When I Think of Research

Throughout this course I have learned the value of research and how it makes finding answers to questions effective and possible. This course has helped me find ways to use research to help me find answers to questions I may have pertaining to the early childhood field. Research is designed to help me spend time exploring questions or topics that interest me and breaking them down so that I am able to reflect more on them.

Before this course I have read about research but never fully understood the process. After going through this course I have a better understanding of this process and I also understand the value of the process. Within the early childhood field research is designed to help improve the lively hood of young children, therefore the idea of doing research is more valuable for me now.

The research planning, designing and conducting process takes time and much planning to ensure validity of the results. We have to ensure that the process is done correctly. This process may require you to consult other experts, talk to your colleagues and friends about their views, and even reading about different opinions. The design process is a matter of options and as such is the creative process of translating a research idea into a set of decisions about how the research will proceed in practice (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). There are also different ways in which the designing and conducting of research can be approached.

I faced many challenges from start to finish because this process was new to me. Forming the research question and ensuring that is was not too broad to be research was the first challenge. The next challenge for me was trying to avoid being bias and eliminating any ethical issues. But after exploring and studying the research process more carefully, I am able to apply what I have learned to my research simulation to ensure I am doing it properly.

This course has deepened my passion for the early childhood field and has given me a deeper appreciation for those who have already conducting some form of research. The research process as it relates to the early childhood field requires that much time work and dedication be put into it.

References:

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.