Understanding Research

 

As we are learning about the complex topic of research, it brings awareness relative to how

research impacts our everyday lives. Research informs business people how to place items

to appeal to consumers. Internet site gathers information by tracking the habits and interest of users. To understand the process of conducting and sharing research, I will be simulating a research project related to the topic of interest associated with early childhood. There are so many things that I want learn about yet are so many things to know before one can begin. I need to reduce my scope of focus creating sub areas of focus. It is not easy to develop a clear statement of the research issue entails narrowing my wide range of interests to one topic area.

I am very interested in the social emotional development of children.  As my expertise is in the support of children with special needs, I see challenges in this area.  I will be targeting intersubjectivity between children with FASD and adults with the objective of determining how to use this information to support parents or caregivers of infants with FASD.

 

Prior to developing this statement a literature review must be completed. This means reviewing the findings of others and identifying what themes, consistent findings and key arguments. I have learned that the research process is a process of small discoveries that will inform us or others. Research is not an independent endeavour we learn from the discoveries of peer and colleague, extrapolating

information of support our topic or methodology. One of the most important things to consider is

whether results can be replicated without duplicating the work of another. As we study the work of

researchers and apply this information to inform ourselves.

The research of others supports our research questions. The research design considers the skill of the researcher, time available to complete research, and resources need to support an inductive or deductive research methodology.  Deductive research establishes methodology that  entails establishing a hypothesis and consistent methodology. Inductive research methodology entails engaging with the subject, adapting the questions to gather further insight. Initially, I perceived the latter to be easier. However, I now believe that it would be more difficult for the novice researcher to complete and avoid bias.

The creation of research design/methodology includes protocols, questions, and ethical practices. The acquiring informed consent and respecting the confidentiality of the participants is paramount when completing research. Data can be gathered through various means including but not limited to video/audio taping, surveys, observations or interviews. In some cases, technology can support the data collection and review processes. When deductive process is used, we must ensure that there is time allocated to the management and transcription of the information. Researcher may underestimate the amount of time required to complete this process. The researcher must then analyze the data and compile the information into a document that follows standardized formats. Currently, I am completing the literature review and working towards establish my research title.

This is not happening easily as I must constantly refine the scope of my research question.  I wonder how my colleagues are managing this phase?
 

Resources

Conducting Literature Reviews retrieved on November 07, 2013 from http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book227957/toc

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