hmm…).

Communication
As doing such project groupwork requires teamwork and effort, it is important that everybody is able to communicate well with one another. During our research project, Liang Fu, being the Chairman of the group, would assign each and everyone tasks to do. It is crucial that everybody understands their tasks well so that the assignments can be carried out efficiently. For example, when I was unsure of what I was supposed to do exactly, I would directly ask Liang Fu so as to confirm my job assignment and clear any doubts I have. We would have constant interactions with one another to provide suggestions for our research and to prevent any misunderstandings. We would also let one another know what we were doing and what we were supposed to bring for the next session (Like who was supposed to bring food and snacks for the next meeting…Hee). Therefore, communication is the key to working well in a group.

Building interpersonal relationships
Through these frequent interactions, we also get to know one another better and naturally, a friendship bond developed among the 4 of us. I’m glad to be able to know 3 more wonderful friends through this research project. =) Moreover, building interpersonal relationships with them maybe useful in the future if I do need their help next time. Haha. I do believe they will become successful professionals and make good business partners in the near future. If I do want to build my own business empire next time (Joyce Corporation…Haha!), like Donald Trump, I can ask engineers like Jacky and Liang Fu to help with the construction and Kheng Aik! You can be my chemist in the Research and Development department! Hahaha!


'Joyce Towers'

Being a team player
Being in a team sport myself, I understand what it means to be a team player. Coming from different faculties and backgrounds, it is important to set aside our differences and work together as one. Yet we can utilize our very differences and individual expertise to help one another and come up with better, effective ideas for our research. Being a team player means cooperating with one another so that things can be done faster and more efficiently. You have to be responsible not only for yourself but for the group as well. It is all about understanding, tolerance and good coordination with one another.

Doing research
I feel that searching for information and relevant articles was one of the easiest tasks to do, as there are many available sources around. In fact, our research topic, Green campus, is not a new concept and we are able to dig up lots of information on it. There are numerous resources from the Internet as well as in the library. Conducting the survey was the harder part of the research. We have to come up with 10 good, relevant questions for our survey to make sure the results would correspond to our problem and purpose statements. We had to also think of how to reach our target respondents within a short period of time. This is the time when I really have to set my creative juices flowing and really brainstorm hard for the survey. At least it was a good practice and hopefully it will not be that difficult the next time.

Writing report
I was assigned to do the introduction and part of the discussion of the report. It was a bit difficult for me as I had other datelines to fulfill and tests to study. Time was definitely a factor for me. I have to apologize to Liang Fu for waiting up for me and editing the report till 3 plus am. Sorry! In addition, I learn how to write a standard report by referring to the sample reports provided in the ivle. I do feel a sense of accomplishment after writing my part of the report and it was worth all the effort. *Smiles*

The research project was a good learning experience overall but I’m glad it is all over. Whew! To end it off, I would like to thank the 3 guys in my group for being so patient and understanding towards me and for providing all the yummilicious snacks in class. I would also like to thank Kheng Aik for letting me use his laptop and introducing me to funny, brainless games! Haha. And of course not to forget Brad who had given us advice on how to do our report and make sure that it is well organized. Thank you all! I hope I have been a useful team member to you all as well! Whee!