"My Thoughts About Research"

The insights that I have gained about research from taking this course is the rewards of researching which is uncovering new understanding, insights and knowledge about the early childhood field. I also have gained more insights about confidentiality and its impact on early childhood research. A researcher must prove that they are competent enough to respect and hold their subjects personal data in the highest regards. My ideas about the nature of doing research have changed because initially I was very unfamiliar with what research entails. This is my first experience with creating a research simulation and I was intimidated initially. The course text has allowed me to become more familiar with the terminology used in research and methods used to design the study. The lessons that I learned about planning, designing, and conducting research are that being organized is essential and that research design consists of options, choices and creatively translating the idea into a decision about how the research will proceed (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). Clarifying a topic and identifying the focus of the research is the first step of the design. I have learned that refining the research question is one of the key components of designing research. Some of the challenges that I encountered were determining ways to correctly word my research question. This was very challenging for me initially because I know how important the research question and design is and it was difficult for me to narrow down my question. I overcame this challenge by finding insights within the course text and focusing on one issue to achieve my desired research question. Some of my perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified because I am more aware of what credible research calls for. Research has impacted the early childhood field in many positive ways. Programs such as Head Start have allowed many children to attend school, receive healthy meals and interact with other children on a daily basis. My awareness level pertaining to research has increased because of this course.

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.