Developmentalists' Views about Children's Participation in Online Forensic Interview Research in the Time of COVID-19

• In Event: Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Topic - Attention, Learning, Memory

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature that recognizes both the advantages and constraints of internet-based (e.g., Skype, Zoom) interview research (Hanna, 2012; Svensson et al., 2014; Deakin & Wakefield, 2014; Janghorban et al., 2014; Seitz, 2016; Adams-Hutcheson & Longhurst, 2016), some of which are owing to the recent changes due to COVID-19 (Chenneville & Schwartz-Mette, 2020; Dodds & Hess, 2020). However, there is very little discussion about research ethics regarding developmental research that involves children being tested online, especially young children. Nevertheless, develomentalists who work with elementary school students and preschoolers, such as those who study child testimonial competencies, are shifting their studies online during the pandemic. The present study will investigate developmentalists' views and experiences concerning online child research, specifically online child investigative-styled interview studies. As a first of its kind, this study plans to interview thirty developmental psychologists, comprising researchers of all levels (e.g., faculty members, postdocs, Ph.D. candidates, Ph.D. students, lab managers), about their views on the similarity of and difference between web-based (e.g., synchronous interviews powered by online communications tools such as Skype and Zoom) versus in-person data collection with child participants. A combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods will be utilized to recruit participants. Contact information will be gathered via sources such as departmental websites, social media/online networking sites (e.g., Twitter, ResearchGate), journals, and conference presentations. A short survey will be sent via internet-based sources (e.g., email, social media platforms) to these interviewees. This survey will include questions like "Please briefly describe your online child research project (e.g., research topic/question, participants, procedure, materials).", "Why did you decide to conduct this project online, instead of in an in-person manner?", "Have you noticed any differences between online versus in-person child research? If so, please describe the differences? " "Did you do anything to adapt you and your research team to online child research? If so, what are the significant adaptations?" and "Do you like conducting online child research? What are your recommendations for other online child researchers?". This present research has been approved by the reseachers’ affiliated institution’s IRB. Informed consent will be obtained at the beginning of the short survey. Participants will be asked whether they would like to put their names in the future publications' acknowledgment session to be thanked for their contribution. As this study is a novel investigation of how virtual modality might shape child research dynamics, especially those regarding children's testimonial abilities, there is no a priori hypothesis about the direction of results. We will analyze the survey data qualitatively. After comparing the feedback of both modalities of data collection in developmental research, the research team aims to publish the first evidence-based recommendations about conducting child research online, especially those involving interview methodology. The proposed research findings will have practical implications for developing ethical guidelines for administering internet-based research involving child participants. The results might be especially relevant to studies containing child investigative-styled interviews and cross-disciplinary practices such as the legal and social welfare arenas.

Group Authors

I-An Su
Stephen J. Ceci

Authors

• I-An Su, Cornell University
  Presenting Author

• Stephen J Ceci, Cornell University
  Non-Presenting Author