Over the semester I have learned to be a better researcher. I have learned that there will be times you fail in your research and you have to find solutions to the problems. At the beginning of the semester, I had no prior knowledge or practice with writing an academic research paper. Over time in class, I learned that there are multiple steps in writing an academic research paper that includes different sections like; creating a research survey question, writing a literature review with multiple academic sources, data and methods, and qualitative and quantitative findings. When I first started this semester I had no clue that there were so many steps that went into research. For example, for our class to receive accurate data we had to send out surveys so far in advance to ensure we would have enough time to receive and analyze the filled-out surveys.
When selecting sources for a literature review I confirm that the source is reliable and credible. First, I would confirm that the source was peer-reviewed. Then I checked the publication date, author, and cited sources the author used. I decided which sources to use and which sources not to use depending on the relevance to my research. The way I did this was by checking first the abstract to ensure the source was related to the research.
With all research comes challenges. If you do not encounter any challenges or issues while researching then there is something wrong or missing. I had a few problems while doing research and that included finding sources that were relevant to my research topic since it was such a narrow topic. One solution to this that I found to be helpful was when looking for sources I used keywords as well as specific words or phrases. Another challenge I encountered was analyzing qualitative and quantitative data because I had never done that before. I asked for help from my peers in the class as well as the professor. Having multiple people explain something was helpful because each person would explain the data in a new way which opened my eyes to understand it better.
Coming into the semester I was assuming that this was going to be my most difficult course. This was because I had heard this course was very difficult to pass with a decent grade. I would say that my attitudes and perceptions have changed since the first day of class. I feel more confident in going forward with researching anything that interests me. My professor guided our class in our research and helped us every step of the way. This was a tremendous relief because some of the material was confusing and hard to understand. I feel more confident in my research skills after learning how to research and evaluate data.
When I was first told to “think like a researcher” I knew that meant I had to think outside of the box. I had to be a critical thinker and use context clues when researching. I would describe thinking like a researcher by paying attention to details. If you pay attention to detail it allows you to be more open-minded and to see multiple perspectives. Being open-minded allows researchers to adapt and change their thinking based on emerging evidence and different points of view. Research often involves setbacks and challenges. Thinking like a researcher means being persistent in times of obstacles, learning from failures, and continually looking for new ideas. Thinking like a researcher is a mindset that fosters a commitment to uncovering new knowledge and contributing to the knowledge of an idea.
Overall, this semester has shaped me into becoming a better researcher and student. The knowledge I have learned and retained will not only contribute to my academic career but also my career after college. Research has helped me be more open-minded to different possibilities.