Hi there, 

Here are a few thoughts:

1- Always have regular touchpoints with your manager

Instead of working in silo and coming back hours later to tell your manager you need more time, keep an ongoing line of comms with her, expressing the constraints you are facing and seeking her guidance. For instance, if you spend an hour searching for data and couldn't find much, ping her saying “hey, i'm doing some research and it doesn't look like there is data available online, what do you think”. Managers appreciate being in the loop as they might decide shifting gears to something more practical, once they have the visibility.

2- Align from the start on the structure of your research as well as the data sources you will use

Most managers are familiar with typical datasets and sources that can be used. They can recommend upfront a methodology or work with you on one. They might event recommend speaking to some experts or leveraging internal knowledge pieces to fill any data gap. I would always recommend aligning first with them, not just on the framework but on the potential sources to help you populate that framework. 
 

Hope this helps and happy to chat more.

Mario

Hi there,

Q:  What is the best way to communicate the situation, instead of letting the senior feel that I spent more time on the task than she expected?

I would recommend the following:

1. Before starting the task: review it in details and clarify with your manager if there is anything unclear
2. Whenever you notice you are going long with a task: if possible align with your manager while still completing the task. Let them know before you finish you are stuck/going longer, so they can help to proceed faster. If possible, propose a solution to fix the bottleneck
3. If you do go long anyway or cannot align before: organize proactively a meeting for feedback, raise the point and explain you went long and ask for help to improve next time. If you show you want to improve, most managers will be more than happy to support you on this (you will make their job easier in the future)
4. If your manager is not responsive / not willing to help: repeat point 3 with colleagues 

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Communicate early, communicate often. 

When I was a manager I faced this issue with new analysists. It's usual to happen, but of course it's something to improve. 

I would tell my analysists to bring issues early on because I had the experience to suggest a different way to finish that deliverale, as well as the power to define a different deliverable that would get us to the same result.

But this requires the analysts to speak up when facing challenges. If they weren't… there was nothing I could do about it. The result would be more working hours and a slower pace.

As such, if it is taking longer, if the process is not working as expected, inform your manager, and suggest a course of action. It can be either keep the current one (and you're informing it will take longer) or suggest / request a different one if you feel it is highly inneficient.

The problem is not needing help. Is needing help and not asking for it.

Hi there,

You're overcomplicating this just a bit :)

It's very simple: tell them!

When they give you instructions, you need to state them back to them to be clear you understand the expectations. Once aligned, you then need to let them know what you plan to do and provide a time estimate. Double-check that this is reasonable to them.

Additionally, every boss is different. Learning to manage up is important, and different bosses want to be informed in different ways.

Always make sure to quickly figure out how your boss works. As in, how frequently they want updates, in what detail, through what medium (email, text, call), and whether they are hands-on or hands-off.

I think the answer to your question is straightforward: just tell your boss about the issue with data.

Beyond that, is good practice to prepare your task in a proper way, and align with your boss immediately if you spot a potential issue.
In this case, you should also propose a solution.