Abstract
In order to determine the quality of the lives of children, it is critical that we develop appropriate, reliable, accurate, and stable measures of their well-being in accordance with traditional rules of scientific rigor for the social sciences. The indicators we use must be valid indicators of the various domains of well-being. They must be based on the most reliable, accurate, and timely data available. They must be analyzed using accepted scientific methods and appropriate statistical techniques, acknowledging the limitations and assumptions of those methods and techniques. However, the best indicators, the most reliable data and the most scientific methods will be of no value in efforts to improve the lives of children if they are not presented to policymakers in a way that is both comprehensible and useful to them. Research, no matter how insightful and informative its findings, will have no significant impact if it is never read or understood by those who can impact the lives of the children being studied. The purpose of this chapter is to offer some advice to those gathering data on the current state of children in America and the world, and more particularly, to those using that data to advocate for changes in public policy.
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LITTLE, T.H. (2006). Increasing the Impact of Indicators Among Legislative Policymakers. In: Ben-Arieh, A., Goerge, R.M. (eds) Indicators of Children's Well Being. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4242-6_9
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