Module Indicative Content |
Introduction to Research
Overview of research in early years' care and education and its importance; qualitative and quantitative research paradigms; the relationship between research question, methodology and analysis. Action research as a meaningful methodology in early years research.
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Research Process
Reviewing the literature; developing a rationale; formulating a research question; drawing on appropriate methodology; developing a research proposal, collecting data and interpreting findings; writing up research.
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Research Ethics
Ethical principles in research; ethics through the project's lifecycle; managing informed consent and assent, anonymity, confidentiality, the right of withdrawal; research with vulnerable groups especially working with children, managing risk.
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Quantitative Methodologies and Analyses
Review of descriptive, correlational and experimental designs; surveys; observations, time and event sampling, checklists; sampling/ sample size. Review of descriptive statistics; basic inferential statistics (tests if associations, correlation, and chi-square); using SPSS to analyse data.
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Qualitative Data Methodologies
Review of ethnography, phenomenology, qualitative descriptive designs; interviews, focus groups, and observations as data gathering tools; analysis of documents; consideration of qualitative methods for use with adults and children; managing data, transcribing; content analysis; thematic analysis as a foundational method.
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Module Resources
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Recommended Book Resources |
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Martyn Denscombe. (2010), The Good Research Guide. For small-scale social research projects, 4th. McGraw-Hill Education/ Open University Press, England, [ISBN: 978 0 335 241].
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Guy Roberts-Holmes. (2018), Doing Your Early Years Research Project. A Step by Step Guide., 4th. Sage Publishing, [ISBN: 9781526424259].
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Recommended Article/Paper Resources |
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Department of Children and Youth Affairs. (2012), Guidance for developing ethical research
projects involving children,
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This module does not have any other resources |
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