Research that Benefits Children and Families

            When thinking of research that had a positive effect on children and families, the Abecedarian Project quickly comes to mind.  The results of this project showed the impact that health and nutrition has on children and their families.  The positive effects on the children have been long lasting up throughout adulthood.  Also through this research came the Heckman Equation.  The Heckman Equation brought an element of economics to our field.  It shows that we need to invest in early childhood if we want to build our economy and sustain our society.  The rate of return in investing in early childhood is 10%, which is substantial.  In North Carolina, we have the First 2000 Days campaign to spread the awareness of early childhood and the importance of investing in it.  It uses the research done through the Abecedarian Project and the Heckman Equation as the foundation for its campaign.  The research has been positive and critical.  It gives people information to use to advocate and invest in early childhood.

            Another exciting new research that has been conducted has been the study of marijuana oil, known as Charlotte’s Web, and its ability to reduce or even eliminate seizures in children.  This has been very controversial research especially since marijuana is illegal.  Only a handful of states are allowing patients to even take the drug.  This research is dear to me because a friend and co-worker has a nephew with Dravet Syndrome.  He is constantly having mini seizures, ranging from minor ones up to grand mal.  He is on numerous medications yet he still has them daily.  This summer, his family is moving to Colorado to receive Charlotte’s Web in hopes that it will work and he will finally be seizure free.  This is his family’s last hope and I hope that it works. 

            The downside to this research is that the long lasting effects of taking marijuana oil have not been studied simply because this is still new research.  Nobody knows what is going to happen to these children several years from now.  This type of research gives me an ethical dilemma since nobody knows what will happen to these children later in life.  But it is giving some people hope, and I cannot take that away from them.  So far the results have been positive and here is to hoping it stays that way.

My Personal Research Journey

            The topic I chose was teachers’ experience versus teachers’ education and the correlation of each to quality.  The reason I chose this topic is because in my job I see teachers who have education with no experience and I see teachers with experience with only the minimum education.  In both situations there are high quality and low quality teachers.  I hope through researching this topic I can see where the education and experience correlate with quality.  It has also been one of my personal and professional goals to professionalize the field and I feel that this simulation and the results I find will be able to be a step in furthering this goal. 

            It has been ten years since I last conducted any kind of in depth research.  Although some assignments in previous Walden classes have required some research, they have not been to the same magnitude as I am expecting in this class.  I completed my undergraduate degree in 2004 and have not had to focus on the process since.  As such, my research skills are a bit rusty.  I am hoping that the process is like riding a bike and will come back to me as I progress in this class.

            Some of the insights I have gained from the research chart and other assignments so far in this class are the importance of your topic and the importance of quality research.  First, I rediscovered the importance of a narrowly defined topic.  If your topic is overly broad, it is easy to get buried in the amount of research.  Having a narrowly defined topic will help eliminate some of the articles and research that are not beneficial to what you are wanting to find out.  Although virtually worthless in your research, they require the time to read or skim to find this out.  Having the narrow topic allows you to focus on the research that is most meaningful.  Secondly, once the topic is narrowly defined, it is important to assess the quality of the research on the topic.  There is usually a plethora of research and articles on any topic, even if narrowed down.  Not all of this research is worth using.  As the assignment earlier this week demonstrated, a low quality article or web site wastes time in your research and can lead to incorrect conclusions.  Being able to narrowly define your topic and weed out the low quality articles will aid in producing the best research results.

            Throughout the duration of this course, I would be grateful if you could share your insights and/or resources.  Likewise I will do the same for you especially as I learn what others are researching.  My biggest advice is to not be afraid to ask for help.  We are here for each other.