The research process is a unique experience. It can be methodically planned or change multiple times until a final topic is established. In this case, the project’s research question has been changed and refined multiple times. It is common in the earth sciences to seek data that has already been collected to develop and answer a research question, which is different from other disciplines where the research question is established first, and then data is collected. This project started out as a study of the deep convection events occurring in the Irminger Sea during certain winters and how these events affect the concentration of dissolved oxygen throughout the water column. After finding out the data included other variables that contribute to biological processes in the ocean, the additional variables were to be incorporated into the data analysis. In the process of learning how to graph the data, a whole new data source was discovered that would allow the project to reach areas of the ocean outside of the Irminger Sea. The current state of the project is an exciting endeavor and the current development of the project’s topic would have not been possible without being open to new topics and allowing the research process to be fluid. Keeping an open mind about where the research process will go is especially important when the data available is major factor in determining the research topic.
