Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-1 Chapter 2: Child Development 2.1 Doing Child-Development Research 2.2 Child-Development Research and Family Policy MODULES
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-2 Module 2.1 Doing Child-Development Research LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Discuss how scientists measure topics of interest in children’s development. 2. List what general research designs are used in child- development research and note which designs are unique to child-development research. 3. Detail what ethical procedures researchers must follow. 4. Understand how researchers communicate results to other scientists.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-3 Measurement in Child- Development Research Systematic Observation: naturalistic observation and structured observation. Sampling Behaviour with Tasks. Self Reports include written questionnaires or interviews.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-4 Measurement in Child- Development Research Measures should be both reliable and valid. Samples of children who participate in research should be representative of the population of interest.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-5 General Designs for Research Correlational studies look at relations as they exist in the real world. These real-world relations are expressed as a correlation coefficient, r, that ranges from -1 to 1. Do not measure causation but association between variables.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-6 Three Interpretations of a Correlation Coefficient
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-7 General Designs for Research Experiments involve manipulating key factors that an investigator thinks are important. The manipulated factor is the independent variable; the behaviour measured is the dependent variable. Random assignment of subjects to experimental groups. In field experiments, the researcher manipulates independent variables in a natural setting.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-8 Designs for Studying Development Longitudinal study: the same individuals are tested repeatedly. Microgenetic study: children are tested repeatedly over a span of days or weeks. Sequential design: groups of children born in different time periods (cohorts) are studied over time. Cross-sectional study: children of different ages are tested.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-9 Comparison of Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Studies Longitudinal DesignCross-Sectional Design
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-10 Ethical Responsibilities Minimize risks to research participants. Describe the research to potential participants (informed consent). Avoid deception if possible. Keep results anonymous or confidential.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-11 Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Published the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-12 Principles of the Canadian Code of Ethics For Psychologists Respect for the dignity of persons. Responsible caring. Integrity in relationships. Responsibility to society.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-13 Communicating Research Results Research results are reported in scientific journals specializing in child development following peer review. Results of individual studies will be reported in the Focus on Research features. Converging evidence from many studies is necessary.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-14 Module 2.2 Child-Development Research and Family Policy LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Describe why child-development researchers recently have become more involved in designing social policy. 2. State how child-development researchers influence family policy. 3. Discuss how concern for family policy has improved child-development research.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-15 Family Policy Family policy refers to laws and regulations that directly or indirectly affect families with children.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-16 Child-development researchers role in designing social policy (1) Results of child-development research can improve children’s lives (ie. Effects of daycare on Children). Research can help changing families decide what is best for their children.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-17 Child-development researchers role in designing social policy (2) Research can help children who face hurdles to healthy development. Evidence-based practice uses methods of intervention and assessment proven effective through empirical methods.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-18 Ways to Influence Social Policy Build understanding of children’s development. Be advocates for children. Evaluate policies and programs. Develop a model program.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-19 An Emphasis on Policy Implications Improves Research Focusing on policy implications leads to improved theory and research. Concern with family policy has improved research methods (quasi-experimental designs).
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada2-20 Conclusions A variety of research methods may be used in the study of children. The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Parental consent and child assent are important prior to data collection. Studies published in peer-reviewed journals form the backbone of scientific knowledge about child development.