When I Think of Research

"The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before." ---Thorstein Veblen

Wow!  I cannot believe that I made it through my first research class!  I was so intimidated when this class was coming up and so afraid of making mistakes along the way for fear that I would not be approaching research correctly.  Wow! again because I was wrong about my own capabilities for the knowledge I already have and how I can become a successful researcher.

The whole thought of doing research was challenging to me but I appreciated the way that the course was broken down into steps to learning how to do research because that is exactly what I needed to better understand the process. 

I think in my own mind that I always wanted to be a researcher in order to learn more about a study and/or topic related to the field of early childhood education.  However, up until now, I did not see myself as a researcher because I saw the role of the researcher as a higher status than that of an educator not realizing that I could be both and not realizing that a large part of my job involves research in order to better meet the needs of the children and families I serve.

I am amazed at how much I was able to learn about research designs because understanding some of the terms were difficult for me.  However, the "Understanding Research Chart" I had to do almost on a weekly basis provided me with various opportunities to not only grasp a better understanding of terms I did not understand but also reflect on the week's lesson and apply my growing knowledge of research.

I definitely did not always have a positive approach about research because I felt that data and statistics were constantly being thrown at me in a way like "Well the research says.." or "We need to be doing this because research tells us....".  And although there is much research data about appropriate practice for early childhood education, it was not always presented to me as valuable and reliable data but simply something I should just know and do.  Now that I have started the research process, I value the time and effort it takes for a researcher to begin, continue and pursue research and my attitudes about research have become more positive because now it makes sense to me.  Research is no longer something that is being "shoved down my throat" and I never want my research to appeal to others that way as well.

Thank you Dr. Pickens for absolutely sharing your own personal struggles and experiences regarding your quest into research from the very beginning of this class!  That made such a huge difference to me and made your teaching about research personal and real!  Your continued encouragement and feedback assisted in boosting my confidence level regarding research.

Thank you to my classmates for all of your discussion blog posts throughout the class because the insights you brought were very helpful to me to become more confident about research and the research process!  May you all continue to have a positive educational journal and a positive impact on others!

Nicolette

References

Academic Research and Quotes. (n.d.).  Retrieved from http://www-stat.wharton.upenn.edu/~steele/Rants/Academic-Resarch-Quotes.html