The insights I have gained about research from taking this course are the facts of importance of validity, having an independent and dependent variable, and having equity in research.
My ideas have changed about the nature of doing research by me learning the steps to take for conducting research. I always thought you just went out and collected data. I didn't realize that you needed an outline or a timetable for research. This was a new idea for me.
The lessons I learned are basically as I said in the previous statement. I learned that it was important to plan an outline and design how you will gather data, how you will select participants, who will participate, etc. This was all new for me. I just thought it was an issue to research and you went out and did what you had to do to find it. The timetable thing makes sense because if you drag it out for a long time, it could change results.
Some of the challenges I encountered were the aspect of remaining neutral and putting aside biases. When you come into a research topic, you kind of start thinking about how you feel about the subject or what your take is on it. I faced these challenges by reminding myself the research hadn't been conducted yet, so I needed to put the opinions to the back of my head and concentrate on the facts that I gather. This is easier said than done. Way easier said than done!
My perceptions of an EC professional have been modified by raising the awareness of the importance of our profession to children. It also raised awareness of the importance of our future. We have an amazing task ahead of us that requires us to be dedicated to the children of today,because tomorrow they are our future. Research is something that is really needed to ensure that we offer our children the best opportunities possible. Research is also important to the fact that we need to offer those opportunities in the best way available.
