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A Collaborative Approach to Infant Research: Promoting Reproducibility, Best Practices, and Theory‐Building
Author(s) -
Frank Michael C.,
Bergelson Elika,
Bergmann Christina,
Cristia Alejandrina,
Floccia Caroline,
Gervain Judit,
Hamlin J. Kiley,
Han Erin E.,
Kline Melissa,
Levelt Claartje,
LewWilliams Casey,
Nazzi Thierry,
Panneton Robin,
Rabagliati Hugh,
Soderstrom Melanie,
Sullivan Jessica,
Waxman Sandra,
Yurovsky Daniel
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
infancy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.361
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1532-7078
pISSN - 1525-0008
DOI - 10.1111/infa.12182
Subject(s) - blueprint , variety (cybernetics) , psychology , best practice , replication (statistics) , scale (ratio) , psychological research , ideal (ethics) , cognition , management science , data science , applied psychology , cognitive psychology , social psychology , computer science , artificial intelligence , epistemology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , statistics , physics , mathematics , management , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , engineering , economics
The ideal of scientific progress is that we accumulate measurements and integrate these into theory, but recent discussion of replicability issues has cast doubt on whether psychological research conforms to this model. Developmental research—especially with infant participants—also has discipline‐specific replicability challenges, including small samples and limited measurement methods. Inspired by collaborative replication efforts in cognitive and social psychology, we describe a proposal for assessing and promoting replicability in infancy research: large‐scale, multi‐laboratory replication efforts aiming for a more precise understanding of key developmental phenomena. The ManyBabies project, our instantiation of this proposal, will not only help us estimate how robust and replicable these phenomena are, but also gain new theoretical insights into how they vary across ages, linguistic communities, and measurement methods. This project has the potential for a variety of positive outcomes, including less‐biased estimates of theoretically important effects, estimates of variability that can be used for later study planning, and a series of best‐practices blueprints for future infancy research.