During this 8 week course I have gained some knowledge
that I will take with me on my future endeavors in Early Childhood education. I
have gained more insight on what research is all about and how research helps.
As the books states when you do anything for the first time it’s a challenge.
My ideas have changed about research because of this class, at first I didn’t
know much about research and now I understand better and why it’s done.
Research is about uncovering and enabling the emergence of new understandings,
insights and knowledge (MacNaughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).
Lessons I’ve learned about planning, designing and
conducting research is that before preparing to do a study you have to plan to
see who the participants will be. Researchers have to consider confidentiality,
privacy, cultural issues before the study begins. The best research will always
involve close, ongoing collaboration between those who plan the research, those
who carry it out, those who participate in it, and those for whom the results
have an impact (MacNaughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). Researchers
have to understand ethical issues that can arise while doing research. The
participants have to be protected by researchers, and they must know what
responsibilities they have as a researcher.
I encountered many challenges because I was very
unfamiliar with terms used and didn’t know what to expect or where to begin.
Once I started reading about research weekly and started doing charts I begin
to develop a better understanding of research and the steps needed to take for
a successful study. I also learned that in order to have quality research it
requires knowledge, skills and experience. As a result of this class and
gaining more insight on research my perceptions has changed because so much
goes into research, having accurate research and what can be gained from good
research if all areas are covered before starting a study. I wish everyone the best on your journey of the Graduate program at Walden University. This class has been challenging because I wasn’t familiar with most of research terms. I want to say thank you to everyone for sharing so much knowledge in this class. I have read discussions and blog post and I have gained more knowledge about research.
Reference
Mac Naughton,
G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood
research:
International perspectives on theory
and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
