ABSTRACT
Most of the chapters in this book concentrate on the “whats” and the “whys” of infant development. The story would be far from complete, however, without describing “how” we have reached a growing understanding of infancy. The chief purpose of this chapter is to introduce (1) the main procedural issues encountered by developmentalists asking “questions” of and interpreting “answers” from infants and (2) the ethical questions which must be addressed by those who seek to study individuals too young to give informed consent. Here we explore key aspects of infant research with this purpose in mind. Some topics echo general developmental considerations; others are uniquely relevant to research on infancy because infants are unusual research participants.
