Research that Benefits Children and Families

If I possessed the means and the knowledge to conduct a research study, I would research the correlation between play based curriculum and Kindergarten "readiness". I believe in play based curriculum and believe that self-regulation skills are the number one indicator of Kinder-readiness. In imagining this study, without current restrictions and the reality of the present, I can foresee several positive contributions to the well-being of children and families as well as to the field of Early Childhood as a whole. One positive contribution to the field would be a solidifying of why play based curriculum is an effective way to prepare children for "big" school. A positive contribution to children would be a release of practices that in theory prepare children for Kindergarten, but in reality stifle their creativity and often leave children feeling "less than". For families there would be an understanding of why play is important and a release of pressure knowing their child would be more than ready for Kindergarten and benefit from play based curriculum in every developmental domain. My hope would be that there would be a heightened awareness of play based curriculum, training for professionals on how to present concepts and solidify those concepts using this type of curriculum, families would feel less more confident in play based curriculum and school just might become a place where children are present, creative and thought of as capable contributors to their learning.

Personal Research Journey

My chosen topic for the simulation is relationships. The three subtopics I chose were the effects of peer relationships, effects of continuity of care on relationships between children and teachers as well as social/emotional development and ways to foster healthy relationships between teachers and families. As I have been searching the literature, I have become more interested in relationships between children and teachers and the effects of those relationships on social/emotional development. The authors of our text talked about how sometimes the original question a person has changes as they work through the research process.
My general topic has been relationships however, when I chose my subtopics I did not anticipate the changing of question to occur so quickly. I have been searching the literature on both my original question, "how does continuity of care effect teacher child relationships and social emotional development?" and the new posed question of "how do teacher-child relationships effect social emotional development?" Both questions are very interesting to me and I seem to be struggling with focusing my question. Does anyone have any ideas on this? I feel that I am maybe "too close" to the situation and any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated. I know that it is very important to have a focused question and the two seem very closely related.
As I worked through constructing the research chart, I realized that I am not very knowledgeable within the context of the "research world". I spent a lot of time looking up definitions, taking notes and trying to understand the concepts presented. While I feel that I have gained some knowledge and understanding, I am curious if anyone has any ideas or resources that might help me through the process of entering the "research world" with more confidence.
One insight that I have gained this week is to focus the key words in my search for literature. When I began my search, the key words were too broad and I ended up with hundreds of articles to search through. When I focused the key words, I was left with articles more specific to my need.
Thank you all for any thoughts and ideas you might have!
I wish you well!