In her research proposal “Social Support, Stress, and Adaptation in Immigrant Youth”, author Mary J. Levitt proposes a study to adress deficiencies in knowledge surrounding the adaptation of migrant students to the environment of US schools, particularly expressing concern in the lack of longitudinal data. To delve into the topic on the emotional, academic, and behavioral adaptation of immigrants, she proposes to endeavor to answer the research question: “Are higher levels of family stress and lower levels of social support associated with poor adjustment?”.  This question calls for a wide range of data. Levitt suggests she will collect demographic data, organizational data, and data from surveys and interviews, using data gathering methods ranging from in-depth interviews to the use of public and private records. To collect this data, Levitt explains she will take a random sample of 200 children, evenly divided between genders, from grades 3, 6, and 9. She will interview them at the beginning of the first year, at school in a private location, then make a follow up interview two years later. She will also collect academic performance indicators from school records, background information, and psychological and adaptation ratings from teachers. Following the three year period of collecting data, she proposes to use a multiple regression analysis to search for the answer to her research question.

I was impressed by the thurough nature of the proposal, especially as Levitt already had an idea of the size of the sample she would need, the duration of the study, and the specific evaluations she would ask the teachers to make, though I would be curious to see what, if any, changes she made when it came time to perform the actual study. I was also impressed with the extensive safeguards she specified in order to ensure that the confidentiality of participants would be maintained. The one concern which stood out to me, however, was Levitt’s proposal to give the students each an age- appropriate gift for participation. Though I am not an expert, I understand that researchers are not allowed to offer undue enticement to participants, and I cannot help but wonder if offering a gift for participation might fall within those parameters.

Mary J. Levitt, Florida International University