I have to admit but my knowledge of conducting research was limited
and I was very intimidated of this course.
I did not know what to expect and my only knowledge of doing research
stemmed from a Methods of Research class I had in undergrad school (that I
hated).
From this course I learned that any topic that I have
questions about, I can conduct my own research.
I now have the tools needs to develop and complete a research design of
my own.
My ideas about the
nature of completing a research study changed because I learned the process step
by step. I learned that it is good to
pick a topic that interests you. A head
of time select who the participants will be and what type of research you want
to complete. Make sure you have consents from the participants, including
children, explaining that they can change their mind at any time and the
information collected would not be used.
Decide how you want to collect your data. Make sure your information is reliable and
then all will be valid.
The challenges I had with this course was developing my
hypothesis and stating what behavior I wanted to change. I had help from one of my colleagues and Dr.
Myers. I knew what I wanted but could not express it correctly.
My perceptions of an early childhood professional have not
changed. I just learned that I was used
to someone else completing the research for me.
This class has showed me that I have the knowledge and tools needed to
complete my own research. I understand
now that without research curriculum's and other evaluation tools needed for the
profession would not been developed.
