Whether it’s long hours alone in a lab or late nights in Firestone, research can feel like a uniquely isolating experience. The process of compiling existing knowledge and producing new knowledge invites us to dive deep into ongoing conversations that exist within our fields. These deep dives into the procedures, frameworks, and models that define research projects require a degree of focus that can narrow our view. One of the few moments in any research journey that disrupts this individual flow is the feedback process. That moment, when we are reminded that research is explicitly collaborative, is always critical and often dreaded. Having received my fair share of feedback over the years, I’ve learned just how important each step of the feedback process is. This goes beyond just receiving feedback, but instead really considering the importance of preparing for feedback too.
Preparing for feedback is something that I’ve become especially familiar with as just a few weeks ago, I raced to complete a draft of my Junior Paper. A lot of the stress that comes with getting feedback is thinking of it as a punitive experience rather than a collaborative exercise. As I puzzled my way through my draft, I kept coming back to how unpolished it felt. Showing unpolished work can feel like a mistake simply because of how unique it is to click submit on something that is not finished. However, from a collaborative perspective, this is not a negative. In fact, getting feedback on an idea or piece of writing that isn’t finished maturing yet can lead to richer insights and more developed reasoning.
In order to get the most out of the feedback process though, it’s important to not only share what you’ve done, but also where you’re going. If you’re turning in an incomplete draft or unfinished manuscript, include an outline of the next steps your argument will be taking. If you have sources you haven’t gotten to yet, don’t just include them in this outline, but also add how you’ll use them and why you need them. Doing this extra work means that whoever is giving you feedback will have enough context to provide comments that are relevant to your thinking. Still, actually getting that feedback can feel like an eternity, even if it’s only a week.
During that endless space between sending something in and seeing it again, it’s important to keep working at the project. I’ve often paused the work during this time period, worried that any extra time spent would ultimately be wasted if the summary of the feedback was a dreadful “Start Over ”. However, as the work I’ve taken on has graduated in complexity from brief memos to full manuscript drafts, I’ve realized that this strategy is not productive. Feedback directed at a full pivot is rare, meaning this is often lost time that could’ve been used to develop unfinished or weaker ideas. Alternatively, if an adviser does suggest a pivot, by continuing to at least think through the project, there are more options for continued conversation and development.
Perhaps the most important consideration though, is what to do with feedback once it arrives. Feedback is about getting a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective on a project. Getting this perspective from an expert in the field can enable broader engagement with existing conversations in the discipline and invite a clarification of reasoning. Here, it’s important to remember that the feedback process is collaborative. I remember being in my writing seminar, and not understanding feedback that I received asking me to change an aspect of my argument. When I actually spoke with my professor we discovered that not only had I misunderstood her suggestion, she didn’t have a clear view of the direction I was going in. This experience is so enduring for me because it empowered me to be an active participant in the feedback process and take ownership of the decisions I was making in my research project. Even though in the midst of the feedback process now with my Junior Paper, and my senior thesis is on the horizon, I feel confident in navigating every step of the feedback journey.
— Stanley Stoutamire, Jr., Social Sciences Correspondent
