Research and Findings
Week 8
Building Research Competencies.
ED 6163
Walden University
Dr. Joyce Myers.
August 23, 2014
As I wind down this 8 weeks of research
classes I find myself thinking about research in a wider scope. There is much to be understood about the
process not just the results of the research. I think learning about the
relationships involved in research. The researcher and the participants must
build a trusting, collaborative relationship for the study to work. I have also learned it is a process that
takes much time and thought to design and implement a study so that the
findings can be used in a larger context.
The ability to think about complex things without bias is essential. That
is something I have seen change in my thinking about research. Conducting research study is something you
just do not throw together one day because you think a topic is
interesting. When I have something I
want to study from now on I will not only look up general information about it
but as I look up peer reviewed articles about it I will notice how that study
was put together. Does it have a
specific design that can be seen and how it is conducted will be noted. When thinking about early childhood research
I think at the planning of the design and who will participate and why should
be given serious consideration. While I didn’t really encounter any specific
challenges in the simulated research study I now know there will be challenges
and what they may be and how I can meet them.
One way I like to meet challenges in research is to use triangulation
which is to view the topic from several different perspectives. This gives the researcher a broader horizon from
which to understand the problem. My perceptions of the early childhood field
have not been so much modified as enhanced and I am finding I am asking more
questions about best practice and methodology from having been through this
course.
I want
to thank my cohort in this class for their support and for sharing what they
have found out in the course of this study and for the expertise Dr. Myers
brought to the conversation and her guidance through the process.
Below are the blogs I visit regularly. Enjoy
