THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING

Getting approved to research a very specific and distinct project that has yet to be researched is a very challenging task, much like the task of reaching "the center of the earth." Finding a GAP is difficult, but finding a GAP that a high school senior has the resources available to conduct a study is even harder. Luckily, I let my interests lead my brain to different research and findings within psychology and serial killers. With the plan of majoring in this field, I thought, "What better way to start my learning and degree, than with a year-long research project all about that field of study!" My interests lead me to read research articles/journals about the display of Serial Killers in films and how similar they are to reality. I was bummed with the fact that there was no GAP in this research that I could find, however, I kept researching and researching until Ms. Dobos and I had an epiphany about adding another factor to this research that interested me so much. By adding a gender factor, I was able to find a GAP in the research of comparing the reality of serial killers in movies, but also comparing if males or females are more likely to be realistic. 

Once my idea/topic was developed the brainstorming began. I was thinking about what movies I would watch, how many I would watch, and how I would determine the idea of realism. I came up with my answer by choosing to use an observational approach with qualitative data. This led me to choose 20 movies within the timeline of 1960-2022, due to the first case of psychology being used to help with a case in the 1960s, with 10 being female-based serial killer movies, and 10 being male serial killer movies. In order to develop my data and reasoning, I gained a mentor who is an expert in her field. Special Agent Debbie Michaels had agreed to help me along my Journey to the Center of the Earth, a movie about a group of people struggling to stay alive as they travel deep into the Earth's core through strange places creating an unimaginable journey, just like my research project. With Special Agent Debbie Michael's expertise and advice, I will compile a list based on motives and predispositions from research and past cases. With this list, I can watch each movie and use a ratio method of deciding whether or not a movie is realistic. By solidifying my methods and process, I was able to create a finalized question, Are male or female serial killers more realistically portrayed in movies, when it comes to patterns and motives?

Finally, after weeks of research and writing, I have created my research question. The next step was to be approved to start my study by Ms. Dobos. As a class, we had to answer around 20 different questions, some requiring page/s long answers, in order to fully lay our research out on the table for approval. Though very time comsuming, I finally completed my research proposal and got approved. This brings me to current time, writing this blog, closing in on the center of the earth as I am so close to beginning this once in a lifetime, unimaginable, study, that I as a senior, am so lucky to participate in.