March Skype - Professional Artefact

Ummm…….

That is best way to describe where I am at right now after our Skype yesterday. Thankfully I have come to this same place of "ummmm……." many times throughout this MA journey, so I am not freaking out (this time at least). I thought I was doing so well and on the right track - finally starting to narrow in on the main themes appearing within my data and dreaming up ideas for my Artefact. However I am now afraid I don't fully understand the intention of the Artefact, or that what I thought it was is not actually what it needs to be. If that makes any sense?

My understanding was that the Professional Artefact is a visual representation of the data. Something that you created once you had analyses the data, found the overarching themes and began to summarize it all into written form. And since dance is a visual art, a written paper probably not best depict the research process or findings - so a visual representation is created along side the written. Some one, I can't remember who, within the past year and a half mentioned on one of our Skype calls that the Pro Artefact is something that could be shown to an outsider and after observing they would have a pretty good idea about the research as a whole.
This has always stuck with me.

However now I am lost and am trying to sort out my own thoughts to figure out if my ideas for an artefact are 'wrong', meaning I don't understand it (the Artefact) properly, or if they could work but need more thought put in to them.

In yesterday's Skype Adesola mentioned that it would be good to look back over blogs of past MAPPer's and the advisors. So I did that last night. I found a blog on Adesola's page from Nov 2, 2014 titles "An Artefact of the morning Skype session!!". In it she gives a definition for what the work Artefact means… "Artefact means an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest - the culture being your work culture." In this blog she gave a few examples of Artefacts - an instillation, choreographic process/method or children's book. Adesola then went on to explain… "In making your artefact you should find deeper meaning to your research because just as you writing it for the University Artefact you become clearer about what it is so too as you make your work place artefact young find new ways to look at the research and become clearer about it." 
I also found a post on Amanda Tooms-Peel's blog about a revelation she had after teaching one night. She had been encouraging her students to "think about your presentation as being something of a lesson to the audience, remember that not everyone in the audience will know what you've been steadying or working on for the whole term and they won't understand unless you tell them the ins and outs of it all." This comment revealed to her the purpose of the oral presentation and professional artefact.

These two blog posts got me thinking. I now feel the artefact has two main purposes - to clarify my findings and to make them teachable to someone removed from my research. I am also reminded that as the researcher I am completely embedded within my own research. By the end of this I will know my research in and out!!!! However, no one else will know my research like I do. So when creating the written portion, oral presentation and professional artefact my job as researcher is to make my findings digestible for everyone else.

This being said…. where do I go from here?
I feel a sense of urgency - with spring break just around the corner, my trip to NYC with students happening the week before the deadline and I fly to the UK, recitals to prepare, only 2 months left in the term and a deadline looming…

I understand Adesola and Helen when the say not to rush this process but to really absorb the data before deciding on an artefact. However I am worried I will run out of time! As much as I want to just go full steam ahead - I have to trust that in waiting the answers will come. So for now I will push pause on the artefact, stew in my data and begin formulating my thoughts into written form.

Well, I hope that was useful or entertaining at least! haha :)  If anyone has any frustrations, thoughts or brilliant ideas about the artefact I would love to hear them! Share away!!!

Ainsley