Foreword from the Editors

Having been inspired by previous Student Fellow and founder of the BILT Undergraduate Research Journal Emily Kinder, we were eager to be involved with the journal’s second edition at the beginning of our Fellowship because it seemed like a great way to help bridge the gap between students and the university. The journal aims to celebrate student research and creates an environment where research is valued for its innovation- not just as a means of assessment- and that views students as co-researchers, empowering them to develop their academic and personal confidence, as well as enhancing engagement and communication between the student body and the University. 

Something that readers may notice is that the ‘Undergraduate Research Journal’ has this year been changed to the ‘BILT Student Research Journal’. This is because we made the decision to include Postgraduate taught students who, like undergraduates, often do not have much opportunity to produce and share research beyond their curriculum. We wanted a space in which students from all years and research experience had the chance to celebrate each other’s work and be inspired by one another. The inclusion of PGT students meant that the journal was able to reach more students and subjects. We received 200 applicants to the Subject Editorial Board, with 123 being accepted and a further 200 abstract submissions. The response from students this year has been amazing, which is a testament to how much taught students want the opportunity to showcase their research and to get involved with the academic community at the University. There is a passion and excitement amongst students to get involved in such student-led research initiatives.

After the success of last year, it was certainly daunting to step into the Editorin-Chief shoes and lead such a large cohort of students (especially as students ourselves) but we believe the journal has been a huge triumph. It has been a privilege to work on the journal as Co-Editors-in-Chief, it has been the highlight of our time as Student Fellows and indeed our time at the University. We’d like to thank the fantastic Subject Editorial Board for their enthusiasm, dedication and hard work, without which this would not have been possible. We would also like to thank the BILT team for their support in putting the journal together, especially Dr Aisling Tierney for her invaluable guidance throughout the process.

We hope the journal will encourage other student-led research initiatives across the university that allow students to feel connected to the wider academic community and ultimately make the most of their time at university.

Happy reading!

 

Chloe Reed (MA English Literature)              Rhona Wilkinson (Msc International Development) 

Co-Editor-in-Chief                                       Co-Editor-in-Chief

BILT Student Fellow                                    BILT Student Fellow

 

Foreword from the PVC-Education

The BILT undergraduate and postgraduate student journal epitomises the university’s strategic ambition to partner with students in undertaking research. The journal is an invitation to students to share their research with the scholarly community of students and staff at the University of Bristol and more widely. In its second year, it has garnered 105 submissions from students in 14 disciplines, most of which were from final years and postgraduates. I am thrilled that almost a third of contributions were from students in earlier years of their studies, demonstrating the value of research-rich education throughout students’ education, and showing that ‘facts first, inquiry later’ is not the only way!

Our refreshed university strategy places an emphasis on research-rich education, underlining its capacity to help students make a difference in their chosen fields of study and society. Making a difference through research is about many things. It is about posing questions which press the boundaries of knowledge, combining ideas in unusual ways, and looking at old problems with fresh eyes. It is about being curious, creative, and critical. There is a certain amount of unravelling, pulling apart, and disruption in research. Certainly, most researchers reach dead ends and agonise about their work at times, happily often before a breakthrough. Research is also about integrating ideas, seeing how things come together and being constructive. The flipside of being creative in research, is being disciplined, meticulous, and persevering when you can’t see an obvious way forward. It is about avoiding easy short cuts and pushing through, like a marathon runner with cramp on a steep hill.

This journal is testament to student researchers who have tasted some of the ups and downs of doing independent research and come out the other side with a published paper. I have no doubt that the process of undertaking research will have made a difference to students’ intellectual development and spurred them on to find their voice in their chosen field of study. It will also have been the catalyst for new and different questions. I am sure all the students represented here will be justifiably proud that their efforts are in print and published! While the journal gives readers a glimpse of finished products, it is the long and deep effects which I hope will linger in the lives and careers of these students who have developed a taste for doing research.

I want to pay tribute to the student contributors and to their supervisors who guided these research projects from embryonic beginnings to completion. My warmest congratulations and thanks to Bristol Institute for Learning and Teaching (BILT), especially Dr Ash Tierney, for leading this outstanding and imaginative strand of work, and making Bristol a place which celebrates student research, from the undergraduate festival of research to this excellent journal. I am grateful for Amy Palmer and Amy Wilson’s creative digitisation of the journal which ensures that the articles are not only intellectually stimulating but also visually appealing to read. Thank you to the BILT student fellows for their contributions to enhancing the student experience of research-rich education. My special thanks and congratulations to Chloe Reed, the Editor of the journal for ensuring that the journal has continued to flourish and for her superb and meticulous editing. Read and enjoy this excellent collection!

Tansy Jessop

Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education.