Jo jo Posted July 3, 2007 Posted July 3, 2007 Hurray finished the first year of the foundation degree was hoping for a break over the summer! No such luck need to know start thinking of a topic for my research project where do you start? any advice on how to chose a topic? how to break it down and generally how do you about it all? I would appriciate any advice from any one who has been though or currently doing a research project! need to get some ides and reading under way over the summer! Thankyou
Guest Wolfie Posted July 3, 2007 Posted July 3, 2007 As a starting point, think of something in early years which really interests you - it'll be far easier to do research and reading and to write about something in which you are interested! Give us some starting points like that and then we can help you think of particular titles/focusses (foci??? )!
Running Bunny Posted July 4, 2007 Posted July 4, 2007 As Wolfie said, choose something that is of a particular interest to you and will help you in your workplace i.e. value of play, adult/child interaction, outdoor play, management styles... Also, if it is something that has been in the news recently (synthetic phonics?) there will be lots of articles in the media that you can use as source material.
Alison Posted July 4, 2007 Posted July 4, 2007 keep it simple, dont try to tackle a topic that no one else had thought of originality wont gain you extra marks, look for topics that have lots of articles and research already, the main purpose of the research project is not to discover something new but to show that you understand how researching works, the skills you gain doing the research project will stand you in good stead for doing the dissertation lf you go on to do the top-up degree. the research project I found was the one thing that I really needed to keep on top of, the time flies so fast and befor you know it its time to finish and there is so much that goes into the project it couldnt be done at the last minute.
Guest Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 I drew a blank for quite a while when considering what to research. In the end I thought I would tackle something that I had no fixed opinion on and I chose "THE EFFECTS OF PROLONGED BREASTFEEDING". It wasn't something that was particularly close to my heart as I had just breastfed my children for as long as they wanted to and thought no more about it. In the end I found it really interesting and I learnt a lot. I ended up looking at religious texts, male lactation...etc.etc. So it was much more than I assumed in the begining. What you need to do first is get your research questionnaire really pinned down and it's not as easy as you may think. In my case I had people guessing what I was looking for and answering in the hope of giving the "correct" answer. Or I had a really emotional or politcal response which didn't really help me get to the facts. If you need a template for your thesis let me know.
Guest Posted July 7, 2007 Posted July 7, 2007 (edited) I am in the same position (just finished my 1st year) Jojo so thankyou for raising this thread, I am really interested in attachment - what do you think, would that be a research subject? I am so drawn to it that I am sure I would love to do the reading so that would help! Edited July 7, 2007 by Guest
Marion Posted July 7, 2007 Posted July 7, 2007 As Wofie says it is better to choose something that interests you. Make sure your study isn't too broad or too narrow Good Luck
Jo jo Posted July 8, 2007 Author Posted July 8, 2007 thaks everyone my interests are outdoor play, role play, emotional intelligence, differences between english curriculum european curriculum. socio economic backgrounds and effects on learning, please help!
Guest Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Hurray finished the first year of the foundation degree was hoping for a break over the summer! No such luck need to know start thinking of a topic for my research project where do you start? any advice on how to chose a topic? how to break it down and generally how do you about it all? I would appriciate any advice from any one who has been though or currently doing a research project! need to get some ides and reading under way over the summer! Thankyou Hi Jo Jo, I have recently joined the forum in Cheshire, know just how you are feeling I am also doing my 2nd year of the FD and currently reading for my research project, I decided on Children's understanding of friendships. Not looking forward to spending the summer doing it though, let me know how you're getting on. Chris
alis2son Posted July 13, 2007 Posted July 13, 2007 Ive got my own little sample of attachment going on here at the moment. Ive got 2 x 3yrs girls who follow my every movement, know where i am and what im doing whenever someone wants me, and will shout me from the far side of the room, when im in the office (yes they do know im in the office) which is not even in the room. When i go out to see what they want, they tell me what they are doing or ask what i am doing! They show me everything they make before they leave and come and find me to say goodbye, and even if there are a few staff in the area, they just say bye to me and go. Its quite surreal.
Guest Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Hurray finished the first year of the foundation degree was hoping for a break over the summer! No such luck need to know start thinking of a topic for my research project where do you start? any advice on how to chose a topic? how to break it down and generally how do you about it all? I would appriciate any advice from any one who has been though or currently doing a research project! need to get some ides and reading under way over the summer! Thankyou Just a query or 2 or 3 . . . - do you not get any break from your studies during the summer? or is the research project part of your ongoing studies from the first year? When do you start the 'project', and how long do you have to do it in? I suppose there must be deadlines? how is it presented? essay form? or other format? Can you choose your own project? and is it always research? I am starting the FD in October, and am trying to get my head around how things work. Thanks
HappyMaz Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Just a query or 2 or 3 . . . - do you not get any break from your studies during the summer? or is the research project part of your ongoing studies from the first year? When do you start the 'project', and how long do you have to do it in? I suppose there must be deadlines? how is it presented? essay form? or other format? Can you choose your own project? and is it always research? I am starting the FD in October, and am trying to get my head around how things work. Thanks Well each FD is different, but if yours is like ours you won't do your research project until the second year, so all your questions are a little ahead of you at the moment! In answer to your first question, yes I would say you should most definitely have a break during the summer between years one and two. Otherwise your head will explode. Our FD was with Reading University, so all my answers to the rest are correct for my course... We started to think about our project fairly early on the second year, and worked on it whilst other assignments came and went. You will be given deadlines to work to (we were asked to agree our subject with our tutor, then to submit a research project plan and had several 'progress meetings' to talk about how things were going, a submission for a rough draft (although I wasn't sufficiently organised to get this done!) and then the final submission date). Every FD student I have talked to have done a research project. Project reports are written according to a set format which all dissertations follow (although you do have a little leeway!). Yes, you can choose your own project - its hard enough to get motivated to do the thing even if you're doing something you're fascinated by. If you had the subject imposed on you I think it would be incredibly difficult. Hope this helps - but my advice is to make a list of questions and ask your tutors (are you doing it through College or OU? - I feel I should know the answer to this because I'm sure you've mentioned it in another post!) because they will be best placed to answer how your particular FD is organised. Maz
Guest Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Thanks HappyMaz - will be doing it through the OU. I thought that I'd read a post somewhere on here that mentioned someone 'doing' a research project in their first year, hence the initial enquiry.
Guest Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 I think Jojo and I are on the same course actually and if I'm right then the work we have been set to do has come at the end of the first year. We have to 'think about' the area of research we are going to look at and then do general reading around it over the summer so there isn't really a break from it. The tutor said to do as much reading as possible to get as much information as possible because it would help us with the actual project which is to be submitted (I think) at the end of year 2. Additionally, I was told yesterday by the same tutor that we should still be thinking about our forthcoming portfolios and writing reflective journals on events that are happening because these may be included in the next portfolio. What with still working through the summer and having to continue with FD work, I would love to be in the position whereby I could rest, but unfortunately not. This course has literally been full time.
Guest Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Guy Robert Holmes has written a very good book on doing your early years research project - it was simple straight forward and gave me lots of ideas of what not to do and what to do. Well worth a buy but I think once you start you will really enjoy it but as someone else said the question is really worth pinning down at an early stage as you will get bogged down with too much information. Try and keep the subject narrow - good luck you will really enjoy it Nikki
HappyMaz Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 What with still working through the summer and having to continue with FD work, I would love to be in the position whereby I could rest, but unfortunately not. This course has literally been full time. I think with OU the timings are different - working to a University/college timetable enabled us to 'rest' during the holidays because all our assignment marks had to go to exam board to be ratified so all work from year one had to be submitted and marked before the end of the year. Mind you, that didn't stop me reading and cogitating on my project and downloading research papers... Maz
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