eJournal Entry 21

The Experience

This week presented an unexpected challenge when I had to reschedule my planned meeting with my external adviser due to falling ill with the flu, but despite feeling under the weather, I managed to push through and launch my final survey recruitment drive across UPOU's social media channels. The timing proved fortuitous as responses began flooding in throughout the day, finally pushing my survey participation beyond the crucial 30-respondent threshold required for statistical validity according to the central limit theorem, a milestone I've been working toward for weeks (See Attachment G.2.2).

Perhaps most encouraging was receiving an unexpected message from a first-year BAMS student who, despite not meeting my second-year minimum requirement, expressed genuine interest in my research topic and even offered blessings for my "studently endeavors," which reminded me that the phenomenon of routine fatigue in distance learning resonates across all academic levels, not just among more experienced students (See Attachment G.2.4).

Looking Forward

This experience reinforced the importance of persistence even when facing personal setbacks, and I realize that launching the final recruitment push while sick actually created a sense of urgency that may have contributed to the strong response rate. Moving forward, I'll be more strategic about timing recruitment efforts to coincide with when students are most active online, and I'm curious to explore whether the interest from younger students suggests that routine fatigue might emerge earlier in students' academic journeys than I initially hypothesized. The enthusiastic response also makes me wonder if there's value in creating resources that address motivation challenges for students at all academic levels, not just those with extensive distance learning experience.