Finding, Accessing, and Using Secondary Data for Research on Gifted Education and Advanced Academics

Secondary data analysis can benefit researchers of advanced academics by providing large sample sizes and a variety of data on multiple topics. However, using secondary data comes with unique challenges. This article will outline how gifted education researchers can find, access, and use secondary data. Data are available on children from birth to adulthood and are typically accessed through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) or the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The majority of data sources have public-use files available, but some sensitive data may require special permissions. This article includes examples of advanced academic research that used popular databases along with software options for utilizing available data. We conclude with considerations researchers should take into account when considering using secondary data analysis, such as computer memory and technical skills.

Open Science: A Candid Conversation

In response to concerns about the credibility of many published research findings, open science reforms such as preregistration, data sharing, and alternative forms of publication are being increasingly adopted across scientific communities. Although journals in giftedness and advanced academics research have already implemented several of these practices, they remain unfamiliar to some researchers. In this informal conversation, Kendal Smith and Matthew Makel discuss how they came to know and use open science practices; open science values; benefits and objections; and their future aspirations for open science practices in gifted education research. Their conversation aims to help make open science practices more understandable and actionable for both early career and established researchers.

Conducting Registered Report Research: A Conversation With Matthew McBee and Scott Peters

The movement toward open-science is multifaceted with the general goal to promote both better scientific practices and greater access to scientific information. One aspect of the open-science framework is the recommended use of registered reports replacing the legacy model that dictates research manuscripts are submitted for initial review only after the completion of the study and the development of a full manuscript. At the time of this conversation, 125 journals were participating in the initiative to accept registered reports. At the completion of the conversation, that number had increased to 130. The majority of those journals are in the fields of psychology and medicine. Gifted Child Quarterly and the Journal of Advanced Academics were among the first education journals to open their editorial policies to accept and encourage registered report research. Matthew McBee and Scott Peters have consistently advocated for this movement toward registered reports and open science in gifted education and advanced academic research. This interview shares their rationale for the movement toward registered reports and the potential benefits to research in the fields of gifted education and advanced academics.