The Community-Engaged Lab: A Case-Study Introduction for Developmental Science.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Community Psychology
• Research Methodology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional research methods, limiting access to public spaces for recruitment and dissemination in developmental labs.
• Developmental research labs often rely on local communities for human participants, making them vulnerable to public health-related closures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a community-engaged lab model as a viable alternative for developmental research during public health crises.
• To demonstrate how reframing a lab as a community organization can facilitate virtual operations and maintain research integrity.

Main Methods:

• The study introduces a community-engaged lab model, drawing parallels with mission-driven community organizations.
• It contrasts this model with traditional bidirectional recruitment and dissemination approaches.
• The paper uses the authors' lab activities during the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study.

Main Results:

• The community-engaged model facilitated the formation of new community partnerships and virtual programming.
• Child "citizen-scientists" were engaged in online research activities.
• The approach led to a return to pre-pandemic sample diversity and new engagement opportunities for trainees.

Conclusions:

• The community-engaged lab model offers a sustainable framework for developmental research, enhancing community integration and adaptability.
• This model shows promise for overcoming limitations posed by external disruptions and fostering inclusive research practices.
• Further exploration of the model's long-term impact and scalability is warranted.