I love research but sometimes after almost a year of work the results don’t pan out.
We realized that the data that we received was dirty. Of course…most data is dirty or at least needs to be cleaned somewhat-
But we didn’t check as much because the organization that gave us said that the data was cleaned. Plus, it took a very long time for them to give us the data so we assumed that they really worked on cleaning the data.
When we finally got the data, we were excited and did not check the data thoroughly- This was my mistake. Big mistake. My expertise is in cleaning data- I dropped the ball.
When we ran the analysis somethings were very off. So I went back to the original data and…yeah- we found that the data was not clean.
First, it had duplicates (hard to detect except by reading carefully)…then it had data not related to what we asked for. Then more missing information (this was also not apparent…it had information but could not be verified).
Of course at the first glance, everything looked fine until we did a deeper dive.
Anyway, after cleaning the data- There are no results. I am happy with null results. We learned something.
But now we will have to find a journal that will publish our null paper- Now that is a challenge-
The good news is that we are more confident about our analysis after checking the data and rerunning everything. The not so good news is that most journals don’t like null results although that is the truth-
Anyway, it’s all part of doing research. In fact, most research results in null results-
One year…still very thankful that we learned something. I mean a lot learned a ton but wish the results could have been better. But it is what it is-
Still very thankful that I can do research 😀
Thank You Jesus for all Your love and mercy. Let us always be thankful and rely on Your wisdom Amen-
Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
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