When I think of Research

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course? This course has provided me with insight on how to put my passion into practice. In addition, I gained insight on 'Building Research Competencies’; I learned how to set goals as far as research is concerned. I also learned how to, through research, find my voice. In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed? Throughout my time at Walden, I have never stopped saying, when you know better you do better. When I first began this course, I had little knowledge about research. Now, although I have not yet 'arrived', I learned how to BEGIN conducting research studies. I definitely feel more confident about the idea of research. This course provided me a head start for the rest of my career in child development. What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn? I learned much about the research process. This course's text taught me about becoming a detective and acquiring resources to support my topic. Additionally, I gained information on the collection of data and how to analyze the data collected. Throughout, this course the issue of validity and reliability was always a constant. Ethics is also a virtue of research that I am continuing to learn. As a researcher, I have learned how to approach study participants and value their diversity and confidentiality. What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them? This course’s learning has truly helped me in understanding a subject that’s foreign to me. While I have not yet arrived, I feel as though, with support, I am on my way. The resources utilized in this course, dissected the theory of research in an understandable way. What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course? If anything, the completion of this course has made my passion for the field of early childhood a deeper one. I am not only aware of the issues that children and families face but I am not equipped with the tools of research needed to solve these issues. My learning as far as early childhood is concerned has broadened, in that; I have added so much knowledge and resources to my professional/personal portfolio. Lepuschitz, J.K. (2011). A practical guide to reading research articles. Retrieved from Laureate Education Inc. National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). Using early childhood research. NAEYC. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing Early Childhood Resources: International Perspectives on Theory & Practice. New York, NY: Mc Graw Hill.