This is such an important piece and every parent deserves to read it. Love your critical take on it.
This is such an important piece. Coming from research myself, I'd add one more layer: even when a study is well designed and representative, the moment it becomes a parenting headline or a social media post, the nuance disappears entirely.
Parents end up holding a conclusion that was never meant to be absolute. And then they feel like they're failing when the advice doesn't fit their child.
Research is the beginning of the conversation — not the final word. 🙏
I’ve had one of my studies picked up by TIME magazine and other outlets…most of them completely missed the point of the study, mostly because the nuance was lost. ooph!
Parents certainly need to hear this. Research doesn’t mean fact. Two very large variables you didn’t mention are genetics and the statistical significance fallacy. Statistical significance does not mean clinical significance. It means the research wasn’t by chance.
I was basing this article off of my recently published work, which didn’t touch on genetics or statistical significance, but thanks for adding those to the conversation!
Excellent analysis of the limitations and benefits of Child development research. One thing you implied but didn't explicitly state is the sample size of the research study. The 30 million word gap study is a perfect example of the generalization you describe, based on 42 families.
This is such an important piece and every parent deserves to read it. Love your critical take on it.
This is such an important piece. Coming from research myself, I'd add one more layer: even when a study is well designed and representative, the moment it becomes a parenting headline or a social media post, the nuance disappears entirely.
Parents end up holding a conclusion that was never meant to be absolute. And then they feel like they're failing when the advice doesn't fit their child.
Research is the beginning of the conversation — not the final word. 🙏
I’ve had one of my studies picked up by TIME magazine and other outlets…most of them completely missed the point of the study, mostly because the nuance was lost. ooph!
firstly, congrats on your study being picked up by TIME!
but no way on them missing the point of the study. it is a skill to read a research article thoroughly, i guess!
Parents certainly need to hear this. Research doesn’t mean fact. Two very large variables you didn’t mention are genetics and the statistical significance fallacy. Statistical significance does not mean clinical significance. It means the research wasn’t by chance.
I was basing this article off of my recently published work, which didn’t touch on genetics or statistical significance, but thanks for adding those to the conversation!
Great read. This is why it’s so important to consider the whole child (& family) for just about everything development related.
Yes!
Excellent analysis of the limitations and benefits of Child development research. One thing you implied but didn't explicitly state is the sample size of the research study. The 30 million word gap study is a perfect example of the generalization you describe, based on 42 families.