Andrews University
School of Education
REFLECTING ON RESEARCH
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Leadership Program
by
Janine Lim
August 2009
This file is copyrighted (2010) and a part of my Leadership Portfolio found at
http://www.janinelim.com/leadportfolio. It is shared for your learning use only.
Introduction
The research competencies in the Leadership Program were the most interesting
and intriguing to me. I came into the program knowing that research was a weakness and
began my work in this area immediately with a statistics class in the fall after orientation.
In this reflection paper, I share how my learning expanded my understanding of research
and ignited a passion for conducting research.
Along the path of my learning about research, I discovered the value of reading
and evaluating research to inform and improve my practice. My theme for my growth in
the Leadership Program has been “out on a lim” as I continue to stretch beyond what
seems possible. In my studies, I found the value of research to undergird my practice, my
going “out on a lim”. Research is the branch that supports my practice, whether it is my
own research or others’ research. In this reflection paper I share how my understanding
of research is changing my work and thinking.
Finally, the reflection paper ends by looking into the future of my research, and
my future learning and thinking about the nature of knowledge.
Reading Research
Learning to read research has affected how I evaluate information, understand and
apply research, and create new projects and programs based on research and theory.
My connection to reading research to apply to my work and practice began with
becoming familiar with journals, article databases, and sources of published research
(Galvan, 2006). I learned the difference between an opinion article and a research article
1
(Hart, 2003) which has significantly changed how I think about the information I...