I cannot
believe how much I have learned about research over the past eight weeks! I
have learned that research is much more complicated than I’d imagined, and that
I am very grateful for those who do research because it is hard work! This is
the first topic in my graduate studies that I knew very little about, and it
has been a huge challenge for me to comprehend and articulate how to do a
successful research study. Three things that have changed for me in regards to
my ideas about research are:
- How much planning needs to go into a research study
- How much time needs to go into a research study
- How careful the researcher needs to be when choosing his/her research design type
I have
always worked with researchers who do research on a regular basis, so the
planning was always done behind the scenes. I have come to find out that planning
a research study takes a lot of effort, and I will always think of an analogy
of painting a house when I think about the prep that goes into planning
research. In order to have a good finished product when you paint a house you
need to take the time to wash and scrape the walls, put down drop clothes, tape
everything off, and purchase the right tools. The painting is the easy part in
comparison to the prep, and the same is true for research! I also thought that
research could be conducted fairly quickly, depending on the research. I had
never thought to factor in time for prep, establishing relationships with the
subjects, organizing the data, and analyzing the findings. It is much more time
consuming than I realized. Lastly, I learned a lot about the different methods
of research and how different aspects can impact the outcome of the study,
including my role and beliefs as the researcher.
The biggest challenge I faced in
this class was learning the new vocabulary and incorporating it into my working
language base. The weekly charts have been very helpful in helping me use the
new words in a way that makes sense to me, and then they have giving me a
reference to use as I did my readings every week.
My perception of Early Childhood has
changed because I realize how much research has gone into learning about the
practices that I teach about and use daily in my work as an Early Childhood
Professional. I love to read the data that backs up ideas such as
developmentally appropriate practices or the importance of play, but I never
did more than just glance at the resources listed at the end of these articles
and journals. I now have a huge appreciation for the work that goes into
researching the best ways for us to work with young children, and I will be
more aware of the source and identifying information of resources that I read.
Each course in my graduate works causes me to reflect on my beliefs and
practices, but Research Methods has given me the opportunity to gain very
concrete skills that will really help me move my work in Early Childhood
Education into the future!
