Our Presentations & Trainings

Research Connections participates in conferences and meetings related to child care and early education -- through presentations, posters, exhibits. We also host data trainings and workshops and provide technical assistance.

Here's where to find us in the coming months.

Application Deadline Extended - Free Summer Data Workshop: Coordinated Data Analysis: Maximizing Early Care and Education Data

Announcing Research Connections' upcoming summer data workshop (July 29-31, 2013), part of the ICPSR Summer Program series:

Conducting coordinated analyses across data sets is a powerful way to harness the strengths of several studies while controlling sample characteristics. This data training workshop will introduce researchers to different methods for working with multiple datasets in order to answer research questions about children?s development, programs designed to support their development, and the relationships been program participation and supports and development. In addition, time will be spent understanding two prominent nationally representative studies of the nation?s largest early care and education program ? Head Start ? and how to use data from these studies in your research:
Participants will learn the studies' purpose, methods, and key findings, as they gain exposure to these data and discover how each can be analyzed together and in concert with other early care and education data using methods such as cross-cohort analysis and coordinated secondary data analysis. Participants will learn and examine the issues inherent in these methods such as disparate samples, differing instruments, and different study time periods.

Participants are expected to have a basic understanding of secondary data, fundamental data analysis skills, knowledge of SPSS, SAS, or Stata, and a substantive interest in early care and education.

The workshop is free, but enrollment is limited. Researchers interested in using these datasets to answer policy relevant questions in child development and early care and education are encouraged to apply, especially if relevant to either the Head Start or Child Care and Development Fund programs. All applications must include a vita and cover letter summarizing research interests and experiences. Admitted graduate students, post-doctoral scholars and junior faculty/researchers will be considered for one of a limited number of stipends to help with travel and housing costs. To be considered for one of these awards, applicants must also submit a letter of support from a senior faculty member, mentor, or advisor.

Application deadline: June 7, 2013

For more information or to apply visit: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/sumprog/courses/0167

2013-04-17

Free Summer Data Workshop: Early Care and Education: Drawing Lessons from Weighted Samples, July 16-18, 2012

Announcing Research Connections' upcoming summer data workshop, part of the ICPSR Summer Program series:

Publicly available early care and education datasets are valuable resources to researchers analyzing policy issues. But the power of samples with advanced weighting is in the potential for researchers to draw accurate conclusions about nationally representative populations from local populations. This workshop will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of each of the following datasets, with a particular focus on learning how to properly determine which weights to use for a particular analysis and how to apply them.

The workshop will feature three important data collections:


The workshop will open with a general overview of weights to orient participants to the purpose of these analytical tools. Then, the remainder of that day and the following two days will each focus on one of the featured studies. While exploring the studies' objectives, methods, and key findings, participants will learn about the weights available in each datasets and how to answer different types of research questions (longitudinal vs. cross-sectional, or impact analysis).

Participants will have direct access to the datasets and will have time to work with the data as a class and individually. Participants are expected to have a basic understanding of secondary data, fundamental data analysis skills in SPSS, SAS, or Stata, and a substantive interest in early child care and development.

The workshop is free, but enrollment is limited. Researchers interested in using these datasets to answer policy relevant questions in child care and early education are encouraged to apply, especially if relevant to either the Head Start or Child Care and Development Fund Programs. All applications must include a vita and cover letter summarizing research interests and experiences. Admitted graduate students, post-doctoral scholars and junior faculty/researchers will be considered for one of a limited number of stipends to help with travel and housing costs.  To be considered for one of these awards, applicants must also submit a letter of support from a senior faculty member, mentor, or advisor.


Applications are available at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/sumprog/

Deadline to apply is May 25, 2012

Instructors:
- Camilla Heid and Ronna Cook, Westat, Inc.
- Jerry West, Mathmatica Policy Research
- Gail Mulligan, National Center for Education Statistics

2012-03-16

Additional Resources

Research Connections is supported by grant #90YE0104 from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents are solely the responsibility of the National Center for Children in Poverty and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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