Research in Early Childhood
- Andrea Nolan - Victoria University, Australia
- Kym Macfarlane - Griffith University, Australia
- Jennifer Cartmel - Griffith University, Australia
- Liz Brooker, Reader in Early Childhood, University of London Institute of Education
In this innovative guide to research in early childhood, the research process is presented as a journey and this book is your roadmap. The authors take you step-by-step through the practical considerations and complexities of undertaking research with young children featuring the real-world research journeys of two student researchers. Their authentic stories describe the emotions, challenges and moments of exhilaration involved in completing a research project.
The book gives guidance on all aspects of the research process, including:
- selecting a topic
- ethical considerations
- collecting your data
- analysing your data
- disseminating your findings.
This book will be an invaluable guide to students of Early Childhood completing a research project or writing a thesis or dissertation.
'Andrea Nolan and her colleagues have written a uniquely wise and reader-friendly account of all aspects of researching early childhood. Unlike some similar-sounding texts, this is not a dumbed-down account, a 'beginner's guide to writing your research project', but a serious consideration of the whole sequence of undertaking research in the field, which tackles both the big issues and the difficult terminology in a clear and accessible way. It achieves this through the device of accompanying a very disparate group of researchers, from undergraduates to doctoral students and early-career professionals, through the stages of their research journey, from developing their early ideas through to writing up their findings. The featured researchers describe their repeated dilemmas and the decisions they have to make as they design and conduct their studies. These decisions are shown as embedded within much larger constructs about the nature of childhood and the appropriate forms of provision for young children and families - issues which are both political and ethical. The authors describe both the broad issues and the small, individual, decisions which lie within them with a depth of understanding which ensures that using the book can be a pleasure as well as a task for researchers as they set out to construct their own new knowledge about early childhood'
-Liz Brooker
Reader in Early Childhood, University of London Institute of Education
This is a useful addition to the bookshelf of texts on research into early childhood, and is particularly aimed at a readership of students working towards higher degrees. Each chapter is clearly organised, starting with the key questions that will be dealt with in the chapter, sub-headings to enable the reader to keep track of the narrative and a set of ‘reflection point’ questions for the reader as they finish the chapter…A distinctive strength of the book is the way in which the authors use aspects of students’ reflections on the research enterprise as the students developed their projects. These exemplify the key points that are being made. For two doctoral students, Lara using qualitative and Amy using quantitative methods, we are able to follow them through the whole journey, from choosing a research topic, to their final reflections and discussion of their postdoctoral lives. This gives a refreshing slant on the topics discussed.
A well structures, well written book which is particularly helpful to students in preparing for their dissertation. Accessible and helpful to students
This is a great book especially for those who are at the very early stage of research conduction in the field of early childhood. Its simple and clear language and several examples make it really helpful for students conducting research in early childhood. It could be an ideal guide for doctoral students and tutors at a jounior research career stage in the field.
A comprehensive guide taking the reader through the research process. The text is direct and accessible.
Highly supportive text for understanding the process of and journey of childhood research. Careful consideration is given to the challenges of undertaking research with young children. Particularly useful for ethical considerations.
Informative and useful of the key questions ensure that students can use these as a prompt as progress through their research journey.
This book is very helpful for students undertaking small scale research projects within settings
I would recommend that students who are interested in carrying out research in Early Childhood purchase a copy of this because it is appropriate as a tool to firstly understanding the terminology used in research and secondly very useful in deciding on which methods would they could apply to a research project that they are interested in carrying out themselves.
A useful book which has supported Masters level students in practitioner enquiry and during their thesis.
Sage College Publishing
