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Research Practicum
The research practicum is a two semester, 10 hour per week commitment that provides students with a deeper understanding about the theoretical framework of human development and family sciences and a variety of skills, such as research methodology, coding, and interviewing, that are excellent for entry into the job market or for graduate school. Professors and their graduate assistants are directly involved and work very closely with students. Prerequisites are HDF 312, 315L, 340 and credit for or concurrent enrollment in EDP 371 or M 316. Students are limited to 12 credit hours their HDF 355 spring or fall semester, and 9 credit hours in the summer (one course each session, with HDF 355 being offered long session only on a very limited basis). Acceptance and placement is based on HDF faculty needs for research assistance, student's application being submitted by the deadline, and student's schedule, GPA, references, and interview with research faculty. Below you will find a list of professors and their research areas.
Application
Students must apply for the following summer and fall semester by December 1, and for the following spring semester by May 1. Application is not a guarantee of acceptance, nor does it mean that a student is committed and cannot change their mind. For questions, please contact the University Practicum Supervisor.
HDF 355 FACULTY RESEARCH INTERESTS DESCRIPTIONS
Dr. Ed Anderson focuses on the adjustment of children and family members to parental divorce, repartnering, and remarriage, especially the role of divorced parent's dating on children's development and on family relationships. Activities include coding in-home, videotaped observations of couple, parent-child, and family interactions; transcriptions of interviews with custodial mothers; coding of school records and teachers' reports of children's behavior.
Dr. Ted Dix's research examines how parents' emotions and thinking processes influence the sensitivity of their parenting. In recent years he has studied how parents' depression, low child-oriented motivation, and inability to understand children's emotions and behaviors undermines parents' ability to respond in sensitive and effective ways. Recent student responsibilities have included reviewing videotapes of mother-child interaction and coding the emotions and behaviors of mother and child.
Dr. Nancy Hazen-Swann and Dr.
Deborah Jacobvitz's research is based on The Partners and Parents Project. The aim of the Partners and Parents Project is to follow first-time parents over the transition to parenthood to see what factors predict positive styles of parenting, and positive outcomes for children. Beginning in October 1992, we recruited 125 couples that were expecting their first child. Follow up with these families has been on a continuous basis. Student participation may include the following: Office/organizational work, computer work, and coding/ rating videotaped data, which includes parent-child, marital, and family interactions.
Dr. Aletha Huston's students are involved in coding and analyzing data from ongoing research projects investigating the effects of welfare reform, child care, and anti-poverty programs on children and families. Each student does an independent project as part of the semester's activities.
Dr. Ted Huston's research focuses on courtship, the early years of marriage, the transition to parenthood, parenting roles, and divorce. Students may be involved in transcribing and coding audiotapes of accounts of courtship or reasons for satisfaction with various aspects of marriage or parenthood, doing library research, writing summary reports, and helping to analyze quantitative data.
Dr. Su Yeong Kim studies culture, parenting, and adolescent development in Asian and Latino immigrant families in the U.S. Student responsibilities include coding, entering, cleaning, managing, and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. Students will also write reports and recruit families for research participation. Students receive training on the use of bibliographic, data management, and statistical software. All students carry out an independent research project during the semester.
Dr. Karrol Kitt focuses on topics related to personal finance and resource management. Student responsibilities are determined by the stage of the research project. This could include data collection, coding and/or analysis, and literature review.
Dr. Timothy Loving's studies what it is about close relationships that make them stressful and how individuals cope with that stress. His research is organized around two primary lines of inquiry. First, he is interested in how relationship transitions (e.g., falling in love, breaking up) impact partners physiological and health outcomes, including endocrine and immune function. Second, he investigates the reasons for, and consequences of, romantically involved individuals' conversations with their friends and family about their romances as they navigate relationship transitions. Students assist with all phases of the data collection process, including library research, data cleaning, entry, contacting interested study participants, and conducting experimental sessions with participants.
Dr. Catherine Surra studies development of marital and other romantic unions. Her research has examined how commitment evolves over time, the ways in which partners choose
one another as mates, and the links between the selection process and the
long-term health of relationships. With a random sample of 464 individuals and
their partners, Dr. Surra has investigated the links between personality,
trust, commitment, interdependence, compatibility and successful relationships.
The Surra lab also maintains an empirically-based relationship information
website that makes relationship research accessible to the community.
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