Early Childhood Studies Assignment Sample

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Introduction

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The research method is defined as the ways of collecting the data and analysing it to attain the objectives of the business. For the successful attainment of the objectives it is necessary that the proper research methods are utilised so that it can be attained easily and effectively. The reason underlying the fact is that when the overall study is accomplished then automatically it will result in the attainment of the objectives of the business. The current study is based on the research problem of analysing the role of the environment in the development of a child. Thus, in analysing the particular research problem there are two different types of research methods which will be helpful. It includes the use of a focus group and the observation method. Both these methods will be assistive in managing the work well and as a result of this, the overall objectives can be attained easily and effectively.

Main Body

Describing the research method 1

The focus group is a method of collecting data under the qualitative method. It is a type of method within which the group interview is taken. Within this tool, approximately 8-12 people are present and all of them have some common characteristics and details which assist in gathering more reliable data. In the present case of analysing the role of the environment, the focus group interview can be implemented to analyse the topic of the research. It is very necessary for the researcher they effectively create the questions so that the overall objectives of the study can be attained well (What is a focus group? 2024). This is a method which particularly focuses on bringing together a small group of people to answer the questions relating to the research topic. It assists the researcher in managing and collecting the data in a better and more effective manner. The reason underlying the fact is that the research question includes an evaluation of the role of the environment and for this, the interview will be taken with the parents. The reason underlying the fact is that when the environment of the children is cordial then it will assist the child in developing better. On the other hand, in case the environment is not good then it might create a negative impact on the growth and development of the child. To evaluate the research topic, the use of the focus group will be beneficial as it will include asking questions to the respondents and accordingly the appropriate data will be gathered.

Further, the focus group is a method which is used to evaluate and gather the opinions and views of the respondents relating to the research question. In the case of focus groups open ended questions are used and it is a good method of qualitative research. This method does not include the use of facts, figures and statistics. Thus, it majorly focuses on the qualitative aspects of the research objectives and findings only. This method aims to focus on the qualitative information only and will assist the effective working in a better manner (AKYILDIZ and Ahmed, 2021). This includes undertaking the respondents who have some common demographic traits and also belong to some common background. The questions are asked to them and then the results are recorded in the form of a transcript. This is a technique in which the answer of every participant is recorded in the transcript which is then used for evaluating the research questions.

The sort of data that this method aims to generate is qualitative only. The reason underlying the fact is that when the research question is based on qualitative information only. The reason underlying the fact is that when the overall research topic is based on qualitative research only and for this the focus group method will include the use of qualitative information only. In the current case, the data will be gathered in the form of an interview transcript. After that, the data will be evaluated based on the common answers and thereafter it will be supported with secondary sources. The support of secondary sources will make the findings more effective and authentic. In addition to this, the opinions and viewpoints of other authors and scholars will also be included within the study and will try to make the work more effective. Thus, compliance with the focus group is beneficial for the researcher because it is very cheap and quick (Yayeh, 2021). Also, the primary data is collected with the help of this method and as a result of this, the study is more effective and efficient. For instance, in the current case of data analysis, the researcher will ask questions from the parents as they know well how the environment affects their child’s development. In case the environment is not cordial then it will affect the learning of the child negatively. On the contrary in case the environment is good then the child will grow well and will develop into a good person.

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Describing the research method 2

With the focus group, another research method for the collection of the data is the observation method. The observational method is a type of research method which includes collecting the data by observing the people and their behaviour. This observation includes the analysis of the behaviour and the events which take place. In this method, the researcher lists down all the findings from the observation and then evaluates the data well. For this compliance with the effective observation skills needs to be present within the researcher (Busetto, Wick and Gumbinger, 2020). The reason underlying the fact is that when the appropriate situation is observed then it results in better and effective output. This is another type of qualitative method for the collection of data. This is a method wherein the researcher observes the situation and then according to it analyses the situation and tries to attain the objectives of the study.

This is a type of method which includes the structured non-participant observation. Within this method, the major emphasis is levied on following the positivist philosophy of working. It is particularly because of this reason that this philosophy focuses on making observations and trying to prove the objectives correct. Within this method, the researcher can place the children in a particular situation and then observe how every child reacts. On the other hand, the researcher can also spend a whole day with the children and observe their activities and how the environment is affecting their working capability (Dekker et al, 2021). This method will be easier as it will assist the researcher in observing how well the child is performing and whether the environment is creating any negative impact on the development of the child or not. It will assist the researcher in managing the work well by observing the child and trying to evaluate the impact of the environment on the growth and development of the child.

With the help of the observation method, the type of data which will be gathered includes non-numeric information like the behaviour of the child, their activities and other related observations. All these observations assist the researcher in evaluating the findings and as a result of this, the overall objective will be attained (Nobrega et al, 2021). Moreover, when the observation is implemented then it will result in better output as with the help of the rational skills, the researcher will evaluate the situation and as a result of this, the overall working capability and the objectives will be attained well. Thus, it is mandatory for the researcher they effectively observe the working patterns and trends among the child so that the overall objective of the current research can be attained well.

Further, within the observation methods, all the data observed is recorded first and after that, the data is compared for every child. With the help of the evaluation, the findings are generalised and are further supported by secondary sources (Kong, Ho and Jackson, 2021). For example, if one child is agitated then noise takes place. Then this finding is evaluated for every child whether other children are also impacted due to high noise or not. In case the majority of the children are impacted by the noise then it will be generalised that the children are negatively impacted in case more noise is in the environment. Hence, the evaluation of the research topic can also be implemented with the help of the good observation method as well.

Comparing both the research methods

Regards to the current situation of analysing the impact of the environment on the development and growth of the child includes the use of either a focus group or the observation method. Both methods have their importance and it is mandatory for them to effectively utilise the appropriate research methods so that the overall objective can be attained well. In comparison, it is clear that the focus group includes only the answers provided by the respondent or the research participant (Baden et al, 2022). On the other hand, observation is a method within which the researcher has to come up with the answers on their own. The focus group is more beneficial as it will include the analysis of the answers provided by the respondents only. Against this, the observation technique is based completely on the rational thinking capability of the researcher. Furthermore, on comparison of both methods, it was also evaluated that the use of the observation method will be more efficient. The reason underlying the fact is that when the overall working will be observed then better results will be provided.

It is due to the reason that when the questions will be asked to the parents then the appropriate answers will not be provided as the parent can only see whether the child is learning or not. On the other hand, when the researcher tries to observe the working then it will assist the researcher in analysing the appropriate facts by making the observation better. The researcher will observe in a better way in comparison to the questions being asked of their parents. Furthermore, when the overall work is observed correctly and concisely then the general work and findings can be provided within the study (Hartman, Van der Harst and Vilela, 2020). Also, the researcher is in a position to decide and arrange all the findings according to their convenience and requirements. Thus, this assists the researcher in managing the work well and trying to determine the fact that whether the work is better and whether the objectives of the current study are attainable or not.

Along with this, with the help of the comparison, it is clear that the use of focus groups helps in collecting large and rich data relating to the study topic. Also, the data will be collected quickly and in very little time (Krueger et.al, 2020). On the other hand, in the case of observation, it is difficult for the researcher to summarise the common data. The reason behind the fact is that every child is different and not every child needs to react similarly to the same stimuli. Thus, generalising the facts for a large population by observing a small sample is not appropriate. The reason underlying the fact is that when the sample is small then it cannot be generalised to the larger population. Also, another point of difference is that in the case of observation, there are chances that the researcher becomes biased but in the case of the focus group the researcher has to evaluate what the respondent has stated. Also, both methods are appropriate by the situation. In the current case of evaluating the role and impact of the environment within the growth and development of the child, the observation method will be more appropriate.

conclusion

In the end, it is inferred that compliance with the appropriate research method is beneficial. The reason underlying the fact is that when the research method selected is not appropriate then it will affect the completion of the whole study. The above study evaluated the analysis of the focus group and the observation for the analysis of the research topic. This is particularly because of the reason that when the appropriate method is used then it will be assisting the researcher in attaining the objectives well.

References

Books and Journals

• AKYILDIZ, S. T., & Ahmed, K. H. (2021). An overview of qualitative research and focus group discussion. International Journal of Academic Research in Education, 7(1), 1-15.
• Baden, C., Pasitselska, O., Aharoni, T., & Tenenboim-Weinblatt, K. (2022). Serial focus groups: A longitudinal design for studying interactive discourse. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 16094069221118766.
• Busetto, L., Wick, W., & Gumbinger, C. (2020). How to use and assess qualitative research methods. Neurological Research and practice, 2, 1-10.
• Dekker, A. D., Wissing, M. B., Ulgiati, A. M., Bijl, B., van Gool, G., Groen, M. R., ... & Waninge, A. (2021). Dementia in people with severe or profound intellectual (and multiple) disabilities: Focus group research into relevance, symptoms and training needs. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(6), 1602-1617.
• Hartman, K., Van der Harst, P., & Vilela, R. (2020). Continuous focal group follows operated by a drone enable analysis of the relation between sociality and position in a group of male Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus). Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 283.
• Kong, S. T., Ho, P. S. Y., & Jackson, S. (2021). Doing being observed: Experimenting with collaborative focus group analysis in post-Umbrella Movement Hong Kong. Sociological Research Online, 26(3), 485-504.
• Krueger, A. E., Pollmann, K., Fronemann, N., & Foucault, B. (2020). Guided user research methods for experience design—a new approach to focus groups and cultural probes. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 4(3), 43.
• Nobrega, S., Ghaziri, M. E., Giacobbe, L., Rice, S., Punnett, L., & Edwards, K. (2021). Feasibility of virtual focus groups in program impact evaluation. International journal of qualitative methods, 20, 16094069211019896.
• Yayeh, F. A. (2021). Focus Group Discussion as a data collection tool in Economics. Daagu International Journal of Basic & Applied Research-DIJBAR. Volume3, Issue-1, pp (52-61).
• Online
• What is a focus group? 2024. Online. Available through: <https://www.b2binternational.com/research/methods/faq/what-is-a-focus-group/>