Most of my energy for past few months has been focused on going through the 22 selected papers of my systematic review, appraising them all. It is a new skill that I have had to learn and, with my reading speed, it has been a slow process. Although the papers meet the criteria of the review, most only lightly touch on the topics I am planning on exploring in my research. Currently, I am reading research by Russel Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth conducted his PhD in the late 90’s on men with cerebral palsy seeking sexual intimacy. The systematic search yielded two of his journal articles and PhD dissertation. His research is close to what I am hoping to investigate. Most of the men have some communication impairment, using some form of AAC. His work is inspiring and offers a lot of things to think about with regards to my own work over the next few years.
With nearly finishing the appraisal phase, I am looking forward to start to put together the results and writing the review yet it still seems like a long way to go.