Upon commencing the collection of preliminary data for my Module 3 research project, I was very excited to apply my sampling strategy. However, it soon emerged that implementing my plan was not quite as clear-cut as I had imagined it to be. One problem I had was that all measurements of the amount of soil moisture needed to be consistent and accurate. I had initially planned to take readings of a 1200-meter-long garden using a soil moisture meter in different places around the garden. Then I realized that the sensitivity of the meter to soil texture and temperature altered the results. To overcome this, I had to alter the way of measurement and take several readings from each location to allow for credible data to be taken.
Despite the expected challenges in experiencing some preliminary trends, it was surprising to see what emerged from the data. For example, it was evident that the content of soil moisture was high where there was more shade; that is opposite to my initial hypothesis. I have started to rethink my understanding of how soil moisture interacts with other environmental factors. I would modify my approach to improve my data collection strategy by researching alternative methods for soil moisture measurement, increasing the sample size, and improving the methods for data analysis. It helped me, by figuring out challenges and unexpected problems, to clearly think through what to do differently in this plan to ensure higher quality and more reliable results. By adjusting my approach to data collection and analysis, I can get more accurate and deep information to guide the research effort.