Saturday, August 22, 2015

When I think of research...


What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

 

Going into this course, I knew nothing about research. I am walking away from this course with a general understanding of, Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method research designs

 

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

 

I also learned about the many components of carrying out a research project, from choosing a question to research to putting it all together into an experiment and documenting the outcomes.

 

 

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

 

I learned that considering ethics and quality should be the starting point of any research project. Ensuring that a project is ethical is very important in making determining whether or not the outcome can be considered reliable.

 

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

 

My first challenge was in deciding on a research question. I had trouble choosing a question that was related to my topic, Children with Autism that was specific enough to do a study on. With the instructors help, I was able to choose the question “What kinds of interactions do preschool age children with autism share with their typically functioning peers?” I feel good about the end product of my research outline!

4 comments:

  1. April,

    I like how honest you are in this post. I, too, did not really start this course with familiarity with research at all, so I can tell this is a unifying experience for most. Lastly, I like the approach you used for your research question.

    -Karen

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  2. Pinpointing a topic isn't as easy as it sounds. It took me a while to come up with the topic I chose. After reading up on selecting a topic and with the help of my Professor, I was able to narrow it down to what I thought was perfect for my research. Thank you for your support and feedback during this course.

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  3. I can agree that trying to find a topic of interest was a challenge because I was having trouble trying to narrow question. Autism was a good choice because as educators we need to understand more about it.

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  4. During this course I also learned a lot about Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method research designs. During this course I found there is much more that goes into research than I thought. Conducting a research simulation was eye opening and interesting. I have enjoyed reading your blogs and discussions during this course.

    -Staci

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