It’s 5:30am and I’m awake and deciding on what to include in my presentation today. I’m required to present a synopsis of all the work I have done over the past semester. Six months of an insane workload and high expectations–my own and my supervisors. So naturally, as often happens, my thoughts turn to Taekwondo. I started training when I was 13 years old in a very old traditional style. Needless to say I was one of very few women and one of very few children. Despite the odds that were stacked against me I was so happy to be training that I threw myself into it. I learnt the basic moves, stances, balance, arms, hip, and trunk and head positions. I was a sponge, as I knew I would need all of these basics to be able to execute the patterns you learn at each level. I had a strong vision of where I wanted to be and why I was learning all these new things. I wanted to be a black belt, but even more I wanted to be able to ‘free spar’ like some of the black belts I saw train every day. That confidence they had, with their skills and their ability to respond quickly with just the right technique at the right time. Those basic skills, the hundreds of hours of practice, all were being used in real time against a serious opponent. Yes, that is why I am thinking about Taekwondo now. The underlying story is the same as my decision to work towards my PhD.
But, I hear you say, ‘what progress have you made on your own research? You know…the research that inspired the title of this blog.’ Great question, so I’ll share what has been accomplished to date. We’ve now tested over 70 participants, from both healthy knee and knee replacement groups. All the data that I’ve collected has been entered into our uber spread sheet, capturing all this precious information. I almost attended a total knee replacement surgery, so probably not worth mentioning other than highlighting the importance of recording information correctly in your calendar. I have completed an extensive literature search on weighted deep knee flexion (basically just deep knee bends) with total knee replacement recipients. Where to next you ask? Lots more testing to improve the power of the study, but I also believe we now have enough data to get some preliminary information about healthy knees and the biomechanics of recipients just before surgery. I’ve written a full research proposal on investigating total knee replacements after their surgery and identifying any issues that can be managed differently. So there is an extra bit of tasty research to get the teeth into. Also, I need to investigate a recent twitter feed from Dr Norman Swan from ABC radio national, about the decision to have the operation? Interesting lead there…
But back to more a general discussion, the ultimate goal of a PhD is to produce knowledge that can benefit others. To be able to confidently present your research, through journal articles and on the conference stage. There were basic/foundation skills that I needed to learn and practice. Skills which could then be combined into the time old patterns/traditions of academia, those ‘patterns’ included; to be able to recognise research problems, develop research questions, understand different methodologies and where they should be used, design research plans, perform research and collect data, analyse that data and eventually communicate those results.
I first had to identify the basic generic skills that I needed to master, a list developed from personal reflection on my weakest areas–looking for those common skills that run through the academic cycle. So here is my list to date; writing and grammar, seriously expanding my knowledge of verbs, learning how to critically read a scientific paper, properly tagging information so it is not lost once I file it, learning the difference between reliability and validity (again), learning how to perform thorough academic searches and manage databases and follow citation trails, learning how to format word documents so I could present papers in a particular style, learning how to effectively use excel and embrace the power of the spreadsheet, learning how to manage my time, put together my own ‘dictionaries’ so I could learn the dialect of different academic papers, learning how to safely store this precious information once I have it, and identify any software that would make all of this easier to manage. I had to develop project management skills and produce a plan which included all the important milestones, scholarship applications, articles submissions to journals, important conferences to attend, university milestones and all the clinical considerations in running the research. This list will grow over time as I work with my supervisor and become more experienced. It was certainly enough to get me started though.
One of the great joys of Taekwondo is putting the basics together and learning a new pattern for the next belt. An especially sweet experience when the pattern has a high level of technical difficulty and you can perform it really well. So by practicing and putting those PhD basics together, I have done five literature searches and reviews; two qualitative, two quantitative and one for my particular research on the ‘biomechanical outcomes of deep knee bends after total knee arthroscopy‘. I have developed research methodologies, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and a full research proposal titled ‘…metamorphosis from dis-abled to re-enabled after total knee replacement. A grounded theory investigation into the importance of the recovery of physical ability to the perception of self, at home and in the community’. I also developed a quantitative research question and method to determine ‘which one of three knee prostheses provides the most consistent and superior deep knee bend biomechanics’.
The joys of data collection and analysis were covered both qualitatively and quantitatively. Six months ago I had no idea what those things were let alone know how to do data analysis with them. I conducted interviews (thanks Paul and Connor), transcribed and coded the data and emerged triumphant with a theory around eating exotic food overseas (silkworm lava was discussed). I learnt about various types of variables and the many ways those variables can tell us their story via a little magical touch of statistical analysis. Assuming a few assumptions are met, data can tell us if cows are related to sheep (relationships and correlations), if we can predict the winner of the next Melbourne Cup (prediction, fitting lines and equations), and how to compare two different groups, for example the complexity of 80’s music compared to the 60’s. In technical terms I covered linear regression, hypothesis testing, the central limit theorem, t-tests, and the many facets of ANOVA.
Finally comes the communication part. Everything that has gone before is really just the prelude to communicating those results to a wider audience, including your peers. In the last semester I estimate I have written over 20,000 words, including research proposals, full journal articles reporting results for ethics considerations of qualitative researchers and another full report on the ‘study of the relationship of physical activity and the body mass index of primary and secondary school children’. I have submitted my literature review on the ‘risk of ACL injury during multi-directional jumping: a systematic review’ to the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. At this stage it seems to be quietly moving through their various processes, so stay tuned for that one.
OK, that’s all well and good but what about actually communicating with a live audience. This can be compared to free sparring with someone you have never met–someone who is perhaps the love child of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee. There is an element of unpredictability and fear to it…anything crazy can happen. This is the moment when the basic skills and the patterns come together, creating a solid foundation that will give you the confidence to be in front of a live audience, walking with that ‘black belt walk’ that I can so ably demonstrate, and giving a fantastic presentation.
I’m going to do just that, in little over an hour…just need to get a quick power point presentation happening and we’ll be good to go…wish me luck…
knee joint phd 