2016 Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 30-38
The replicability and robustness of psychological research has been questioned in recent years. However, few researchers have addressed the issue in developmental science. In this article, I discuss the replicability and robustness of developmental science. Two examples are reviewed. First, I introduce experiments on infants and young children. Several factors that may affect the results of the experiments, therefore revised provided difficulty in replication. The ManyBabies project was launched to resolve the issue. Second, I introduce longitudinal research the that examines is long-term developmental trajectory. Longitudinal research may cost time and money, and therefore robustness rather than replicability may be assessed. Finally, I argue the situation in domestic developmental science, and propose that more efforts should be done to improve reliability in developmental research.
