When I Think of Research...Reflection

Insights that I have gained from taking this course include the many important steps throughout the research study process, how important each step is in relation to obtaining reliable results, and how to create a study that is also fair and just.

My ideas about the nature of doing research has changed in many ways, but after this course, I believe the most important changes include that fact that I now know that a research study needs to be done step by step and each step needs careful consideration and every aspect of the research needs to be taken into consideration before the study even begins. Papers need to be signed, people chosen and everything in its place then the study can begin.

I have learned so many things about planning, designing and conducting a research study in early childhood, but some important lessons include making sure that a research needs to choose the way in which they are going to collect the data. The researcher needs to determine if observations or interviews will be better. Then the research also needs to choose the participants and how will they be chosen. I also learned how important it is that researchers keep their own ideas, assumptions, and bias out of the research study to obtain reliable, just, and fair results.

Challenges for me where trying to turn the research question into a hypothesis and learning all the terms used for research studies. I read as much as I could and also did more research myself on the internet to help learn about creating a hypothesis. I also read more on the terms so that could truly understand their meanings and how they could be used in sentences with regards to research studies.

I had not thought about the amount of work that is included in creating a research study from childhood professionals, I never thought of researchers and what all they do especially from start to finish of a project; however, after this course I can say I know that they work hard. Many hours of work goes into just preparing for the study and then the observations and or interviews that are done. Researchers spend a great deal of time and effort to look for answers that will benefit the early childhood field.

One way that my perception of an early childhood professional has been modified as a result of this course is the amount of dedication into the research aspect of this field. As a teacher of early childhood education, I have spent 8 years in a classroom using curriculums that I have either liked or disliked for different reasons and have always wanted to know more about how we came about using them. This course has helped answer questions as well as show me what is involved in how and why curriculums are chosen. I also know that there are so many more aspects of working in this field and that I may wish to look further into the research side of the early childhood field.