Research Competencies Summarized

Learning about different methods of research and problems that can occur during the research design and process has allowed me to better understand the necessary qualities that are required in a researcher to produce effective studies. Initially, I thought the idea of research was straight forward and, with an appropriate study topic, it would be relatively easy to implement. However, I have realized that it is an intricate method that requires excessive amounts of organizing, planning, and consideration. I learnt that bias and creating validity are difficult and highly important components to planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood in order to produce accurate results that would benefit early childhood professionals as well as children. When formulating my own research simulation, my greatest struggle was discovering the various variables that I would need to control and ones that could potentially arise. As a result of undergoing the course on building research competencies, I have come to understand that there are many areas of early childhood that still has not been discovered or fully researched and that early childhood professionals, not only have the duty to educate and mold young children but also to help provide more information about their development and other necessary details about children that we, as a community, need to discover.