The goal for this assignment is for you to demonstrate that you understand a research article and that you can apply child development concepts to the research findings. Please choose oneof the articles listed below to analyze.

Early Child Care Research Article.pdfPreview the documentView in a new window

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network (2000). The Relation of Child Care to Cognitive and Language Development, Child Development, 71(4), 960-980.

Family Structure Research Article.pdfPreview the documentView in a new window

Ryan, R.M., Claessens, A., & Markowitz, A.J. (2015). Associations Between Family Structure Change and Child Behavior Problems: The Moderating Effect of Family Income. Child Development, 86(1), 112-127.

Read your chosen article carefully, taking notes in the margin so that you can make sure you are understanding what you are reading. Then, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, answer the following questions in a 5+ page essay format.

Research Questions: What is this research study about? What question(s) were the authors attempting to answer? Why is this research important?
Methods: What methods did they use to answer the question?
Critique of Methods: Were the methods used appropriate/reliable? Were they ethical? What could have made this research study stronger and more reliable?
Describe typical research methods in child development: preferential looking and habituation-dishabituation; cohorts in research; cross cultural implications.
Describe how longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs address different types of questions and hypotheses, and their strengths and limitations.
Key Findings: What were the key findings of the study?
Justification of Results: How did the researchers explain or justify the results?
Final Conclusions: What conclusions did they come to based on their findings?
Personal Response: What is your personal response to this article? Were you surprised by any of the findings? Why or why not? Discuss how this research finding fits with what you have learned in this course.
Apply the various theories and concepts of child development to discuss whether these research findings can be explained by what you read in the text.
Describe how longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs address different types of questions and hypotheses, and their strengths and limitations. How does this apply to your research article?
Be sure to properly cite, in APA format, any references you use, including your textbook.