My understanding of research prior to this course, Building Research Competency, was limited. I realize now that the research process is much more complex than I had imagined. One of the elements of research that stuck out to me the most is being flexible and able to adapt to various scenarios while conducting research. Ethical considerations, design methods, and even simply figuring out the research topic and specific question are all key elements of conducting research that can be complex and require extensive knowledge and understanding.
My ideas about the nature of research have changed because I now understand the time and resources it takes to conduct valid and reliable research. The knowledge and comprehension that it takes to conduct research in the early childhood field requires intense preparation and reviews of previous literature on the studies that have been conducted.
Throughout the research simulation in this course we learned about planning, designing, and conducting research. All these elements are complex and require devotion of time and a willingness to learn. I think one of the most important parts when beginning research is to ensure that your topic is something that is interesting to the researcher and interesting to other professionals in the field. Because research takes so much time, resources, and effort it is essential that the results are valid and reliable which requires planning, designing, and conducting research ethically and professionally.
Early childhood research is so essential to the field and figuring out the best practices and programs. Behavior, whether negative or positive, and their relations to family structure, teaching styles, and social interactions are just a few examples of why research in the early childhood field is important and can help to further the success of future generations. It is complex because it involves young children who are not legally able to give consent and require more qualitative methods in order to analyze responses and find results that are beneficial to the early childhood field.
Hi Carolina,
ReplyDeleteYou sum up this course in such an incredible way. This course was challenging but it grabs you because it opens up your eyes wide and realize that research has a lot of different obstacles to consider before diving into it. Research is necessary for many fields but especially for early childhood because this is, in my opinion, the first step in learning life. I enjoyed your blog. Congrats on making it this far and Good Luck on the next course.
Dear Caroline,
ReplyDeleteI also like your sum up. It has basically covered all the things we have learnt in this course. This course was also challenging to me given so much works we have to do and to catch the submission date. Furthermore, Dr Kien is very demanding too. However, it is worth studying since understanding how the research can be conducted is very important for us as an early childhood professional. It is through doing quality researches that we can help to improve our understanding of the children and finding better solutions to help their development and growth. Thankyou for sharing during the course.
Thank you for sharing Caroline. I agree with what you said. I had to do research papers a couple of times in my undergraduate program in college and I have to say that compared to this class, the other ones were a walk in the park. I thought that I had it bad when it came time to do my Senior History paper because of all the research that I had to do for that and the various parts of it that I had to do. Doing the research simulation was much more of a challenge. I agree with you though because research is very essential though. It is the only way that we can extend the field of early childhood because if we didn't research things in the field of early childhood, we may not be able to be very effective as professionals. I look forward to hearing from you more in the future.
ReplyDeleteCaroline,
ReplyDeleteYou made a great point about how time-consuming it can be to execute a well-developed research project. While the planning process may become easier with practice, it becomes no less exhaustive. I would imagine that the more seasoned one becomes at research the more complex the studies may become, as there is great fuel derived from confidence. This is why it is so important to stay up to date on the latest and greatest. Just as we learn something new, there is another conclusion that is even more relevant and effective coming down the pike. I am happy now that I know even more about the process and effort behind each initiative and, feel that I will regard researchers even more highly than I had previously.
I enjoyed working with you again and wish you continued success!
You made a great point at the nature of research. I now have more awareness of the preparation and dedication that is required to conduct research on young children. I was also pleased to see the well being of children and their families were taken into consideration through conducting valid research and through ethics. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank You Caroline! You've made some very valid points as it relates to research and the time, effort and differences that it entails! Research is very important to our field and I am also glad to learn about what extremes researchers go through to get answers! Thanks again for you insights, I wish you continued success throughout your studies!
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