Explain the Research Design and Ethical Issues in child psychopathology research

Research Design

Longitudinal research designs

Longitudinal research designs are used to examine behavior in the same infants and children over time. For
example, when considering our example of hide-and-seek behaviors in preschoolers, a researcher might conduct
a longitudinal study to examine whether 2-year-olds develop into better hiders over time. To this end, a
researcher might observe a group of 2-year-old children playing hide-and-seek with plans to observe them again
when they are 4 years old – and again when they are 6 years old. This study is longitudinal in nature because the
researcher plans to study the same children as they age. Based on her data, the researcher might conclude that 2-
year-olds develop more mature hiding abilities with age. Remember, researchers examine games such as hide-
and-seek not because they are interested in the games themselves, but because they offer clues to how children
think, feel and behave at various ages.

Longitudinal studies may be conducted over the short term (over a span of months, as in Wiebe,
Lukowski, & Bauer, 2010) or over much longer durations (years or decades, as in Lukowski et al.,
2010). For these reasons, longitudinal research designs are optimal for studying stability and change
over time. Longitudinal research also has limitations, however. For one, longitudinal studies are
expensive: they require that researchers maintain continued contact with participants over time, and
they necessitate that scientists have funding to conduct their work over extended durations (from
infancy to when participants were 19 years old in Lukowski et al., 2010). An additional risk
is attrition. Attrition occurs when participants fail to complete all portions of a study. Participants
may move, change their phone numbers, or simply become disinterested in participating over time.
Researchers should account for the possibility of attrition by enrolling a larger sample into their study
initially, as some participants will likely drop out over time.

The results from longitudinal studies may also be impacted by repeated assessments. Consider how
well you would do on a math test if you were given the exact same exam every day for a week. Your
performance would likely improve over time not necessarily because you developed better math
abilities, but because you were continuously practicing the same math problems. This phenomenon is
known as a practice effect. Practice effects occur when participants become better at a task over time
because they have done it again and again; not due to natural psychological development. A final
limitation of longitudinal research is that the results may be impacted by cohort effects. Cohort
effects occur when the results of the study are affected by the particular point in historical time during
which participants are tested. As an example, think about how peer relationships in childhood have
likely changed since February 2004 – the month and year Facebook was founded. Cohort effects can
be problematic in longitudinal research because only one group of participants are tested at one point
in time – different findings might be expected if participants of the same ages were tested at different
points in historical time.

Cross-sectional designs
Cross-sectional research designs are used to examine behavior in participants of different ages who
are tested at the same point in time. When considering our example of hide-and-seek behaviors in
children, for example, a researcher might want to examine whether older children more often hide in
novel locations (those in which another child in the same game has never hidden before) when
compared to younger children. In this case, the researcher might observe 2-, 4-, and 6-year-old
children as they play the game (the various age groups represent the “cross sections”). This research is
cross-sectional in nature because the researcher plans to examine the behavior of children of different
ages within the same study at the same time. Based on her data, the researcher might conclude that 2-
year-olds more commonly hide in previously-searched locations relative to 6-year-olds.

Cross-sectional designs are useful for many reasons. Because participants of different ages are tested
at the same point in time, data collection can proceed at a rapid pace. In addition, because participants
are only tested at one point in time, practice effects are not an issue – children do not have the
opportunity to become better at the task over time. Cross-sectional designs are also more cost-
effective than longitudinal research designs because there is no need to maintain contact with and
follow-up on participants over time.

One of the primary limitations of cross-sectional research, however, is that the results yield
information on age-related change, not development per se. That is, although the study described
above can show that 6-year-olds are more advanced in their hiding behavior than 2-year-olds, the data
used to come up with this conclusion were collected from different children. It could be, for instance,
that this specific sample of 6-year-olds just happened to be particularly clever at hide-and-seek. As
such, the researcher cannot conclude that 2-year-olds develop into better hiders with age; she can only
state that 6-year-olds, on average, are more sophisticated hiders relative to children 4 years younger.

Sequential research designs

Sequential research designs include elements of both longitudinal and cross-sectional research
designs. Similar to longitudinal designs, sequential research features participants who are followed
over time; similar to cross-sectional designs, sequential work includes participants of different ages.
This research design is also distinct from those that have been discussed previously in that children of
different ages are enrolled into a study at various points in time to examine age-related changes,
development within the same individuals as they age, and account for the possibility of cohort effects.

Consider, once again, our example of hide-and-seek behaviors. In a study with a sequential design, a
researcher might enroll three separate groups of children (Groups A, B, and C). Children in Group A
would be enrolled when they are 2 years old and would be tested again when they are 4 and 6 years
old (similar in design to the longitudinal study described previously). Children in Group B would be
enrolled when they are 4 years old and would be tested again when they are 6 and 8 years old. Finally,
children in Group C would be enrolled when they are 6 years old and would be tested again when they
are 8 and 10 years old.

Studies with sequential designs are powerful because they allow for both longitudinal and cross-
sectional comparisons. This research design also allows for the examination of cohort effects. For
example, the researcher could examine the hide-and-seek behavior of 6-year-olds in Groups A, B, and
C to determine whether performance differed by group when participants were the same age. If
performance differences were found, there would be evidence for a cohort effect. In the hide-and-seek
example, this might mean that children from different time periods varied in the amount they giggled
or how patient they are when waiting to be found. Sequential designs are also appealing because they
allow researchers to learn a lot about development in a relatively short amount of time. In the previous
example, a four-year research study would provide information about 8 years of developmental time
by enrolling children ranging in age from two to ten years old.

Because they include elements of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, sequential research has
many of the same strengths and limitations as these other approaches. For example, sequential work
may require less time and effort than longitudinal research, but more time and effort than cross-
sectional research. Although practice effects may be an issue if participants are asked to complete the
same tasks or assessments over time, attrition may be less problematic than what is commonly
experienced in longitudinal research since participants may not have to remain involved in the study
for such a long period of time.

When considering the best research design to use in their research, scientists think about their main
research question and the best way to come up with an answer. A table of advantages and
disadvantages for each of the described research designs is provided here to help you as you consider
what sorts of studies would be best conducted using each of these different approaches.
Ethical concerns

The IRB considers some groups of participants to be more vulnerable or at-risk than others. While
university students are generally not viewed as vulnerable or at-risk, infants and young children
commonly fall into this category. What makes infants and young children more vulnerable during
research than young adults? One reason infants and young children are perceived as being at increased
risk is due to their limited cognitive capabilities, which makes them unable to state their willingness
to participate in research or tell researchers when they would like to drop out of a study. For these
reasons, infants and young children require special accommodations as they participate in the research
process.

When thinking about special accommodations in developmental research, consider the informed
consent process. If you have ever participated in psychological research, you may know through your
own experience that adults commonly sign an informed consent statement (a contract stating that they
agree to participate in research) after learning about a study. As part of this process, participants are
informed of the procedures to be used in the research, along with any expected risks or benefits.
Infants and young children cannot verbally indicate their willingness to participate, much less
understand the balance of potential risks and benefits. As such, researchers are oftentimes required to
obtain written informed consent from the parent or legal guardian of the child participant, an adult
who is almost always present as the study is conducted. In fact, children are not asked to indicate
whether they would like to be involved in a study at all (a process known as assent) until they are
approximately seven years old. Because infants and young children also cannot easily indicate if they
would like to discontinue their participation in a study, researchers must be sensitive to changes in the
state of the participant (determining whether a child is too tired or upset to continue) as well as to
parent desires (in some cases, parents might want to discontinue their involvement in the research). As
in adult studies, researchers must always strive to protect the rights and well-being of the minor
participants and their parents when conducting developmental science.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child health (RCPCH) recognizes the need for research in
children (McIntosh, 2000) and has based its ethical guidance around some of the following principles:
1. Research involving children is important for the benefit of all children and should be supported,
encouraged and conducted in an ethical manner,
2. Children are not small adults; they have an additional, unique set of interests.
3. Research should only be done on children if comparable research on adults could not answer the
same question.
4. A research procedure, which is not intended directly to benefit the child subject, is not necessarily
either unethical or illegal.