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Child Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint, First Canadian Edition

E. Mavis Hetherington, University of Virginia
Ross D. Parke, University of California
Mark Schmuckler, University of Toronto at Scarborough

Research Methods in Child Psychology

Application Questions


1		We all have had the experience of being called at home by a marketing firm to participate in a survey that they are conducting. Mentally replay your experience of being a subject. What was the topic of the survey? What questions were asked? Were some questions "sensitive" or invasive in nature (e.g., queries about your annual income!)? At the outset, did the questioner discuss with you your research rights (e.g., right to confidentiality, right to discontinue participation at any time)?



2		Most of us have played card games such as Crazy Eights or Bridge. While doing so, we typically try to guess the cards in our opponent's hand and which card our opponent might play next. In some sense, we are predicting data points and testing our hypotheses about what cards remain in the deck. We are tying to estimate the likelihood of occurrence of individual cards. Is this so different than what experimenters do while carrying out research studies? Don't experimenters also make predictions, test hypotheses, and examine data sets? Reflect on how card playing is analogous to experimental data gathering and testing.



3		Inquiring minds want to know ...! Why do developmental psychologists carry out research studies? Because they possess inquiring minds who want to answer questions of importance to them! Have you ever wondered about children - how they feel, the contents of their thoughts, why they behave as they do ...? Here, take a moment to quickly jot down 10 questions that you would like to have answered about children's development. Don't worry about whether your question sounds polished or scientifically written. Right now, we are concentrating on being creative and trying to identify our personal interests with regard to children's development. Here are two sample questions to stimulate your thinking: How do children learn to read? When do infants recognize their mother's face?



4		As you study this chapter on research methods, you will become more aware of the steps that developmental psychologists follow when conducting research to answer their questions of interest. Here, review the ten research questions that you posed. Choose one question - now, design a research study to investigate it. What research method is most suitable - a case study, an experiment, a field study ...? Will you use random assignment? Is there a control group? As you design the study, try to identify the reason for each decision that you make. If you are stumped, ask a classmate for help. Sometimes, two heads are better than one! Keep in mind that getting stumped is part of the process of learning - as you continue to study Psychology, you will learn much more about how to expertly design research studies. Finally, take a few moments to reflect on ethical practice in research, one of the most important parts of your learning in this chapter. All research, no matter how important the answer to society, must be evaluated against the rights of the participants in the research study. Take a moment to review these rights. Now, consider the research study that you have designed to answer your primary question of interest. What are the ethical issues implicit in your study? What are your obligations to the subjects? Are you proposing to carry out practices that involve deception or pose danger to participants? How will you safeguard the rights of participants? If you were a subject in such an experiment, how would you feel? Review your overall design with an eye to ethical constraints.

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