When I think of Research...

These past few weeks have allowed me to gain a detailed overlook of what research in early childhood entails. During this course, I learned that research can be used as a tool. From this standpoint, early childhood professionals address topics and or questions that they may have experienced professionally o personally. Regardless of how you come to your topic, it is by learning to use research as a tool that you can answer the question or questions you set out to address and inform others of what you have found (MacNaughton, Rolfe, Siraj-Blatchford, 2010, p.8).

Prior to this course, my understanding of what research was consist of finding at least three resources related to your topic. with that information, you would carefully expand on your topic. In this course, I learned that there is so much more to research than one would expect it to be. With the different approaches, types of research and designs of research, my nature of research have changed. I perceive research to be a more strategic approach, one must clearly decide if the study will be non- experimental or experimental. One must also choose the design that will be used to conduct the study. Much valuable research involves observing or documenting things that occur in everyday life with the aim of understanding, rather than explaining (MacNaughton, Rolfe, Siraj-Blatchford,2010,p.108)

One challenge that I faced in the course was deciding on my topic for my simulation. It was hard because I never thought I would conduct a study in early childhood field. As the course progressed, I became intrigued with how effective each of the designs, approaches and methods are to ensuring that truthful results or solutions are achieved. with this new information, I now perceive early childhood professionals as the pioneers for providing educators the support they need to provide young children a learning experience that will spark in their latter educational journey.

References
Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2^nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.