Evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies as well as policy making are often developed based on robust empirical findings. However, inconsistent and inconclusive findings from the literature are adverse to such endeavour. Meta-analysis is a powerful technique for researchers to quantitatively summarize empirical findings from the existing literature to achieve relatively-conclusive conclusions of a research topic. This technique is not only frequently used in psychological and educational studies, but it is also widely applied in other disciplines (e.g., management, criminology, public health, social work, medicine, etc.). In this talk, I will briefly introduce the definition and several popular types of meta-analysis, present the procedure of how to organize a meta-analysis, and discuss some key points that requires particular attention when conducting and publishing a meta-analysis.

Synopsis: Meta-analysis is a powerful technique for researchers to quantitatively summarize empirical findings from the existing literature to achieve relatively-conclusive conclusions of a research topic. The presenter will briefly introduce the definition and several popular types of meta-analysis, present the procedure of how to organize a meta-analysis, and discuss some key points that requires particular attention when conducting and publishing a meta-analysis.

Dr. Li received his Ph.D. (cum Laude) in Developmental and Social Psychology from University of Padua. His research primarily focuses on understanding and facilitating adjustment and well-being from childhood to adulthood. Recently, he employes meta-analytic techniques to reveal the genetic and environmental effects on the individual differences in child and adolescent self-control. The findings are published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

In my earlier PhD, I conducted quantitative intervention study with the use of experimental design. Later on, I have become fascinated with qualitative research, in particular phenomenography, which is now the main theoretical and methodological framework used predominately in most of my research work. Going back and forth between quantitative and qualitative research approaches, I started to realize the great differences in the methodological assumptions behind the two approaches. They differ in terms of the purpose of conducting a study (to verify or to formulate a theory), research question (closed or open ended), the object of study (the phenomenon or the participants’ ways of seeing the phenomenon), sampling methods (random selection of a large number of participants or selecting those participants who give us new insight into the phenomenon), generalizability (across people or across situations), etc. In this presentation, I will illustrate these differences with the use of examples in my own research in classroom learning and teaching of Chinese characters in kindergarten and junior primary school settings as well as in my experience in teaching research methods at the Education University of Hong Kong.

Synopsis: In this workshop, the presenter will analyse the great differences in the methodological assumptions between quantitative and qualitative research approaches, drawing on examples from his own research in kindergarten and junior primary classrooms in Hong Kong.

Lam, Ho Cheong is an Assistant Professor and was previously the Associate Head of Department of Early Childhood Education, the Education University of Hong Kong. His main teaching area is research methods in ECE settings. His research focuses on the teaching and learning of Chinese characters, phenomenography and variation theory, designing technology for learning, and intercultural education. He has widely published qualitative as well as quantitative research in international journals in both English and Chinese.

In this workshop, I will introduce the use of the Mplus programme for latent variable modelling. One of the advantages of using Mplus is its abilities to accommodate a variety of data. However, the use of complex designs and the presence of non-normal data do require special handling. I will talk about some of the work-arounds that I have come across in analysing data that often turn up in developmental research.

Synopsis: The presenter will introduce the use of the Mplus programme for latent variable modelling and will talk about some of the work-arounds to deal with developmental research data.

Professor Kerry Lee joined the Education University of Hong Kong in 2017. He is currently the Head of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Director of the Centre for Educational and Developmental Sciences. Trained as a cognitive developmental psychologist at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University, his work focuses on mathematical achievement, working memory, and the development of executive functioning. He has published extensively in top-tier journals and serves on the editorial or review boards of Child Development, Learning and Individual Differences, the European Journal of Psychological Assessment, and Frontline Learning Research.

The monster at the centre of Mary Shelley’s gothic horror novel, Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus – considered by many to be the first literary work of science fiction – holds an iconic place in the popular imagination. Created from human body parts and brought to life by the young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, the monster and his murderous impulses have long been considered a kind of cautionary tale about the excesses of science and the risks they posed to values and norms of the day. This workshop, however, proposes that a central thesis of the novel – and Victor Frankenstein’s dilemma – is primarily concerned with personal and professional ethics. Drawing on insights from Shelley’s novel, and informed by principles underpinning research ethics documents that guide research practice, the workshop will consider some of the key issues with which contemporary researchers must grapple: What is the function and purpose of ethical review procedures? What constitutes risk when researching in different kinds of settings? How can ethical dilemmas be anticipated and avoided? How does researcher identity and positionality impact on the ethical conduct of research? How can researchers best balance procedural requirements with practical realities? The workshop will be interactive, providing opportunities for discussion of both the policy and pragmatic dimensions of ethical practice in contemporary research.

Synopsis: This workshop considers questions of personal and professional ethics in research. Drawing insights from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we will explore guiding principles of research conduct and implications for contemporary researchers.

I am an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in sociological and cultural studies of education, childhood and children’s literature. My qualitative research includes ethnography, social semiotics and discourse analysis across a wide range of education sectors and contexts, and is informed by theories of everyday life, violence, organisational and cultural practices. I have served on a number of national and international research committees, as well as on Human Research Ethics Committees in the university and health sectors.