The Conduct and Publication of Research on Afro-American Children: A Content Analysis

Abstract

Quantitative procedures are used to assess differences in the qualitative nature of studies which compare Afro-American children with children from another racial or ethnic group (race comparative, n = 83) versus studies in which the research sample consists solely of Afro-American children (race-homogeneous, n = 30). Major journals in the field of human development are compared with other journals to determine if reliable differences exist in the nature of research published therein about Afro-American children. Contrary to prediction, race-comparative studies were no more likely than race-homogeneous studies to be based on a deficit model of the behavior of Afro-American children and no less likely to focus on situational determinants. Race-homogeneous studies, compared to race-comparative studies, were more likely to focus exclusively on low-income children, attempt to disentangle variables confounded in previous research, and highlight internal validity issues, and less likely to utilize random or representative samples. Contrary to prediction, major developmental journals published relatively fewer race-comparative studies and more race-homogeneous studies than other journals. These findings and their implications are discussed in light of previous critiques of research on Afro-American children.