Personal Research Journey

       I am excited about our first weeks of research steps for the class EDUC 6163, Building Research Competency. We have started our personal research journey. The first week of class we were required to pick a topic we were/are interested in. The topics were so broad, so we were instructed to narrow down our focus and list three subtopics. We had to decide which subtopic will be the focus of your simulations in the coming weeks. 

      I have narrowed down my research question to two questions. I am struggling which question or research is the most beneficial for me and my colleagues.  One of the questions is: “Can the negative effects of poverty be reversed during the early childhood years?” The reason I chose this question is because, in the previous course, we read children of families in poverty are normally at an educational disadvantage when beginning school. I wonder if young children who attend head start or pre-K have an advantage over other young children in poverty who does not attend head start or pre-K. If there is an advantage, will the advantage lead to the reversal of the negative of poverty?

      The other question I am thinking about is:  “How does race and sex affects a student’s preparedness for early childhood education?”  The reason I considered the question is because during my pursuit of My TED/MA degree, I read about and there were discussions of how boys are diagnosed with learning disabilities, such as ADD, ADHD, etc more than girls. The same program also discussed how the diagnoses of learning disabilities are higher in African Americans males than other groups. In addition, it was said girls perform better in some subjects than boys. I want to know if the same trends occur during the early childhood years; and does student preparedness play a role.

      The beginning steps of research are exciting and challenging as well. The challenges understanding what questions to ask and knowing which resources are the best to use for successful research. Once one pick a resources provide quality and reliable information. There are some great websites to help beginning researchers critically analyze resources.

Some of the sites are:

Beck, S. E. (2009). Evaluation criteria. New Mexico State University Library. Retrieved from http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html

Evaluating web pages: Techniques to apply & questions to ask. (2010). UC Berkeley Library. Retrieved from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

New York Library Association. (2010). Evaluating websites: Criteria and tools. Cornell University Library. Retrieved from http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html

Ormondroyd, J., Engle, E., & Cosgrave, T. (2009) Critically analyzing information sources. Cornell University Library. Retrieved from http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill26.htm