Doing Developmental Research A Practical Guide

Addressing practical issues rarely covered in methods texts, this user-friendly, jargon-free book helps students and beginning researchers plan infant and child development studies and get them done. The author provides step-by-step guidance for getting involved in a developmental laboratory and crafting effective research questions and proposals. Tips on recruiting study participants cover access issues--such as how to overcome language and cultural barriers--and include helpful sample scripts. The book offers time management strategies, pointers for organizing and communicating data, and a roadmap of the journal publication process, complete with an annotated sample article. Numerous concrete examples, checklists, worksheets, and exercises are featured. Reproducible forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Pedagogical Features
*Chapter subheadings written as questions to help students quickly find the answers they need.
*Key tips and checklists for managing each phase of a study.
*Exercises that build core research skills.
*Annotated sample journal article with commentary on the writing and publication process.

Tricia Striano, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Hunter College of the City University of New York. Her research on infant and child social and cognitive development has been recognized with the Sofja Kovalevskaja Research Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and has been supported with grants from the German Research Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Formerly, she served as Director of the Independent Research Group on Cultural Ontogeny at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Director of the Independent Research Group on Neurocognition and Development at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Leipzig, Germany. The author of over 100 research papers and edited volumes on social cognition, Dr. Striano serves on the editorial board of Infant Behavior and Development.

1. Selecting a Laboratory2. Your First Days and Weeks in the Laboratory3. Time Management4. Developing Your Ideas and Immersing Yourself in the Culture of Research5. Developing Your Research Question and Proposal6. Recruitment and Access7. Organizing and Planning Your Research8. Strategies for Statistics9. Planning to Write Up Your Research10. Selecting a Journal and Establishing Authorship11. Communicating Your ResearchIndexAbout the Author