Overcoming data collection challenges in ECE research

January 24, 2023

Rigorous research in early care and education requires high-quality data, often gathered through intensive in-person fieldwork. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the ECE sector, making it much more challenging to safely and successfully collect data in ECE settings. Although the immediate crisis has passed, these disruptions continue. In a brief, Successful Data Collection in Early Childhood Settings During COVID-19Christina Weiland and co-authors Rachel Kushner, Anne Taylor, Louisa Penfold, Meghan McCormick, and Catherine Snow offer 5 lessons from their experiences collecting data in community-based centers participating in Boston’s Universal Pre-K (UPK) expansion between September 2019 and June 2022.

The research is a part of the Education Policy Initiative's ongoing Boston Early Childhood Research Practice Partnership

The full brief can be read here.