April 21, 2012

What I've Learned About Research...


  • What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
         In taking this course about research, I have learned a great deal about the process of conducting a study. There are many things to consider before research can happen. In taking detailed looks at each part of a study, my colleagues and I can better understand how the information can help our field of early childhood education.

  • In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
         I am still apprehensive about ever conducting a study on my own, however, I now know more about avoiding ethical issues such as bias and confidentiality. I think given a strong group of researchers in a team setting, I would be able to conduct a study some day that could benefit the early childhood field.
  • What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
         In planning a research study, there are many things to consider such as consent in working with children, confidentiality that families' information will not be shared, and also making sure that the study's procedures are written in the main languages of ALL participants. I learned that in designing a study it is important to have a clear and concise research question to make sure the results are easily measurable. It is also important to pay attention to the details of all the participants. When choosing participants, it is important that they are not lumped together just because of one major characteristic in common. Other factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, cultural traditions, and language need to be taken into consideration when grouping participants together. The differences I mentioned could all potentially affect the way a participant responds in a study, possibly skewing the results.
  • What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?
         One of the biggest challenges I had was breaking down all of the components of the research study and truly understanding what each part meant. For example, in the last week's application assignment, we were asked to break down all of the components as they applied to our simulation. I found this difficult and found out I had some potential challenges that my research study might encounter - for example, because my research study deals with families living in poverty, I may have participants back out because they don't want to share personal information such as education level completed (or not).
  • What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
         Because of this course, my perception of an early childhood professional has widened. There are other avenues that educators can take to contribute to our field. For example, focusing on a children's research study can be something that a teacher does after 20 years in the classroom. The experience, coupled with an intense study in a particular area can still contribute to the practices in the classroom. 

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY CLASSMATES!

You have all contributed to my understanding of research through you posts and comments.
I wish you all the best in your upcoming classes.

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