Research Diary #1: Starting third year of my PhD journey into trauma education
Includes a mini-guide on research and writing prompts for writers who write about experiences of childhood trauma, a caution for those who do not want to see explicit research terms are used.
My Research Diary will use terms that may be distressing to readers. These terms are based on publicly available research literature in trauma and are used widely in various research databases. Please take your time in digesting, self-loving and pausing when you need a mini retreat.
Dear Beezee Bees,
Here I am building on the Seasonal Hive Curriculums in nature-based writing prompts and gentle self-paced research prompts. This little hive is slowly connecting all its elements and evolving as I settle into the season and ground myself in this type of writing practice.
This research diary will become a living space and tracking of my experiences as a graduate researcher in the final year. Each entry will become a small act of noticing, wondering, what sparked my interest, what challenged my assumptions, what ideas warmed my hive long after I closed the book or stepped away from the work. Here I am returning to the page regularly, I practice my attention, deepen my thinking with reflective questions, and create a traceable map of my intellectual and creative process.
Here I will share mini-guides to reflexive writing on traumatic and sensitive topics. These mini-guides will support you in staying with the motion, providing prompts that are intentional, may feel challenging but gentle in nature.
PhD Journey
I have learned over time that reading and writing are two halves of the same creative practice one fills, the other releases. My PhD life is all about absorbing readings, reflecting on what I am reading and then transforming it into written text, in my case a thesis and academic textbooks (if you are curious my work can be found here Tutorial Ideas for Educators on the Run).
When we read, we absorb ideas, stories, words, structures, questions, and possibilities that quietly shape how we think on the page. Stories teach us how experiences are expressed; arguments teach us how ideas hold together; even a single striking sentence can change the way we understand that experience. Over time, this back‑and‑forth becomes a kind of learning, lifelong learning as reading expands our inner library, and writing transforms that influence into something distinctly our own.
Photos from of my week, sharing what I am consuming and creating.
My PhD weeks fill with readings and writing, comparing new ideas with old ideas. There is quite layering that begins to happen where new ideas brush up against old ones, reshaping them, softening them, or sometimes sharpening their edges. Each word that I encounter becomes part of an ongoing conversation, and my writing becomes the place where that conversation settles into clarity. Over time, this pulse starts to beat stronger in the wind of taking in and putting out intellectually rich hive with fragments of breaking down, recombining and nourishing whatever I am working toward next.
Photos from my week, sharing how I release what I consume and create.
I’ve learned throughout my PhD journey that when I release my thoughts onto the page, something inside me loosens too. Letting the work take shape in text feels like giving my mind permission to rewire itself a small act of neuroplasticity in action. Happening while I work. Each sentence becomes a pathway, each reflection a gentle rerouting of old pathways into new possibilities. New ambition. Writing becomes less about getting it “right” and more about allowing my inner hive move, learn and grow in ways it couldn’t if I kept everything contained inside.
Time to pause and take a mini retreat.
This photo is a reminder I need to bring mini retreats into my days.
The Idol
There are many researchers that have I have admired but Brene Browns work not only inspires me it moves me to understanding in rational for her methodology and approach to research. I first learned about grounded theory through her work and that’s when I started considering it as an approach before I started my PhD.
Your Mini-Guide
I hope that this will useful and kind to new writers.
This mini-guide is yours to keep, it provides writers with a simple structure to organise their reflections and thoughts on paper that feel, gentle, meaningful and fulfilling to the writer. Think of this mini-guide as a gentle companion sitting with you in time of writing, reflecting and movement towards your next piece of work.
This next section guides you how reading connects with reflecting and writing.
We are moving into the section where I will share research keyword prompts related to childhood trauma.
Research Prompts
Why research prompts?
The research suggests a simple idea, the possibility that healing happens when we let our emotions hum but also give them gentle guided structure. Writing that combines emotional expression with cognitive processing leads to the greatest psychological benefit when journaling about stressful or traumatic events. In this study, students who explored both their feelings and their thoughts about a difficult experience showed more benefit‑finding and meaning‑making over time, whereas those who focused only on emotions reported more physical symptoms, likely because emotional expression without cognitive integration can intensify distress. Overall, the research suggests that journaling is most helpful when it encourages both emotional release and reflective understanding, rather than venting alone.
Research prompts for reading guide
Research prompts are keywords used to search research journals in databases.
These research prompts will give writers a structure to guide writing their personal narrative, particularly those who are new to the concept of researching and writing in the field. These research prompts are focused on experiences of trauma. Something personal. Something sensitive that needs care and compassion.
The guided reflection is also part of my researching journey, its gentle way to reflect why we know what we know. These prompts are focusing on the experiences of childhood trauma, it can feel heavy, only attempt these if you feel the pull and this is the topic you are currently writing about.
For this section you will need to open up Google Scholar. If you have missed it, no worries, here is a recap, head over to this publication below:
What you will need:
The journey unfolds in the following way:
Slowly and gently browse some readings with intention and purpose.
First, write the research keyword prompt and the question ‘How do these narratives shape public understanding of childhood trauma?’
Then, choose one (or more if you feel the pull) research keyword prompt.
Research keyword prompt 1, childhood adversity
Research keyword prompt 2, adolescent trauma and substance abuse
Research keyword prompt 3, media coverage of child abuse cases
Research keyword prompt 4, attitudes and child abuse.
Research keyword prompt 5, domestic violence and child abuse.
Open, Google Scholar
Stay, even when you feel your thoughts drift, stay on topic if you can, the mind tends to wonder off track when interesting articles fill the screen, be gentle with yourself, be kind to yourself, get lost in some insightful research rabbit holes.
Followed by, reading and writing notes as much or little as you like, into your research diary.
Reflective Writing Prompts
Bring, your research diary notes here, to start reflecting on what you have read.
These reflective writing prompts are more about reflection on reading and own experiences and less on sounding coherent in your writing at this stage, but the two are interconnected, but right now we let it flow and release. These moments are personal and only for your eyes to see. Be gentle with yourself, pause when you need to.
I am suggesting this simple model of reflection it helped me with my reflective writing and accepted by a for a book chapter publication. I will share the link with my readers when it is published.
These reflective writing prompts are guided by a simple model developed by Rolfe et. al. (2021) to deepens your process of understanding and move into reflexivity like a researcher would: What? So what? Now what? I shared a very brief introduction to the model in Humming the power of inner thoughts - by Katerina Schmitt.
Firsts ask about, What? What readings did you find, save and decided are worth keeping? What is the theme?
Second, ask yourself, So what? Write the moment when you were reading, the framing of childhood trauma. What changed in your thinking? So, what, why did it matter to you?
Thirdly, ask yourself, Now what? How do these readings align or not align with your personal experience?
One of my research diaries where I document my thoughts, ideas and reflections.
Honouring the Experience
Transform this into something meaningful to you, this part is deeply personal, and therefore here are some gentle ideas:
a personal journal entry note,
a gentle letter to self,
a personal essay,
a painting of your emotions,
a quite reflection in nature with a cup of tea (or coffee) or whatever comfort delicious drink you desire.
When I sit with what I’ve learned, I try to honour it by giving it space to breathe before I turn it into something shareable. I find when releasing these reflections into words, I’m not just documenting the learning; I’m transforming my inner hive.
On a closing note, this little hive is building a community of writers, knowers, thinkers and lifelong learners. A gentle invitation if you’d like to keep exploring these writing practices together with a community, you’re warmly welcome to join the Hive Writing Group on Fridays, a space to share pages, ask questions, and grow alongside of other who are also finding their way through the work.
If you have been stung by some learning mojo energy and wish to keep buzzing through my articles, here are some you may like to discover:
There were so many parts I wanted to highlight!
“When we read, we absorb ideas, stories, words, structures, questions, and possibilities that quietly shape how we think on the page. Stories teach us how experiences are expressed; arguments teach us how ideas hold together; even a single striking sentence can change the way we understand that experience. Over time, this back‑and‑forth becomes a kind of learning, lifelong learning as reading expands our inner library, and writing transforms that influence into something distinctly our own.” This is well said. I can resonate with every word.
Second, the “What, So What, Now What?” I’m not sure if this was your intention but it’s a wonderful way to ask yourself how you’re digesting the information you’re taking in.
Third, the information about journaling and how much we can get out of it by including both emotional expression and cognitive processing. Fascinating. I was tasked with journaling to help me with my mental health and in having attempted two different ways of journaling, I can easily see the truth in what you’ve stated.
This is so thoughtful and intentional. I love the reflective prompts, especially the “What? So what? Now what?” approach, it really supports deeper thinking. Appreciate you sharing this.💛