When I Think of Research...

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

I have gained a lot about research from taking this course which includes: steps to follow that will generate research that is informative, ethical, and meaningful includes, selecting a topic, search and review the literate, formulate a specific research issue/question, design the research, collect data/information, process/analyze data, draw conclusions, write research reports.

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

This class has helped me to learn how to read research correctly. In order to make the research reliable, it is important to include triangulation which help the researchers to look at the data from different type of research. The four types of triangulation are: data, methodological, investigator, and theory.

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

I learned that planning, designing and conducting data must be done ethically because this will add to the quality of the research. The design involves the process of refining the topic, and how the research will be done, consider issues relate to time (when, where, and who), and choose the participants, too.

What were some of the challenges I encountered and what ways did I meet them?

This is my first time doing research, this topic was very challenging for me. I relied on the information in the textbook a lot. The information, I read from the resources, the discussion boards, and feedback from my instructor helped me to overcome these challenges. Although I learned a lot from this class about research, there are a lot of concepts I need to continue to work on.

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

As an early childhood professional, I have learned from this course that it is my responsibility to protect, educate, and help children and their families to overcome obstacles that will interfere with their human rights.

Research Around the World

Early Childhood Australia: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

What are some of the current international research topics:

Code of Ethics

Learning and Teaching Through Play

Respecting Diversity

Research in Practice Series: The Early Years

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

The first thing that I found was a subscription to a magazine "Every Child" which is great for students, childcare workers, parents, grandparents, or anyone who wants to keep up to date on events and developments around Australia that impact on children from birth to eight years or on the early childhood field in general. Another interesting link on this website is called the "Everyday Learning Series " which was created for simple,creative ideas to enhance children's interactions with the world around. Everyday Learning Series were aimed at parents, grandparents and carers of young children.

What other other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

The Resources themes link provided me with an interesting article on Child health and childhood obesity which have been the focus of a lot of attention in the early childhood care. These are just two of the many issues which impact on the health and well being of young children. The resource link found on the Early Childhood Australia has a number of quality-assured resources which cover important areas of growth and development for young children. Also, there a of a lot of online resources that deal with the issues of childhood obesity and  child health.