When I Think of Research...

       Research was always an area that I was unclear and unsure about. I always conducted and wrote research papers but didn’t know how in debt it was. In the field of early childhood research can aid so much to understanding different topics as it relates to children. There are a few areas on the topic of research that I have gained insight on. The first is ethics as it pertains to research. Research contains many risk and researchers have to keep it at a minimum. The different research approaches is another area I gained insight on. The mixed method, qualitative, and quantitative are all different approaches that a researcher can use when a study is being conducted.

Research is always changing, because of those ideas about the nature of doing research also changed. Research can be conducted in the past or present, so with that in mind researchers have to think about how the data is collected. Some forms of data collection can be observation, interviews, various sources, books. For example, if the data source is interviewing then the researcher needs to make sure that they interview the children appropriately.

When planning, designing, and conducting research there are certain things that have to be kept in mind. First the researcher has to decide what approach they are going to follow. For example are they utilizing the qualitative and quantitative design? Also, having an understanding about the different variables plays a big part when it comes to conducting research. I used to always mix up variables before entering this class.

Challenges were encounter throughout this class. As I stated before, I am not an expert as it pertains to research. I had to keep a dictionary near at all times, meaning I had to look up many of the terms to have a clear understanding. Luckily, the charts that we had to do weekly helped me with terms that were giving me the most trouble. Another challenge was eliminating any bias views that could arise, but through the reading I found different ways that it could be eliminated, like having more than one researcher reviewing the data.

An early childhood professional doesn’t just take care of children, but they bring new views and ideas to the field. Research plays a very important role when it comes to informing parents, children, and teachers to new information.  I am very glad that I had the chance to take this class, because it doesn't matter what position that you have in the early childhood field, research will help you in.