When I Think of Research......

                I have gained a lot of knowledge through this course and some of the main topics that I have learned that were very new to me was the ethics in research, the mixed method, and equity in research. These topics are very important due to consent and confidentiality keeping with participants, using the mixed methods to have a more defined and informative research, and equity is being fair and just towards the participants in research. I have learned to take extra precautions in research with children. Doing research as an undergrad was just the tip of the iceberg, not knowing the extras behind it. When I say extras, I mean the ethics and equity. Some of the challenges that I encountered was creating a research question for quantitative research. One question that I decided to make off of statistical data, I found that it was hard to make a hypothesis from it. The mixed method design also takes a mixture of data to make a research question so I believe that it will take more time.

                When it comes to planning, designing, and conducting research, I realize that it takes time and that there are precautions when having children and families as participants in their project. If you are doing interviews and observations, everything will not always go as planned and you may have to do some rescheduling. You have to always be mindful of participants in making sure they understand the purpose of the research whether it is cultural, families, or children. I have to make sure that my research has validity and that I can back up my data. As an early childhood professional this course can help me in possible future research that I may be able to help other children and families but to remember to have respect for those throughout the process as well. Thanks everyone for your support throughout this course!