Applied Research in Child and Adolescent Development A

Practical Guide 1st Edition

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Copyright © 2011. Psychology Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S.

Contents
Preface xi

Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Valerie Maholmes, PhD
Carmela G. Lomonaco, PhD

Section I Getting Started With Applied

Research on Child and Adolescent
Development
Chapter 2 Getting Started: Answering Your Frequently Asked
Questions About Applied Research on Child and
Adolescent Development 7
Dara R. Blachman, PhD
Layla Esposito, PhD

Introduction 7
Getting Started in Applied Developmental Research 9
Conducting Policy-Relevant Research 15
Conducting Research in Applied Settings 17
Interdisciplinary Collaborations 21
Disseminating Applied Research Findings 23
Funding for Early Career Investigators 25
Bridging the Gap Between Research, Policy and Practice 29
Conclusion 34
Acknowledgments 34
References 34

Chapter 3 Applied Developmental Science:

or applicable copyright law.

Definitions and Dimensions 37

Richard M. Lerner, PhD

Introduction 37
Applied Developmental Science: An Overview 38
Applied Developmental Science: A Brief History 42
v
 vi ■ Contents
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Instantiating Applied Developmental Science With

Children and Adolescents 48
An Applied Developmental Science Model for Studying
and Enhancing Youth Development Programs 50
Conclusion 53
Acknowledgments 54
References 54

Chapter 4 Letting Your Questions Guide the Way:

Framing Applied Questions in Child and Adolescent
Development Research 59
Pamela M. Cole, PhD

Introduction 59
What Is the Role of Emotions in Mental Health? 60
How I Became Interested in Studying the
Development of Emotion Regulation 62
Building on Knowledge and Charting New Directions
in Your Research 66
Conclusion 74
References 75

Section II Challenges and Issues Conducting

Applied Research on Child and
Adolescent Development
Chapter 5 Designing Applied Studies for Special Populations:
Establishing and Maintaining Trust in Research
Relationships 81
Paul Spicer, PhD

Introduction 81
or applicable copyright law.

Applied Research in American Indian and Alaska

Native Communities 83
Engaging Communities to Design Research in
Applied Developmental Science 85
 Contents ■ vii
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Frequently Asked Questions 94

Conclusion 96
Questions, Additional Considerations, and Research
Resources 97
Acknowledgments 97
References 97

Chapter 6 Challenges and Issues in Designing Applied Research 101

Robert B. McCall, PhD
Christina J. Groark, PhD

Introduction 101
A Brief, Personally Interpreted, Methodological History 104
Benefits and Limitations of Gold Standard
Methodology for Applied and Practice Research 105
Issues in Working in the Community 112
Applied Research Designs and Strategies 116
Obtaining Tenure for Applied and Practice Research 122
Conclusion 123
References 123
Further Reading 127

Chapter 7 Ethical Issues and Challenges in Applied Research in

Child and Adolescent Development 131
Celia Fisher, PhD
Adam L. Fried, PhD

Introduction 131
Authors’ Background 132
Relational Ethics 134
Co-Learning: An Interactive Process of Learning and
Teaching 135
Participant Perspectives: Scientist and Participants as
Moral Agents 136
or applicable copyright law.

Case Example: Goodness-of-Fit for Research With

Developmentally Disabled Adults 145
Conclusion 147
Resources 148
References 149
 viii ■ Contents
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Section III Conducting Research in Applied Settings

Chapter 8 Conducting Translational Research on Child
Development in Community Settings: What You
Need to Know and Why It Is Worth the Effort 155
Nancy G. Guerra, PhD
Melinda S. Leidy, PhD

Introduction 155
The Big Picture: Connecting Research and Practice 156
Getting Started: Is Translational Research in
Community Settings Right for You? 157
Theory Matters 160
Building Community Support for
Theory-Driven Research 160
Engaging Community Partners: Building
Relationships and Negotiating Responsibilities 162
How to Get Funding for Your Work 167
What About Internal Validity? 168
Lessons Learned 170
Conclusion 173
References 173

Chapter 9 Applied Research in School Settings:

Common Challenges and Practical Suggestions 175
David J. Schonfeld, MD

Introduction 175
Selecting the Research Question 176
Engaging the School Community 178
Obtaining Institutional Approval 180
Gaining Teacher Support 182
Maintaining Support of the Full School Community 184
Considering the Long-Term Implications 186
or applicable copyright law.

Challenges and Compromises in Study Design 187

Active Versus Passive Consent 187
Interventions Delivered by School Staff 189
Nonintervention Control Groups 191
Some Additional Obstacles 193
Remaining Flexible and Creative 196
Conclusion 197
 Contents ■ ix
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References 197
Additional Resources 198

Chapter 10 Conducting Applied Research in Child and

Adolescent Settings: Why to Do It and How 199
Lyndee M. Knox, PhD

Introduction 199
Where Does Clinical Research Fit in the Larger
Research Continuum? 199
What Is a “Clinical” Setting and Why Conduct
Research There? 201
Approaches to Conducting Research
in Clinical Settings 206
Important Considerations About Working In and
With Clinical Settings 210
Important Academic Considerations for Working in
and With Clinical Settings 216
Conclusion 220
References 220

Section IV How to Make the Most of Your

Applied Research
Chapter 11 Getting Funded in Applied Child and Adolescent
Development Research: The Art and Science of
Applying for Grants 225
Daniel B. Berch, PhD

Introduction: Why Grants Are Important and How to

Get Started in Seeking Research Support 225
My Own Career Experiences in Research Policy and
Grants Administration 228
or applicable copyright law.

Brief Overview of Related Literature 228

Talking to Funders 229
Learning About How Funding Agencies Develop
Research Agendas 233
Budgeting for Time, Space, and Other Resources 235
Top 10 Steps for Preparing a Competitive Proposal 237
Conclusion 241
 x ■ Contents
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Relevant Grant-Related Web Sites, Funding

Opportunities, and Other Resources 241
Notes 243
References 244

Chapter 12 Communicating and Disseminating Your Applied

Research Findings to the Public 247
Mary Ann McCabe, PhD
Andrea Browning, MPA

Introduction 247
Challenges 248
Sharing Research for Practice 250
Sharing Research for Policy 252
Sharing Research With the Public Through the Media 257
Conclusion 261
References 264

Chapter 13 “I Am Pleased to Accept Your Manuscript”: Publishing

Your Research on Child and Adolescent Development 267
Lynn S. Liben, PhD

Introduction 267
Motivating and Framing Your Manuscript 269
Writing, Revising, and Revising Again 275
Demystifying and Managing the Review Process 284
Reading and Responding to Editorial Decisions 293
In the Years Ahead 301
Acknowledgments 302
References 302

Chapter 14 Conclusion and Future Directions 303

Valerie Maholmes, PhD
Carmela G. Lomonaco, PhD
or applicable copyright law.

Acknowledgments 307
References 307

Author Index 309

Subject Index 315
Copyright © 2011. Psychology Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S.

Preface
Basic research holds the promise of yielding scientific advances
and discoveries regarding conditions that affect children and ado-
lescents. To reduce the burden of these conditions, research find-
ings must be translated into practical application. In biomedical
research this translation leads to tools and strategies to improve
clinical practice. In research designed to understand and eluci-
date child and adolescent development, these translations lead to
applications that promote health and well-being in the specific
contexts within which children grow, learn, and develop.
Despite the growing body of work on the importance of con-
textual influences on development, questions remain, particularly
among early career researchers, as to how best study these influ-
ences on children and adolescents. What are the most appropri-
ate designs and what happens when there are challenges to ideal
research designs? The authors in this volume address these and
other questions by discussing the challenges they have encoun-
tered conducting their own applied research. They each put for-
ward approaches, definitions, theories and concepts about applied
research based on their unique and varied experiences. They refer
to translational research (Guerra & Leidy, Knox), applied research
(Spicer, Schonfeld), practice research (McCall & Groark), and
developmental science (Lerner, McCabe, Liben) as a way to
underscore the importance of bringing scientific evidence to bear
on the compelling public health issues affecting children and ado-
lescents and in so doing, create effective strategies designed to
improve their developmental outcomes.
By assembling this volume, we aim to encourage thoughtful
and provocative discussions about the most efficient and effec-
tive ways to use theory and appropriate methodology to develop
practices, interventions, or materials to affect positively the lives
of children and adolescents. We recognize that the social, educa-
or applicable copyright law.

tional, economic, and public health issues confronting children

and adolescents can not be addressed by a single disciplinary per-
spective or methodological approach. Strategies and insights from
multiple disciplines are needed to capture the essence of phenom-
ena observed in naturalistic settings and translate these obser-
vations into culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate

xi
 xii ■ Preface
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interventions and strategies. The authors draw upon diverse per-

spectives ranging from anthropology, pediatrics, sociology, and
psychology to ask and attempt to answer key developmental ques-
tions from different scientific vantage points.
This book is organized in four sections. The first section,
Getting Started with Applied Research on Development, eluci-
dates the reciprocal process between basic and applied research
by using questions most salient to the applied researcher as the
focal point for inquiry and analysis. As early career investigators,
Blachman and Esposito lead Section I of the book by respond-
ing directly to questions most frequently asked among their con-
temporaries and provide advice for guiding their peers through
the obstacles and opportunities for launching careers in applied
research. Topics discussed include questions like these:

◾◾ How do I gain a firmer grounding in the developmental per-

spective, including how psycho-social and bio-social devel-
opmental processes interact with proximate environments,
such as family, school, and peers?
◾◾ How can researchers, even if in a position of “authority”
take measures to ensure that the “voice” of the participants
is heard, even at the level of planning the data collection
methods?
◾◾ How do I frame my applied questions within a developmen-
tal paradigm and integrate multiple methods and data sets
to investigate young adult development?
◾◾ Because I am early in my career, I am framing questions
using academic processes more than community inputs.
I feel that I shouldn’t stray too far from my academically
defined questions, or I risk slowing progress towards tenure.
However, I want my community relationships to be pro-
ductive for the community, not just for my academic career.
How do I negotiate this?

Chapter 3 provides an overview of applied developmental sci-

or applicable copyright law.

ence and a theoretical framework upon which investigators can

build ideas for their research. Lerner refers to applied research
in child and adolescent development as the utilization of behav-
ioral and social science theories to optimize the course of devel-
opment. He emphasizes that the application of developmental
science is predicated on developmental systems models of human
 Preface ■ xiii
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development. These models stress that the basic process of human

development involves mutually influential relations between chil-
dren and contexts, and emphasize the potential plasticity of these
relations. This, in turn, enables an optimistic view to be taken to
promote positive development. Pamela Cole’s chapter (Chapter 4)
chronicles her pre- and post-doctoral experiences and discusses
how questions that arose in the conduct of her studies put her
on an inquisitive path toward understanding emotions and emo-
tion regulation. She puts forward the notion that the process of
inquiry is ongoing, regardless of career stage and that this process
leads to new discoveries and even more questions. Now a distin-
guished professor, she offers advice as to how one extrapolates
applied questions from basic clinical research.
Section II, Challenges and Issues in Conducting Applied
Research on Child and Adolescent Development, focuses on
methodological approaches utilized in applied research and most
importantly the particular challenges encountered in the con-
duct of applied research in child and adolescent development.
Paul Spicer leads this section and discusses in Chapter 5 the
important cultural issues involved in planning and carrying out
applied research within vulnerable populations. Here, he presents
examples from work with Native American Indian populations to
highlight effective strategies for working with particular popula-
tions including sampling techniques, recruitment, and retention
issues. McCall and Groark (Chapter 6) provide references to spe-
cific methodological techniques and theoretical frameworks most
suitable for guiding the applied and “practice” research processes.
In Chapter 7, Fisher and Fried give examples of how these tech-
niques and methods may be modified to carry out the study in
applied settings while maintaining the integrity of the data. They
further illustrate the ethical challenges of conducting research
in applied settings and with vulnerable populations. Fisher and
Fried urge that researchers take these techniques and strategies
into consideration at the design stage of applied research and not
once data collection has started.
or applicable copyright law.

In Section III, we pay particular attention to Conducting

Research in Applied Settings. Research in child and adoles-
cent development is often learned in controlled settings giving
researchers in training the opportunity to learn applied research
theories and methods under optimal conditions. However, the real
world of conducting applied research brings unique challenges,
 xiv ■ Preface
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most of which are not learned in classrooms or controlled set-

tings. Inherent in this research are compromises to ideal research
designs, which most beginning investigators may not be ade-
quately prepared to manage.
In addition, research conducted in applied settings calls for a
unique set of attitudes, skills, and knowledge that will enable the
researcher to forge partnerships, develop innovative approaches,
and take on new perspectives to address compelling public health
problems of local and national significance. Guerra & Leidy
(Chapter 8) emphasize cultural competence as both a necessary
frame of mind and an important attitudinal perspective essen-
tial for establishing the relationships needed to engage in applied
research. In Chapter 9, David Schonfeld talks about humility and
mutual respect as among the most important attitudes for early
career investigators to exhibit in their work in schools. With respect
to the skills needed for applied research, Lyndee Knox shares some
of her mistakes as a young investigator in Chapter 10 and how
these lessons strengthened her skills as a researcher. Each of the
contributors to this section in his or her own way emphasizes per-
sistence, focus, and maintaining an appropriate balance between
the needs of members of the community and the needs of the
researcher as essential skills needed to successfully plan and carry
out applied research in various contexts. Finally, with respect to
knowledge, the authors emphasize the importance of knowing the
community with which the research will be conducted and being
knowledgeable of the theoretical frames that guide community
practices and perceptions. Aside from scientific knowledge, early
career investigators must also be knowledgeable of ethical codes of
conduct to protect vulnerable populations while at the same time
engaging these individuals in studies designed to inform practices
and policies that could have a bearing on their life circumstances.
Thus each of the chapters in this section provides applied
researchers with the tools to respond to and manage the unpre-
dictable nature of real world research. The authors also provide
an overview of the importance of multidisciplinary collaborations
or applicable copyright law.

needed to forge successful and mutually beneficial research col-

laborations essential for working successfully in applied settings.
How to Make the Most of Your Applied Research is the focus
of Section IV, the final section in this volume. Here, the authors
talk about the researcher’s responsibilities as a member of the advo-
cacy, policy, and academic communities. The applied researcher is
 Preface ■ xv
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in a unique position to bring these constituencies together, inform

the public, develop prevention and intervention strategies, and,
most importantly, give voice to issues affecting children and their
well-being. The applied research enterprise is both labor and time
intensive. In Chapter 11, Berch gives a thorough discussion of
strategies for seeking funding for applied research and the ways
in which investigators obtain support from their institutions for
release time and resources to conduct applied research. The authors
discuss how applied research can be effectively disseminated and
how it ultimately informs basic research. McCabe & Browning
(Chapter 12) and Liben (Chapter 13) discuss methods for dis-
seminating research-based knowledge on child, and adolescent
development. These methods include journals and other publica-
tions, as well as strategies for communicating research findings
so that policy, practice and education decisions will benefit from
leading edge scientific information.
The perspectives advanced in this volume reflect each author’s
experience and scholarship regarding the issues and challenges
they encounter while conducting applied research on children
and adolescents. Although writing from diverse disciplinary per-
spectives, research interests, and experiences, the authors share
insights that reflect common themes and lessons that we hope are
instructive to the reader.
As we discuss in the concluding chapter, this is not intended to
be an exhaustive text, but rather a practical resource for answering
specific questions from early career investigators about the conduct
of applied research. Readers should already have a working knowl-
edge of child and adolescent development and should have had
some practical experience conducting research so that they have a
basis for understanding the questions and the examples provided.
Masters level and pre-doctoral students preparing their theses and
dissertations will find this book accessible and beneficial, as will
postdoctoral fellows and early career investigators moving toward
applied research careers. In addition, faculty who prepare students
to do research will find the resources and case studies useful for
or applicable copyright law.

helping students manage the complexities of real world research.

This book is intended to complement technical and theoretical
texts. The book can be used as a guide and quick reference for
answering questions about the conduct of applied research as it
relates to child and adolescent development. Advanced undergrad-
uate and graduate level courses on Research Methods, Theories
 xvi ■ Preface
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of Child and Adolescent Development, the Ethical Conduct of

Research, Child and Family Processes, Neighborhoods, Schools
and Social Contexts, as well as proseminars on Vulnerable
Populations, Multiculturalism, and Cultural Competence may
use this book as a supplement to assigned texts.
Unique features of this book include the various learning tools
to make the topics more accessible to the reader. First, each chap-
ter begins with an autobiographical discussion describing how
and why the author began her career in applied research. Issues
such as navigating the tensions between seeking promotion and
tenure and pursuing an applied line of inquiry are recounted in
very compelling detail. Next, the chapters are organized around
actual questions from investigators making their first foray
into applied research. The authors draw upon case examples of
authentic applied research experiences to directly answer some
of the questions, while others are highlighted in sidebar callouts.
Finally, the chapters conclude with lessons learned and references
and resources for specific techniques, and theoretical frameworks
most suitable for guiding the research process. Where appropri-
ate, the contributors give examples of how these techniques and
methods may be modified to carry out the study in applied set-
tings, while maintaining the integrity of the data and taking into
account ethical considerations.
There were many directions we could have taken in con-
ceptualizing this book, but we learned from participants at
our Summer Institutes on Applied Research in Child and
Adolescent Development (see Chapter 1) that information on
the more practical elements of conducting applied research
was sorely needed. We asked each author to write about the
specific content and context related to their research, and to
shed light on some of the decision-making processes they use in
conducting research in less than optimal, largely uncontrolled
environments. We think this was most important because as
these contexts become more complex, having a realistic picture
of what may be involved in examining how the direct and the
or applicable copyright law.

nuanced influences of families, schools, communities and other

settings shape the lives of children and adolescents is vital. As
you read these personalized explanations of complex processes,
we encourage you reflect on the challenges and opportuni-
ties for charting your career and conducting your own applied
research on child and adolescent development.
 Preface ■ xvii
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Acknowledgments
This volume is based on the Inaugural NICHD Summer
Institute on Applied Research in Child and Adolescent
Development held in Bethesda, MD. This week long Institute
was co-sponsored by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social
Sciences Research (OBSSR) with support from the Association
for Psychological Science (APS) and the Society for Research in
Child Development (SRCD). The editors wish to acknowledge
these partners for their support of our efforts and ultimately for
making this volume possible.
We would also like to acknowledge the individuals who advised
us on the first Institute and served as faculty-in-residence—
Dr. Jeanne Brookes-Gunn, Dr. Richard Lerner, Dr. Robin
Morris, and Dr. David Schonfeld. Their substantial contributions
helped make the Institute a reality, and in large measure led to
the conceptualization of this volume. We are also grateful for the
guidance and support of Dr. Peggy McCardle, the Chief of the
Child Development and Behavior Branch at NICHD.
We offer a special note of gratitude to our concept reviewers
Linda Baker, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Natasha
Cabrera, University of Maryland, and Scott Hofer, University of
Victoria. Most especially we acknowledge the support and cheer-
leading we received from Debra Riegert, our acquisitions editor,
whose enthusiasm for the subject of this book was instrumental in
having Taylor & Francis publish this volume!
or applicable copyright law.
Copyright © 2011. Psychology Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S.
or applicable copyright law.