During the course, "Building Research Competencies", I have learned a great deal. Perhaps the most compelling information involved the potential ethical issues that are inherent in research. The power relations that can occur between researcher and participants make me feel wary of conducting research. Issues of informed consent relating to children and parents and the potential unknown and unforeseen risks to children who participate in research, later in life send my head spinning. However, I do feel more informed about these issues. I have a new appreciation for the amount of pre-work that goes into the planning of a research study. Additionally, I have learned about the massive amount of analysis that is necessary after the data has been collected. I now understand what is meant by quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research design. I feel that mixed methods research, although it requires versatility on the part of the researcher, encompasses the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative research methods and therefore, yields the most comprehensive results.

Among the challenges that I encountered, the greatest was formulating a research question. I had difficulty narrowing my interests and questions about my interests into a suitable research question. Also, I found it challenging to write a hypothesis from my research question. I overcame this challenge by consulting as many sources as possible, in addition to the course readings, to increase my understanding of the qualities of research questions versus the qualities of hypotheses.

Truthfully, this course did not change my impressions of early childhood professionals as I already work in the field. I understand that early childhood professionals must be knowledgeable, insightful, intentional and ethical in their practice, their research and their lives.

Many thanks to all of my colleagues for your thoughtful feedback, friendly words, the work that you do and are preparing to do for children and their families as well as for taking this educational journey with me.