Evaluate The Adoption Process

Research Evaluation:

Summary:

My research project focused on how the adoption process can effect a person’s wellbeing. I focused on the post adoption experience and the emotions that come with finding out you are adopted. My outcome was presented in the form of an informative magazine article. I found that every person’s experience with adoption is going to be different. Some may have an excellent experience where as others may have a bad experience. I found that there are many support programs that people can contact to help them through their adoption experience. Whether they want to contact their biological family or if they want a person to talk to that knows what they are experiencing, the support programs are there to help them through the process. The research

processes I used were mainly online articles and non-fictions books.
Evaluation of research processes:
News Article Posted Online:
This research process was valid as it provided current information on the topic of adoption, particularly to do with same-sex adoptions due to the rise in same-sex marriages across Australia, as noted by Huffington Post (2017).
The information provided by this research process was mostly reliable. None of the sources of this type included any outstanding contradictions to the other sources. The majority of these sources were written fairly recently, meaning the information was current and therefore more likely to be accurate.
Published Journals:
This research process was reasonably valid, as it provided information that was often more comprehensive than articles and internet processes. This process was especially useful for finding information on specific topics within my research, such as people’s personal experiences with adoption and the differences between everyone’s experiences. However, this process meant that finding sources that were relevant to the topic was more difficult compared to other processes.
The information found from this process was highly reliable. All sources of this type were written by people qualified to discuss adoption experiences, and as such can be considered reliable sources of information. As these sources were generally written for educative purposes, it is unlikely that they were subject to any bias. A limitation to this process was that most of the sources were not particularly recent. However, as the topic is more opinionative and the information does not change a lot over time, it is unlikely that this would affect the reliability of the sources.
Non-fiction Book:
This process was highly valid in that it included a large amount of relevant, in depth information that contributed too many of the key findings of my research, such as the different processes of adoption. Furthermore, tis source provided the basis for much of the research, as many of the more specialized sources were researched as a result of the information discovered in this source. Though this was the only source of this process used in my research, it provided a comprehensive view of adoption processes and post adoption effects.
This process was highly reliable because, as a published source, it was likely to have undergone extensive editing and fact checking before being released. Furthermore, the authors of this source are all experts in the field of adoption and psychology. As the primary purpose of the book is to inform and educate, it is highly unlikely that the information provided was subject to any bias, especially as there is no apparent reason to be bias. A limitation of the source is that the information is not as recent as some from the other processes.
Interview:
This process was highly valid as the information came from a person who has been adopted and is therefore a primary source of information on adoption. They have experienced adoption first hand and have been able to inform me of things that an expert in the adoption and psychology worlds may not fully understand as they have not experienced it.
Evaluation of decisions made in response to challenges and opportunities:
One challenge that I had to face in my research was that much of the information was not relevant to today as it was released many years ago and the laws and regulations to do with adoption have changed. I endeavoured to overcome this challenge by considering a range of credible sources, which all reached the same or similar conclusions. However, the nature of my topic also provided me with the opportunity to more fully consider and asses the relativeness of the information presented by a range of sources.
An opportunity that was provided to me in my research project was knowing someone that had been adopted and has gone through the adoption process. I interviewed a long-time friend about her adoption experience. She gave me information that I couldn’t find just looking at articles on the internet.
Furthermore I was challenged by the fact that I was unable to find a lot of relevant information about Australian adoptions. There is not much information about adoption in Australia as adoption is not as common here then it is in countries like the United States of America and England.
Another challenge that I have faced that could also be taken as an opportunity is that I have had three different teachers over the course of my research project. This has been a bit of a hit or miss as I have had three people tell me different things about my research. It has been hard because I have had to change many things due to the teachers having a different opinion, but it has also been a bit of a blessing as I have been able to get three different people’s opinion to take into consideration for my final product.
Evaluation of the quality of the research outcome:
My outcome was based on secondary research, as I was unable to find many suitable primary sources of information.

However, as stated above, this did not necessarily affect the quality of my outcome as the secondary sources I provided were sufficient in producing the information centred on my key findings. As my topic is fact based, I had to make sure the sources I used were credible to ensure the accuracy of the outcome. As such, I have mostly been able to answer my question successfully. However, there were areas that were not covered due to the size restrictions on the outcome.

My outcome could definitely be used by the general public as it is very informative about the whole adoption process in Australia. If someone was looking to adopt reading through my outcome would become very useful to give them a better understanding of what the adoption process is not only before adopting the child, but also during the process and post adoption. As some people may not be aware of the effects adoption can have on people’s wellbeing, my outcome puts all of the information they would need to understand the effects and how they can approach them.

Conclusion:
My research project has been a long and tiring experience. I have been able to research how the adoption process can affect a person’s wellbeing. Through using online articles, non-fiction books, published journals and an interview, I have been able to conduct an outcome to answer my question of “To what extent does the adoption process affect a person’s wellbeing?” This has been a hard assignment as there is not a lot of information about Australian adoption processes. Throughout the six months I spent answering this question I have found out that adoption is a long process. Adoption is something you put your whole life into. I have presented my outcome as a magazine article, to address the serious topic in a less formal way. So if a person wanted to find out more about the adoption process and the affects adoption can have on a person’s wellbeing, they can read the magazine article without having a very formal documentary feel.