Research Designs in Developmental Research

Developmental change is a broad topic that incorporate several sub-topics relating to an individual's growth and development. The broad nature of this topic emerges from the fact that its an approach that is geared towards explaining how infants, children, and adults change over a period of time. The process of explaining individuals' developmental changes over time involves examining a wide range of theoretical areas including biological, cognitive, emotional, and social domains. Additionally, there are different research designs that are utilized in developmental research including longitudinal, sequential, and cross-sectional research approaches (Berk & Meyers, 2016). These different approaches are selected based on their effectiveness in exploring a particular issue or aspect of developmental change over time.

An example of a topic that could be examined using one of these research designs is masticatory performance in children across different age groups. This is an important topic of study because mastication has significant impacts on a child's psychological, social, and nutritional functions. A sample research question for examining this topic is, "Is masticatory performance in children linked to age, oral habits and dental factors?"

This research issue will be examined using cross-sectional research design that will be carried out on a group of 50 children aged between 3 and 5 years. This research design is suitable for the research topic because it will help analyze data obtained from the representative population of 50 children. The approach will help the researcher to examine and compare several variables at the same time to determine how certain factors influence masticatory performance. This will in turn help in making inferences regarding the target population at a specific point in time and generate valuable findings towards understanding factors relating to masticatory performance in children.

One of the most important aspects of a child's development is cognitive and motor development, which play a major role in a child's health and well-being. Longmuir, Banks & McCrindle (2012) conducted a cross-sectional study in which they examined motor development among children in the aftermath of the Fontan procedure. This research was carried out on the premise that cognitive and motor delays during infancy are common though their implications during later childhood stages remain unknown. Additionally, the study was conducted on the basis that Fontan children are more inactive than their peers regardless of their reduced exercise capabilities. Moreover, children with low motor skills are increasingly inactive while the palliative processes during Fontan procedure enhance the likelihood of motor skill delay. As a result, its increasingly important to examine children's motor development after conducting the Fontan procedure, which increases the likelihood of motor skill delays.

The research question in this study is how does the Fontan procedure affect motor development among school-aged children? The purpose of the study was, "to determine the gross motor skills of school-aged children after the Fontan procedure and compare the locomotor and object control skills with normative data" (Longmuir, Banks & McCrindle, 2012). In this regard, the researchers hypothesized that motor development in the aftermath of the Fontan procedure is below the age-appropriate norms. This difference emerges despite of individual factors like cardiac lesion, age, gender, and kind of repair.

To achieve the purpose of the study, the researchers utilized a cross-section study approach/design, which involved classifying gross motor skills among a large group of school-aged children. After identifying a suitable representative sample comprising 55 children, the participants carried out the 12 gross motor skills, which included the Test of Gross Motor Development -- Version 2. The normative data that was utilized in comparing locomotor and object control skills was obtained from a normative sample of 1208 school-going children across the United States. The process also entailed utilizing a medical chart review that provided surgical history, demographic data, and medical information. Based on the Test of Gross Motor Development -- Version 2, skill delay was determined by correcting gross motor percentile and age equivalent scores for age and gender. With regards to evaluation of activity preferences, discretionary time activity preference was evaluated using dichotomous sets of inactive, moderate, and vigorous activity. The participants' perceptions of activity expectations were evaluated through the use of a 5-point Likert scale for friends, teachers, families, and physicians. Additionally, the children's engagement in lessons or teams in the school or home environment was evaluated through the use of parent questionnaire (Longmuir, Banks & McCrindle, 2012). Data analysis was carried out through statistical procedures like descriptive statistics, binomial probability analysis, and linear regression in which the statistical significance was p = 0.05.

Based on the analysis, the researchers concluded that school-aged children experience gross motor skill deficits after the Fontan procedure. These children experience deficits in foundational skills like running, which are strongly linked to more inactive lives. Children who have undergone a Fontan procedure after age 6 are increasingly likely to experience delays in object control skills. Low levels of daily physical activity contribute to delayed locomotor skills and are associated with high risks of obesity, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Therefore, a Fontan procedure affects a child's motor development by contributing to deficits in gross motor skill and delays in locomotor and object control skills. Consequently, the researchers contend that Fontan procedure could negatively affect a child's health and well-being by affecting motor development.

References

Berk, L.E. & Meyers, A.B. (2016). Infants, children and adolescents (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Longmuir, P.E., Banks, L. & McCrindle, B.W. (2012, August). Cross-sectional Study of Motor Development Among Children After the Fontan Procedure. Cardiology in the Young, 22(4), 443-450.