Diamond Reaction

One reading that I really enjoyed from this week was the piece by Diamond. I thought, first of all that it was very interesting and a noteworthy topic. This article not only gave me insight to the area, its history, and development, but also to the background process of research. I knew how much work research and data collection involved. I’d heard the horror stories that used words like ‘coding data’, ‘spreadsheets’, and ‘collection and analysis’, but for me this article really illustrated the amount of effort comprehensive research requires. This was primarily because I was in awe of the amount of variable Diamond considered and the breadth of them. I am not surprised when theories or research gives consideration to economic policy or historical background, I am used to seeing those subjects overlap, but I never expected a political scientists to be theorizing and studying environment things such as soil richness or erosion patterns. Seeing the wide range of information and consideration that goes into developing a single research topic is daunting to say the least. This article made me think about my own future research aspirations. Having not solidified our group topic, I thought to my national security thesis and about what variables might I have to consider that are outside the realm of democracy and social media apps use, but would contribute to my overall research. Although nervous, I am ready to dive in to comprehensive research.