When I think of Reserch...

Some of the insights I have gained about research from this course are the different types of research, quantitative vs. qualitative and the characteristics involved with each.  I have learned about different ethical concerns that may arise and how to address them.  Not only did I learn about research but I learned how to decipher research articles. At the beginning of this course, I was very intimidated by research and the articles I have had to read throughout my program. However, now I have a better understanding about what I am reading. I can read it once or twice vs. ten times! J  

Conducting research doesn’t seem as intimidating to me after this course. I have learned the pieces involved in conducting ethical research and methods I would like to eventually incorporate into my own career.  While I may never conduct an actual research study, I will take pieces from research including data collection and use it to help me understand patterns and trends. I have new ideas and strategies to incorporate this into my job.

The whole process of conducting research was relatively foreign to me. As I said, I have read research articles but honestly I tried to avoid them because I didn’t understand the process and had a difficult time understanding what they were saying.  I have learned the process starts with a topic, focuses on a question and forming a hypothesis. It is important to decide what kind of research design best suits the topic and to consider the ethical concerns that are involved in the study.  One of the biggest pieces is to ensure the results are valid.  I have learned that the whole process works together to formulate a study that will contribute to the field.

One of the biggest challenges for me came early in this class. I struggled with deciding on a topic and then narrowing down my subtopics and finally formulating a question that was specific. I have a tendency to think broadly about topics and want to incorporate to much.