Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted data collection for longitudinal studies in developmental sciences to an immeasurable extent. Restrictions on conducting in-person standardized assessments have led to disruptive innovation, in which novel methods are applied to increase participant engagement. Here, we focus on remote administration of behavioral assessment. We argue that these innovations in remote assessment should become part of the new standard protocol in developmental sciences to facilitate data collection in populations that may be hard to reach or engage due to burdensome requirements (e.g., multiple in-person assessments). We present a series of adaptations to developmental assessments (e.g., Mullen) and a detailed discussion of data analytic approaches to be applied in the less-than-ideal circumstances encountered during the pandemic-related shutdown (i.e., missing or messy data). Ultimately, these remote approaches actually strengthen the ability to gain insight into developmental populations and foster pragmatic innovation that should result in enduring change.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 732312 |
Journal | Frontiers in Psychology |
Volume | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 4 2022 |
Funding
We acknowledge the assistance from Pearson in granting permission for our adaptations of their standardized assessments. We also thank Jessica Horowitz, Amy Biel, Alexandra Harpole, Aleksandra Wicko, and Emily Weinstein for their assistance throughout the pandemic in helping to facilitate and enact these adaptations. Finally, we thank Erik Krogh-Jespersen who inspired the discussion of disruptive innovation and its application to remote assessment.
Keywords
- COVID
- analytic processes
- developmental methods
- innovation
- remote adaptation
- telepractice
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Psychology