NHSA

Accessing and Reading Research

Journals

NHSA Dialog

The mission of the NHSA Dialog: The Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field is to offer a quality outlet for research results to the Head Start and broader early childhood community; ensure that research results are effectively translated for practice and policy; and provide a forum for communication between researchers and practitioners. This journal is a publication of the National Head Start Association (NHSA) and the Center for Educational Measurement and Evaluation (CEME) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. All issues and articles are Open Access and free to download.

Child Development

The journal of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Child Development is published on a bimonthly basis and includes peer-reviewed empirical, theoretical, review, applied, and policy articles reporting research on child development on topics from the fetal period through adolescence. It is a source of information not only for researchers and theoreticians, but for a broad range of psychiatrists and psychologists, educators, and social workers across the field. SRCD also publishes Child Development Perspectives, Monographs, and quarterly Social Policy Reports.

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Early Childhood Research Quarterly is published four times a year and contains empirical research that meets the highest standards of scholarly and practical significance. ECRQ publishes predominantly empirical research on issues of interest to early childhood development, theory, and educational practice for children birth through 8 years of age. The journal also occasionally publishes practitioner and/or policy perspectives, book reviews, and significant reviews of research.

Websites and Databases

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) studies Administration for Children and Families (ACF) programs and the populations they serve through rigorous research and evaluation projects. These include evaluations of existing programs, evaluations of innovative approaches to helping low-income children and families, research syntheses and more. Within OPRE, the Division of Child and Family Development focuses on child care, Head Start, Early Head Start, and child abuse and neglect. Visit OPRE to navigate their current and past research on Head Start and Early Head Start.

Child Care and Early Education Research Connections

Child Care and Early Education Research Connections provides a continually updated, free and easily searchable collection of research on child care and early education for researchers and policymakers. The website provides access to more than 26,000 resources, including original scholarly research, government reports, fact sheets and briefs, datasets, and instruments. The site also features a 'Topics of Interest '​section on policy ­relevant topics and resources. Additionally, Research Connections produces various 'Research-to-Policy Resource Lists' and 'Research-to-Policy Research Briefs' on key topics in the field.

Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse

An initiative of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse (SSRC) is an ever growing virtual portal of research on low-income and TANF families and an online hub for professional networking among researchers, policymakers and practitioners who serve these populations. SSRC offers a library of resources and periodic webinars on topics related to family self-sufficiency.

What Works Clearinghouse

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was established in 2002 as an initiative of the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education and is administered by the National Center for Education Evaluation. The goal of the WWC is to be a resource for informed education decision making. To reach this goal, the WWC identifies studies that provide credible and reliable evidence of the effectiveness of a given practice, program, or intervention, and disseminates summary information and reports on the WWC website.