Take Part

We’re always looking for little scientists and their families to take part in our studies to help us learn more about development. You find out more about what this involves by scrolling down! 

If you’re interested in taking part in our research with your little scientist, please take a moment to fill in some details below. 

We’ll be in touch shortly after you’ve signed up to let you know that we know you’re interested in taking part in our research! Depending on the studies we currently have running and the age of your child, there may be studies to take part in right away or one may come up in a few months. We are really grateful for your support! 

The details we ask for are meant to help us in contacting the right parents at the right time. Please rest assured that your details are stored safely, will only be used by the University of Sheffield staff, and won't be shared with any third party whatsoever. We are very grateful for your help and value your privacy.

What’s involved?

Studies either take place in our child development centre, at your home or online. Most studies take around half an hour to an hour including time to play with your child and explain the study.

All our studies adhere to the standards of the British Psychological Society, are approved by the Ethics Committee of the Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield and are run by researchers with enhanced DBS clearance for working with children.

Researchers don’t assess children’s individual performance but instead look at development across groups of about 50+ children. Here's what to expect:

A typical study at our child development centre

• When we are running a study, we contact volunteer parents describing what it involves and the dates it will be taking place

• Parents who are interested and available then arrange a convenient time to come in

• Free parking is provided

• We start with a play based warm up to get to know your child, offer you a hot drink and we will take time to explain the study.

All the studies are designed to be fun and engaging. There is no pressure for children to take part if they do not want to. If you turn up on the day and your child doesn’t want to take part that is not a problem at all.

A typical home visit

• When we are running a study, we contact volunteer parents who have children in the correct age group to describe what is involved

• Parents who are interested and available can then arrange a convenient time for a researcher to come and visit them at home.

• We will then send you an information sheet in the post or by email with a letter confirming your appointment.

• At the start of your initial visit, the researcher who comes to visit you at home will check that you received the information sheet and answer any questions you might have – you will be asked to sign a consent form saying you are happy to take part in the study. We will also start by just playing with your child to get to know them.

All the studies are designed to be fun and engaging. There is no pressure for babies to 'perform'. If the researcher turns up on the day and your child doesn’t want to take part that is not a problem at all.

What will happen if I join the volunteer list?

To carry out research we rely on the help of hundreds of parents and children who are on our volunteer list. If you join the volunteer list you are not, at this stage, agreeing to take part in a study. You are simply agreeing to be contacted about future studies.

We will need some basic information for the volunteer list such as your child’s date of birth. These details help us to contact the right parents at the right time. For example, in a particular study we may only need 2-year-old monolinguals. All your details will remain confidential and won’t be shared with any third party.

What happens once I'm on the volunteer list?

Once we have received your details, you will be included on our volunteer database. When a suitable study comes up, we will contact you, letting you know when it will be running. If you would like to participate, you would simply arrange a visit time that is convenient for you. If not, you don’t need to do anything.

Depending on the age of your child and on which studies we are running we may write to you about a study very quickly or in a few months. 

What should I do now?

If you would like to join the volunteer database, you can complete the online registration form.

Alternatively you can email us at cogdev@sheffield.ac.uk with any queries. 

Nursery or School Studies

If you are a teacher or a head teacher interested in our research, we are always looking for nurseries and schools in and around Sheffield to take part. Please get in touch with Dr Emma Blakey to find out more.