But as soon as I thought that and looked at doing some of the purposeful reading it quickly became overwhelming again!  I think it’s a case of repetitively moving forward with a lot of information and then drawing back to consider it.  I remember how last year it felt like I didn’t know at all what I was doing until I realised that it had actually started to come together.

It’s the skim reading that has struck me the most – I seem to be so very slow!

In reading the suggested chapters I feel more confident that finding my topic will be a process as I go.  It was interesting to think through these ideas and see that I am already employing them …  I am narrowing my topic gradually. 

My criteria stem from wanting to address particular problems and issues we have at work relating to how to engage Y12/Y13s in the careers programme and help them get the most out of it? DEFINE THIS - WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY GETTING THE MOST OUT OF IT??
  I am concerned with how some take it on board so much more easily than others – it opens up a whole theoretical world of social influences on decision making and identity.  I keep having examples of how the impact of coronavirus and the online learning at key points in the careers programme last year has impacted on some students particularly badly, and exacerbated the problems of engagement. DO THESE STUDENTS SHARE PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS?
Also, is there anything we need to do in terms of strategic objectives that might support this?
THIS CAN BE CONSIDERED

I take the point that what I think I know may not actually be happening, and I need to distance myself to critique effectively, and be able to ask difficult questions of our existing processes.  I’m noting key words and it is something around …. career maturity, career planning, motivation, self-efficacy???  I can identify these as potential foci  - but they all feel to be such broad topics in their own rights. 
TRY DRAWING A VENN DIAGRAM - LOOK AT THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF THESE IDEAS - OR EQUALLY THOSE THAT STAND ALONE

As to identifying current research gaps, I cannot see how I will be able to do this as so much has already been written!
MAYBE NOT A GAP - BUT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE?

To what extent does outcome driven performance impact on deployment of theory based practice to explore clients’ career development needs in a secondary school setting.
CONSIDER HOW OUTCOMES ARE DEFINED AND MEASURED IN CONTEXT - ARE THERE ANY ETHICAL ISSUES HERE - OR DO THESE ALIGN MORE CLOSELY WITH PARTICULAR THEORIES?
Expectations are for all students to have a planned progression route post 16 and there are specific deadlines to meet to have this information by to send to the DFE so this is a driver. Schools encourage students to apply early for post 16 destinations which means many students have already put in applications before they have their 1 to 1 interview. It would be interesting to explore if there are any differences in interview practice pre and post student applications. There are ethical issues when working within a secondary setting. You are employed by the school to deliver careers guidance pertinent to individual student needs but at the same time you are also employed to support the school in gathering destination data which has the potential for conflict.
Potential research question 2

To what extent, if any, does the career journey of career professionals’ impact on career development theory application
HOW WOULD YOU EXPLORE THIS? WHAT QUESTIONS AND MEASURES COULD YOU USE? Following further research, I'm moving away from this idea and more onto exploring practice in one to one career interviews in a secondary setting.