Friday, August 25, 2017

When I think of Research....

As I type and post my last blog for this class, EDUC-6163 Building Research Competencies, I want to thank my classmates/colleagues for their support and feedback. Your guys have helped me on my path of growth and knowledge for Early Childhood.

I have gained quite a bit of insights about research from this course. I know that there is so much to consider when doing a research project. It is much more than a scientific question, where you have a hypothesis, test, results, etc. While those things are included, doing a thorough research concerning children is so much more. You must take ethics into consideration and doing the right thing, while not violating any rights, rules, or common sense.

From the beginning of this course it is no secret that I did not like the thought of research. It made me cringed because I knew what it would take to complete this course, and it would be some work. I hated to read others research to gain support for my own research. However, after I the first few weeks of complaining I made a decision not to complain anymore and do it and look at things positively from that point on; and I must say it, worked. I have a different approach of looking a research now.

When it comes to conducting research, I learned a lot and everything I now know about planning, designing, and how to conduct research. None of it is easy but in the long run, the benefits outweigh the struggle or pain. I learned just because you have an idea you want to research, there is so much more that goes into it like, design. You must decide if you want to use a quantitative, qualitative, or even mixed method research design to say the least of the things I learned.

This whole research was a challenge for me. I did not want to do it, but now my thoughts are different. The biggest challenge I had was to come up with a research topic. I did not know what I wanted to know more of, but now that I have a topic, I am very happy with the topic. It is something that will benefit my family and other children.


Finally, I feel that because of this class my thoughts on what early childhood professionals do is so important. This just fortified my thoughts about them regarding how important they really are. This also just proves that they need to be seen and taken more seriously and looked at as professionals. I don’t know many professionals who are capable of writing quality research papers. It makes me continue to wonder when we are going to be perceived differently and get what we really deserve? Who else is agreement with me? What all do we deserve?

5 comments:

  1. Lisa:
    Reading your post was like reading mine. I also struggled refining and narrowing down my research topic. You finally learned to appreciate research, I do not. What I learned is to admire the researchers' strengh to persist and take their study to an end. I find it very difficult. I think I will loose focus if changes or unexpected findings surface.

    Lourdes

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    1. I like your honest. Though I have a better understanding of research it is not my favorite. I would rather be hands on with the kids. This is to technical for me.

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  2. Hello Lisa
    Great post and knowledgeable thanks, learning from the different professional in this class and in the field of early childhood education has helped me in several way with growth and understanding in research and resources. The view on topics and childhood education is a lesson that in my opinion should be shared with everyone that is involved with children also documentation is a tool for development.

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  3. Lisa,

    Great job on successful completing this course! Like you, I was also unsure of how it was going to go, but having gone through it, I realized it was not so difficult. All the best on your future courses!

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  4. I was a littler nervous at first about a research class. The previous research and methods class I had was very intense. We had to actually plan, design, and conduct our case study. This class taught me the fundamentals of performing research and all the many methods.

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