Week 8 Blog Questions Answered

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course? I have learned that while doing research, it is important to be remain as objective as possible which is hard for me when conducting observations; therefore, I know that it would be hard for me if I was doing actual research. Other insights include the fact that there are different ways of doing research. I was only aware of the two that are the most prevalent. I was exposed to the mixed method of research through my reading.

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed? In my opinion, research can be a tedious job--proving and disproving hypothesis can be time-consuming. I have always been weary of doing research because there are so many steps to consider and if you don't know what you are doing, then of course, that could pose a problem.

What lessons about planning,designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn? The planning of the research is the most difficult for me. During the planning stages, there are a couple of things that has to be done before designing any portion of the research. For the most part, I learned that I must identify a problem or a topic. The problem has to be one that is researchable. Sometimes it helps to see if the problem or the topic chosen has been researched before. If it has, that information may be used as a resource. After that, a hypothesis should be formed a research proposal is constructed.

What were some of the challenges did you encounter? The one thing that challenged me was the hypothesis. I had to reword the hypothesis. I also had to determine which method would render me the best results. I also had to constantly keep in my mind that subjectivity is the key factor. It is all about the facts and not emotions.

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional has been modified? Of course, my perception of becoming an early childhood professional has been modified because I never realized that there was a great deal to take under advisement. I didn't take into consideration that there was so much research in this particular area of education but then again, if we are to get the besdt practices, then there has to be a great deal of research.