The topic studied within the frame of my research is the physical punishment of children as a form of domestic violence. The decision to choose this particular topic is related to its great social significance. Nowadays, people in both developed and developing countries still use corporal punishment as an educational measure, whereas many researchers believe it to be a form of family abuse (Fréchette, Zoratti, & Romano, 2015).
Apart from that, it is possible to expand the knowledge on the nature of corporal punishment of children as the phenomenon is underresearched, especially in economically disadvantaged countries (Breen, Daniels, & Tomlinson, 2015). After devoting many hours to studying different aspects of the topic, I still find it interesting. To me, the attitude to corporal punishment can be regarded as a litmus test helping to learn more about intercultural differences in connection with parenting styles. As for the areas that I would like to know more about, it would be interesting to expand the research to determine the most effective ways to promote the use of non-violent disciplinary methods.
The necessity to work on the research paper has helped me to develop and improve various research skills. Corporal punishment of children is not among the most popular research topics. Therefore, it was important to improve my data collection and analytical skills to choose only current and relevant sources. It follows from my experience that the development of proper research strategies should include the use of a multifaceted approach.
In addition, during the stage of pre-research and topic selection, close attention should be paid to the practical significance of potential research results. Another thing that I understood during the work relates to the principles of source assessment. The use of abstracts and keywords to evaluate sources and improve an outline is a helpful and time-saving practice. Taking into account that the practical significance of research heavily depends on the quality of sources, it is pivotal to use various tools such as the hierarchy of evidence during data collection.
I have implemented some recommendations provided by my classmates. The changes that have been made primarily refer to the clarity of definitions and the presence of minor misprints. These changes have been implemented in order to make the final paper easier to read and improve logical connections between important facts and beliefs related to physical punishment. However, it is clear that peer feedback should not be used without thinking because many recommendations are just aimed at reflecting reviewers’ beliefs that are always subjective.
Personally, I believe that the use of peer assessment practices is beneficial both to instructors and students as it helps to develop critiquing skills and share experience. Reviewing the papers written by my classmates helped me to understand other points of view and, which is also important, learn more about their personalities by analyzing their scientific interests. From objectivity considerations, students avoid including their personal opinions in research papers. However, as it follows from the quality of other papers, many students have chosen topics that are of personal significance to them. Due to reviewing the works by other students, I understand that the significance of many social problems is underestimated.
Reviewing papers written by my classmates has also helped me to learn more about writing strategies. The difference between the classmates’ approaches to writing becomes obvious when it comes to the way of how they structure their works. For instance, some students analyze various aspects of research topics separately and structure the papers based on this division.
References
Breen, A., Daniels, K., & Tomlinson, M. (2015). Children’s experiences of corporal punishment: A qualitative study in an urban township of South Africa. Child Abuse & Neglect, 48, 131–139.
Fréchette, S., Zoratti, M., & Romano, E. (2015). What is the link between corporal punishment and child physical abuse? Journal of Family Violence, 30(2), 135–148.