An introductory examination of human development and family research methods designed to provide an understanding of scientific inquiry, methodology, measurement, test construction, scaling, and statistical terms and techniques.

Prerequisites: STA 108. Grade of C- or better in HDF 111, HDF 112, HDF 202, or HDF 203 or HDF 204; 2.50 GPA in the major.

NOTE: All students must earn a grade of C- or higher in HDF 375 in order to take HDF (445 or 455) and HDF 464. 

• Evaluate aspects of research methodologies used in the field of Human Development & Family Studies with consideration of ethical standards for the treatment of human research participants.

• Name, define, and give examples of key research methods terms and concepts.

• Use PsychINFO to locate articles on topics relevant to Human Development & Family Studies.

• Develop research questions and hypotheses informed by theory and the current research literature.

• Compare and contrast quantitative versus qualitative methodological approaches.

• Articulate the distinction between concepts and their indicators

• Identify and explain types of variables and their operationalization across a range of research designs.

• Describe and contrast critical issues related to reliability and validity.

• Critique research based on evaluations of both internal and external validity.

• Generate, describe, and identify appropriate sampling strategies.

• Generate, describe, and identify appropriate sources of data (e.g., survey methods, observational methods).

• Identify and critique experimental research designs of varying complexity.

• Apply conventions of APA style to writing in the field of Human Development & Family Studies

• Explain the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics.

• Select appropriate statistical tests for different research questions.

• Compute descriptive and inferential statistics using data analytic software (SPSS).

• The required text for this class is Dixon, J. C., Singleton, R. A., Jr., & Straits, B. C. (2023). The Process of Social Research (3rd ed.).  Oxford University Press.

• Additional readings (and videos) will be available through Canvas.