The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools has earned $6.5 million to shape Nebraska early childhood practices and policies, while leading a national network committed to improving children’s outcomes.
The project is part of the multi-institutional Early Learning Network, a $26 million research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.
The 2016 CYFS Conversation Series begins Jan. 29. This series provides an ongoing forum for researchers to ask questions and share insight across the academic spectrum.
Topics for 2016 include secondary data analysis, team-based scientific research and international research. The series is free, open to the public and requires no registration.
The MAP Academy hosted Jessaca Spybrook, associate professor of educational leadership, research, and technology at Western Michigan University, for the Dec. 3-4 Emerging Scholars Series. The series featured a keynote presentation, statistics workshop and an early career meeting for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
Lorey Wheeler, CYFS research assistant professor, continued the 2015-16 Methodology Applications Series on Nov. 20 with a discussion titled “Sampling, Recruiting, and Retaining Diverse Samples.”
Sampling and recruiting participants are basic steps in almost every research enterprise and are fundamental to determining the quality of the resulting research. This presentation introduces sampling, recruitment and retention strategies that have been found to be successful when conducting research that includes or focuses on diverse ethnic minority populations.
UNL alumnus Craig Enders returned to campus Oct. 26 to host the MAP Academy’s Fall 2015 Nebraska Methodology Workshop: “Dealing with Missing Data.”
There have been substantial methodological advances in the area of missing data analyses during the last 25 years. Methodologists currently regard maximum likelihood estimation (ML) and multiple imputation (MI) as two state-of-the-art handling procedures for missing data.
With $2.5 million in federal funding, a CYFS research team is exploring the power of partnerships to benefit Nebraska’s youngest children.
Led by Lisa Knoche, CYFS research associate professor, the team aims to improve developmental outcomes—specifically language and social-emotional skills—for infants and toddlers. Their project is one of four national studies funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. Together, research findings will inform local and national Early Head Start programs, which provide early childhood services for low-income families.
CYFS has released its 2014-205 Annual Report, which spans July 2014 to June 2015. This year’s report highlights collaborative research by CYFS faculty and affiliates, including early childhood projects, STEM outreach and teacher training.
Dan Hoyt, professor of sociology, began the 2015-2016 Methodology Applications Series on Sept. 18 with a discussion titled “Research Ethics with Minority Communities.”
Hoyt is a professor of sociology and the associate dean of faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences. His primary scholarly interest is focused on mental health and substance use among high-risk adolescents. He is currently a co-investigator on NIH-funded grants, examining these issues among homeless and runaway youth, and American Indian children. Hoyt is also interested in general methodological issues, including approaches to gathering data on sensitive topics and how to conduct research with populations that are difficult to sample and access.