Humility and self-reflection in research: towards building a research culture of sharing mistakes

Some days before my bachelor’s thesis defense, I was very nervous if I could not answer examiners’ questions. But after days of self-talk, I began to stop worrying as I calmed myself that I had done my best and no matter how much effort I put to do my research well, there would always be things I still did not know. I realised I was not expected to know everything I researched about. I also realised that even though it is a thesis defense, it doesn’t mean I have to defend everything in my thesis. Instead, when the examiners spot some weaknesses in my thesis, I have to admit them. I reassured myself:

Isn’t it what researchers are supposed to do? 
Researchers (and generally all humans) should be humble to acknowledge their limitations as human beings, be willing to receive feedback with an open heart, and learn to be better from the feedback.

I then recalled attending a conference where an Australian professor gave a public lecture. During the Q&A session, one conference participant questioned some data he shared during the lecture, expressed his disagreement, and shared his different understanding of the phenomenon. I didn’t remember if this professor had the opportunity to respond to the participant’s disagreement in the forum. But what is interesting is that after the lecture I got to talked with the professor, he asked who and where the asking participant was. He said he didn’t know the facts that the participant brought to the forum, was very interested with the the idea, and would like to discuss it further. It was the first time I attended a conference and was impressed with the professor’s humility to admit things he didn’t know yet and showed his willingness to learn from others. Recalling this experience made me feel more relaxed facing my thesis defense. I was convinced that it is totally ok when I still don’t understand things and it is also totally ok to admit my weaknesses (that maybe I was unaware of yet and would find out when the examiners point them out) during my thesis defense. Even a professor also has things he doesn’t know yet, I further reassured myself. I finally realised that I used to mistakenly regard researchers as experts who knew everything in their research, which put a burden on me to expect myself to be able to answer all questions from my examiners. This is not to say that I used the excuse of human limitations not to prepare for my thesis defense. I did my best to be well-prepared and to answer all examiners’ questions, but still be aware of my limitations as a human and be humble to admit my weaknesses.

Last night, I listened to a very enlightening podcast entitled "Researching Peace: Doing Field Research" by the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University. In this podcast, Dr Karen Bronéus explains the importance of building a research culture of self-reflection and honesty. By being self-reflective, we understand what went well and what went wrong in our research as well as how to improve it in the future. I personally feel that there are times when working becomes merely a routine. When I was overwhelmed with my workload, the only thing on my mind was I wanted to get my assignments finished. When I self-reflect, I am reminded again to do my research-and-advocacy work with all my heart. I am reminded of my initial purpose and calling for peace, which makes me re-think and re-evaluate my advocacy strategy: Is the advocacy that I do effective? What is still lacking and how to make it more effective? Other than being self-reflective, she highlights that it is only through being honest with our mistakes and sharing them that we can learn from each other’s mistakes which will prevent us making the same mistakes. The academia structure, she says, tends to increasingly make us hide our mistakes. She also adds that it is crucial to understand the complexities of peace research, so we need to learn from each other. This serves as a reminder for myself to be more self-reflective in my research-and-advocacy work and start to promote the cuture of sharing mistakes. I believe all people have mistakes and it is not something shameful to be open about our mistakes. It is time to embrace our limitations, openly share our mistakes, and appreciate honesty and transparency. It would be great to learn from each other, grow together, and produce better research for the betterment of the world.