I am always positive about obtaining data and appreciate every single data point I collect, especially considering that I have less data than I had hoped for due to the time I lost whilst stuck in Kampala and the effects of the unusually high rainfall.
However, the writing up of data can be said to be a downside of project work, especially when, like me, you don’t entirely trust technology and so insist on painstakingly copying everything out by hand in case electronic files are lost or corrupted.
Many an hour have I spent sat in the dimly lit kitchen hut writing up reams of data as a multitude of moths flutter around my face and hoards of mosquitoes and tsetse flies relentlessly attack my apparently very appetising exposed flesh. With such distractions these sessions are perhaps the least enjoyable aspect of conducting research here in Semliki.
While less than fun, the time spent writing out field notes and copying up data is incredibly useful and it is reassuring that having to spend a long time at this task is a sign of an ever-expanding data set and hence a good thing. I therefore try to think of the aching hand and worn down pencil that results from my data sessions as a sign of productivity – the more cramped the hand and the more stumpy the pencil the better!
Above all I am just grateful that I have data to work with, and so I certainly shall not complain as I continue to wile away the evening hours bent studiously over my notebooks with a swarm of insects hovering around me.
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