When I think of research...

“Building Research Competency” course has offered me abundant knowledge about research. My ideas about the nature of research before this course were limited and I did not know much about the various important factors of conducting research. Research is not that easy as it is sounds. There are several important factors to consider before conducting any sort of research. For an example, in this course we learned about each process in detail. Such as the research process, ethic, design, issues, equity, and more. Within each factor, there are different terms, steps, and things to learn. For an example, under research design, there are qualitative, quantitative and mixed method designs that are important research features. Prior to learning about these designs, I thought we could conduct research in our own ways without much verification. But after learning about each of the designs and their features, I understood the importance of choosing the research design and their beneficial.

Some of the challenges I encounter were creating a research question, finding research designs, encountering research ethic and other issues related to research participants. With lots of practices, study, and professor’s assistance, I was able to remedy some of the challenges that came along my way. However, I also learned that these are all processes of research and it is not easy to conduct research.

As an early childhood professional, there are always new things to learn. There are always new findings, approaches, and techniques, to learn about children. Form this course; I have learned the systematic ways to conduct research by taking into consideration all other aspects of research.

It was an important course and I am finding it very useful for me. I would like to thank Dr. Parrish for all her advices, suggestions and support that she has provided throughout the course. It’s been a privilege to take classes from her. And I would also like to thank all my colleagues for the encouragement and extra support during the course. Wish you all the best! Looking forward to some awesome research studies :)