Empirical projects
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Do a mini-empirical study
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Write-up
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Wrestle with doing research
Intro, methods, results, discussion
Be clear about the limitations of the ministudy
Empirical project is not your final
project
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Empirical project is a part of your final project
Final project will consist of literature review and
empirical project will be like another study in your
review
Your poster and oral presentation final project
incorporate your empirical project and all the
literature you have summarized
Empirical project is a part of final project
Structure
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Intro
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Methods
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Don’t call for further research here
How you did the study (not what you found)
Results
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Everything you found
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Make a table of these results
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Attachment, depression,
Each baby is a row
Discussion of results
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How results relate to literature
Limitations
Empirical component
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Observe reality
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Write up your observations
500 words
Structure
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Why I decided to observe what I observed
What I saw
What I learned about what I am studying
Goal
Minimum: Familiarize yourself with the
empirical phenomenon that you are
studying for your final project
 Maximum: Conduct a mini-study of the
area you are studying for your final project
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Example
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Many are interested in attachment, what predicts it
and what it predicts
Watch some strange situations in which
attachment is assessed
Watch some play episodes that might be used to
predict attachment or some behaviors that might
be predicted from attachment
Write a description of what you see and what
you’ve learned from the experience
So
The basic idea is just to get a sense of the
phenomenon about which you will be
writing your final topic
 I can help you find these resources but you
must take the responsibility and make a firm
plan with me
 The next page contains some resources that
I have access to
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How to watch videos
Qualitative description is ok but its even
better if it leads to coding of specific
behaviors
 Which means counting them,
 Which means you can present quantitative
results
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Proposal
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Propose your empirical project (200 words).
Should indicate
– who your subjects will be,
– what you will be studying,
– and how you plan to measure what you are
studying.
Extra credit if you submit first draft of empirical
project data by this date:
Research Resources
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One infant longitudinal (0 - 3 years)
13 infants 9-15 months playing at table
Jackson infants
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CG infants
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Face-to-face interactions, labeling, attachment, Bayleys
Monkey Jungle
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Brazelton, feed, face-to-face, exploration, play, attachment
Gender, coordination and bidding
Something you find (other research)
DVDs
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4, 6, 8 month ftf/sf
ESCS 8 10 12 15 18 month
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Interaction with child
15 18 36 month strange situation and 10 minute
play
24 30 36 month toddler-mother play
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And other autism specific assessments, intelligence etc
Videos
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2 tapes. 1 kid on each tape.
Each tape contains:
4month ftf-sf
18 month Strange situation and 10- minute play
36 month strange situation and 10 minute play
48 month interaction, mother still, mother plays
again
60 months separation-reunion