New Opportunities to Study the Understudied: Secondary Analyses with Two Federal Datasets

Session Type: Federal Agency Professional Development Symposium

Abstract

There are many groups within the United States for whom comparatively little data are available to inform evidence-based policy and practice. These groups may not be invited to be part of studies for thoughtful reasons such as insufficient sample, lack of culturally valid and reliable measures or the populations’ reservations regarding scientific agendas. The lack of careful study means that understanding of these populations may be drawn from information averaged across other populations, from personal experience, or even from hearsay and rumor. Establishing bridges across these research barriers takes committed community-research partnerships, preparation and planning. With the appropriate partnerships leading the way, the community may then be invested and informed from the study design through analyses and interpretation.

For decades, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) and the American Indian Alaska Native Head Start programs were not included in national studies, in an abundance of caution regarding validity and cultural responsiveness of measures and methods for these unique programs. This session will first highlight the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Study 2017, the first national look at the early education programs that serve agricultural workers with young children. In addition to the overview of the study and the community engagement that supported it, Dr. Barrueco will present details of her current secondary analyses work with the publicly available MSHS data. Next, the session will explore the American Indian Alaska Native Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN) which provides national data about the children and the programs that serve them. The design for this study involved both community engagement and leadership. Dr. Barnes-Najor will then describe her latest secondary analyses work with the AIAN community. Drs. Barrueco and Barnes-Najor will conclude with a discussion of the importance and challenges of community participatory engagement with understudies communities.

Sub Unit

• Federal Agency Sessions

Chair

• Wendy DeCourcey, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Individual Presentations

• The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Study and Community Engagement - Presenting Author: Wendy DeCourcey, United States Department of Health and Human Services; Non-Presenting Author: Jenessa Malin, United States Administration for Children and Families; Non-Presenting Author: Sandra Barrueco, Catholic University of America; Non-Presenting Author: Michael L. Lopez, NORC at the University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Erin Bumgarner, Abt Associates - Massachusetts; Non-Presenting Author: Linda Caswell, Abt Associates

• Unidos: Secondary Analyses in Unity with the MSHS Community - Presenting Author: Sandra Barrueco, Catholic University of America; Non-Presenting Author: Michael L. Lopez, NORC at the University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Cleo Rodriguez, National Migrant and Head Start Association

• Community Participation and the American Indian Alaska Native Family and Child Experience Survey - Presenting Author: Meryl Yoches Barofsky, United States Office of Child Care; Non-Presenting Author: Laura Hoard, United States Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE); Non-Presenting Author: Allison Walker, Administration for Children and Families; Non-Presenting Author: Aleta Lynn Meyer, Administration for Children and Families

• On the Path Together: Using Secondary Analyses with the AIAN Head Start Community - Presenting Author: Jessica V Barnes-Najor, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: KyungSook Lee, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Non-Presenting Author: Christine Sims, University of New Mexico; Non-Presenting Author: Ann Cameron, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc.; Non-Presenting Author: Michelle Sarche, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

• Community then Research: A Conversation About Research Collaboration with Understudied Populations - Presenting Author: Jessica V Barnes-Najor, Michigan State University; Presenting Author: Sandra Barrueco, Catholic University of America