An Overview of Issues in Infant and Developmental Research for the creation of Robust and Replicable Science

In the last few years, the field of psychology has been challenged with a crisis in the rigor and reproducibility of science. The focus of these issues has primarily been in social, cognitive, and cognitive neuroscience psychology, however, the area of developmental research is not immune to these issues. This paper provides an overview of the “replication crisis” and the choices made by researchers that are often not noted in methods, thus making the replication of studies more difficult. In this review, we discuss issues of researcher flexibility in the data design and selection of sample size, collection, and analysis stages of research. In each of these areas, we address examples of bias and how developmental researchers can address these issues in their own research.