The HDFS Report Methodology 2017

This website details the methodology of the Human Development and Family Science Report 2017 ranking. The inaugural ranking was in 2014. The 2014 ranking can be found here and the methodology for 2014 can be found here.

Programs and Faculty

To identify programs to rank, I used the 2014 list of programs, supplemented with additional programs I was made aware of in the intervening years between 2014 and Fall 2017. I learned prior to distributing the survey that two programs no longer offered a PhD program, and after I distributed the survey, I learned that one program was changing its Ph.D. program, thus that program’s data was dropped, resulting in 48 departments for the final ranking.

Here is the program list:

Arizona State University, Program in Family and Human Development (1)
Auburn University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (2)
Brigham Young University, Program in Marriage, Family, and Human Development (3)
Colorado State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (4)
Cornell University, Department of Human Development (5)
Florida State University, Department of Family and Child Sciences (6)
Iowa State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (7)
Kansas State University, School of Family Studies and Human Services (8)
Loma Linda University, Department of Counseling and Family Studies (9)
Louisiana State University, Concentration in Child and Family Studies in the School of Social Work (10)
Michigan State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (11)
Mississippi State University, Program in Human Development and Family Studies (12)
Montclair State University, Department of Family Science and Human Development (13)
North Dakota State University, Department of Human Development and Family Science (14)
Northwestern University, Program in Human Development and Social Policy (15)
Ohio State University, Program in Human Development and Family Science (16)
Oklahoma State University, Department of Human Development and Family Science (17)
Oregon State University, Program in Human Development and Family Studies (18)
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (19)
Purdue University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (20)
Syracuse University, Department of Human Development and Family Science (21)
Texas Tech, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (22)
Texas Woman’s University, Department of Family Sciences (23)
Tufts University, Department of Child Study and Human Development (24)
University of Alberta, Department of Human Ecology (25)
University of Arizona, Program in Family Studies and Human Development (26)
University of California, Davis, Human Development Graduate Group (27)
University of Connecticut, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (28)
University of Delaware, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences (29)
University of Florida, Department of Family, Youth and Community Services (30)
University of Georgia, Department of Human Development and Family Science (31)
University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition (32)
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (33)
University of Kentucky, Department of Family Sciences (34)
University of Maryland at College Park, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology (35)
University of Maryland at College Park, Department of Family Science (36)
University of Minnesota, Department of Family Social Science (37)
University of Missouri, Department of Human Development and Family Science (38)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies (39)
University of New Mexico, Program in Family and Child Studies (40)
University of North Carolina Greensboro, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (41)
University of Pennsylvania, Program in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development (42)
University of Rochester, Program in Human Development (43)
University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Department of Child and Family Studies (44)
University of Texas, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences (45)
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Human Development and Family Studies (46)
Utah State University, Department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development (47)
Virginia Tech, Department of Human Development and Family Science (48)
West Virginia University, Program in Human Development and Family Studies (49; data dropped for this program)

Fifty percent of survey responders rated the faculty in each program, rather than the program and university (the remaining 50% rated the program and university). Here is the list of faculty. Numbers correspond to each university above. Faculty lists were gathered directly from graduate programs, with an 88% response rate. For those graduate programs not responding to our request for faculty lists, faculty lists were culled from graduate program and department websites, and may include lecturers for these programs.

Robert Bradley · Scott Brooks  · Jose Causadias   · Scott Christopher · Dawn DeLay  · Larry Dumka  · Kit Elam  · Steve Elliot · Richard Fabes  · Samuel Green · William Griffin  · Laura Hanish  · Masumi Iida  · Justin Jager  · Stephen Kulis  · Becky Ladd  · Gary Ladd · Sarah Lindstrom Johnson  · Roy Levy · Sabina Low · Carol Martin · Holly O’Rourke  · Eleanor Seaton · Tracy Spinrad · Marilyn Thompson  · Monica Tsethlikai  · Kimberly Updegraff  · Carlos Valiente · Rebecca White · Natalie Wilkens · Brandon Yoo (1)

Francesca Adler-Baeder · Katrina Akande · David Chae · Adrienne Duke · Mona El-Sheikh · Stephen Erath · Thomas Fuller-Rowell · Jatunn Gibson · Ben Hinnant · Margaret Keiley · Jennifer Kerpelman · Scott Ketring · Mallory Lucier-Greer · Diana Samek · Thomas Smith · Wendy Troop-Gordon · Brian Vaughn · Silvia Vilches · Angela Wiley (2)

Shayne Anderson · Alyssa Banford Witting · Roy Bean · Angela Bradford · Dean Busby · Mark Butler · Jason Carroll · Sarah Coyne · Jeffrey Dew · David Dollahite · Thomas Draper · Stephen Duncan  · Alan Hawkins · Jeff Hill · Erin Kramer Holmes · Spencer James · Alex Jensen · Lee Johnson · Chelom Leavitt · Chien-Ti Lee · Loren Marks · Larry Nelson · Chris Porter · Adam Rogers · Jonathan Sandberg · Jason Whiting  · Brian Willoughby · Jeremy Yorgason  (3)

Karen Barrett   · Allison Bielak ·  Zeynep Biringen   · Agnieszka Burzynska   · J. Douglass Coatsworth   · Lisa Daunhauer   · Manfred Diehl   · Deborah Fidler   · Christine Fruhauf   · Shelley Haddock   · Susan Hepburn   · Rachel Lucas-Thompson   · Gloria Luong   · Kelley Quirk   · Nathaniel Riggs   · Lauren Shomaker   · Lise Youngblade   · Toni Zimmerman (4)

Adam Anderson ·  Charles Brainerd ·  Anthony Burrow ·  Daniel Casasanto ·  Marianella Casasola ·  Stephen Ceci ·  Eve DeRosa ·  Richard Depue ·  John Eckenrode ·  Gary Evans ·  Cynthia Hazan ·  Katherine Kinzler ·  Tamar Kushnir ·  Corinna Loeckenhoff ·  Barbara Lust ·  Jane Mendle ·  Anthony Ong ·  Karl Pillemer ·  Valerie Reyna ·  Steven Robertson ·  Nathan Spreng ·  Robert Sternberg ·  Felix Thoemmes ·  Qi Wang ·  Elaine Wethington ·  Wendy Williams (5)

Bethany Blair ·  Ming Cui ·  Frank Fincham ·  Melinda Gonzales-Backen ·  Joseph Grzywacz ·  Jonathan Kimmes ·  Murray Krantz ·  Thomas Ledermann ·   Lenore McWey ·    Penny Ralston ·   Marsha Rehm (6)

Suzanne Bartholomae ·  Ji Young Choi ·  Cassandra Dorius ·  Cynthia Fletcher ·  Jonathan Fox ·  Megan Gilligan ·  Kimberly Greder ·  Clinton Gudmunson ·  Gong-Soog Hong ·  Kere Hughes-Belding ·  Tera Jordan ·  Daeyoung Lee ·  Jeongeun Lee ·  Christine Lippard ·  Brenda Lohman ·  Gayle Luze ·  Jennifer Margrett ·  Peter Martin ·  Tricia Neppl ·  Carla Peterson ·  Heather Rouse ·  Daniel Russell ·  Thomas Schofield ·  Debra Sellers ·  Elizabeth Shirtcliff ·  Carl Weems ·  Amie Zarling (7)

Jared Anderson · Kristy Archuleta · Joyce Baptist · Duane Crawford · Mary DeLuccie · Dorothy Durband · Jared Durtschi · Bronwyn Fees · Anthony Ferraro · Jennifer Francois · Jane Garcia · Briana Nelson Goff · Stuart Heckman · Linda Hoag · Elaine Johannes · Elizabeth Kiss · HanNa Lim · Sonya Lutter (Britt) · Maurice MacDonald · Melinda Stafford Markham · Kari Morgan · Deborah Norris · Charlotte Shoup Olsen · Kristin Pelczarski · Rick Scheidt · Walter Schumm · Martin Seay · Sandra Stith · Maggie Syme · Michelle Toews · Glade Topham · Amber Vennum · Bradford Wiles · Erin Yelland (8)

Cheryl J. Simpson ·  Brian Distelberg ·  Jacqueline Williams-Reade ·  Alisha Saavedra ·  Lena Lopez Bradley ·  Douglas Huenergardt ·  Michelle Minyard-Widmann ·  Mary Moline ·  Bryan Cafferky ·  Randall Walker  ·  Zephon Lister ·  Winetta Oloo ·  Ian Chand (9)

Margo Abadie ·  Priscilla Allen ·  Cassandra Chaney ·  Cecile Guin ·  Wesley T. Church, II. ·  Youn Kyoung/Lily Kim ·  Catherine M. Lemieux ·  Michelle Livermore ·  Elaine M. Maccio ·  Aimee Moles ·  Pamela Monroe ·  Timothy Page ·  Judith Rhodes ·  Sam Robinson ·  Jennifer Scott ·  Scott Wilks ·  Mi Youn Yang (10)

Adrian Blow   · Amy Bonomi   · Ryan Bowles  · Holly Brophy-Herb  · Marsha Carolan  · Sarah Douglas  · Hope Gerde  · Kendal Holtrop  · Deborah Johnson  · Meghan Maas  · Heather McCauley  · Amy Nuttall  · Desiree Qin  · Lori Skibbe  · LeAnne Silvey   · Claire Vallotton  ·  Francisco Villarruel  · Yijie Wang  · Andrea Wittenborn (11)

Lori Elmore-Staton · Alisha Hardman · Julie C. Parker · Tommy M. Phillips · Brandan E. Wheeler · Joe D. Wilmoth · Louise Davis · Laura Downey · Donna Peterson (12)

Katia Goldfarb · Brad van Eeden-Moorefield · Jonathan Caspi · Ashley Ermer · Constance Gager · Pauline Garcia-Reid · Sara Goldstein · Lynal Khaw · Steven Lee · Soyoung Lee · Miriam Linver · Olena Nesteruk · Robert Reid · Pearl Stewart · Jennifer Brown Urban (13)

Beth Blodgett Salafia · Sean Brotherson · Jim Deal · Heather Fuller · Joel Hektner · Melissa Lunsman O’Connor, · Brandy Randall · Greg Sanders · Rebecca Woods (14)

Emma Adam ·  P. Lindseay Chase-Lansdale ·  Cynthia Coburn ·  Jeannette Colyvas ·  Mesmin Destin ·  David Figlio ·  Jonathan Guryan ·  Claudia Haase ·  Larry Hedges ·  Barton Hirsch ·  Simone Ispa-Landa ·  Kirabo Jackson ·  Dan Lewis ·  Regina Logan ·  Ofer Malamud ·  Dan McAdams ·  Thomas McDade ·  Quinn Mulroy ·  James Rosenbaum ·  Terri J. Sabol ·  Diane Schanzenbach ·  Morton Schapiro ·  Heather Schoenfeld ·  Bruce Spencer ·  James Spillane ·  Linda Teplin ·  Laurie Wakschlag ·  Ellen Wartella (15)

Michael Betz ·  Cynthia Buettner ·  Xin Feng ·  Stephen Gavazzi ·  Suzanne Haring ·  Claire Kamp Dush ·  Erik Porfeli ·  Keeley Pratt ·  Kelly Purtell ·  Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan ·  Natasha Slesnick ·  Anastasia Snyder ·  Deanna Wilkinson ·  Jen Wong (16)

Whitney Bailey · Lana Beasley · Alex Bishop · Matt Brosi · Gretchen Cole-Lade · Ron Cox  · Mike Criss · Kami Gallus · Brandt Gardner · Nathan Hardy · Amanda Harrist · Jennifer Hays-Grudo · Charles Hendrix · Carolyn Henry  · Laura Hubbs-Tait · Jennifer Jones · Bob Larzelere · Mike Merten · Amanda Morris · Sissy Osteen · Karina Shreffler · Mike Stout  · Isaac Washburn · Amy Williamson (17)

Carolyn Aldwin · Marc Braverman · Kelly Davis · John Geldhof · Bridget Hatfield · Karen Hooker · Katherine MacTavish · Megan McClelland · Carolyn Mendez-Luck · David Rothwell · Risk Settersten · Rob Stawski (18)

Dave Almeida · Mayra Bamaca · Tim Brick · Sy-Miin Chow · Bo Cleveland · Linda Collins · Christian Connell · Ann Crouter · Max Crowley · Diana Fishbein · Greg Fosco · Steffany Fredman · Alyssa Gamaldo · Lisa Gatzke-Kopp · Charles Geier · Scott Gest · Rukmalie Jayakody · Sarah Kollat · Jennifer Maggs · Lynn Martire · Susan McHale · Peter Molenaar · Jennie Noll · Zita Oravecz · Nilam Ram · Robert Roeser · Leslet Ross · Chad Shenk · Martin Sliwinski · Cynthis Stifter · Douglas Teti  · Samantha Tornello (19)

Sharon Christ · Robert Duncan · James Elicker · Melissa Franks · Doran French · Elliot Friedman · Blake Jones · Valerie Knopik · Shelly McDermid Wadsworth · Carolyn McCormick · Kristine Marceau · Deborah Nichols · Germán Posada · Douglas Powell · David Purpura · Sara Schmitt · AJ Schwichtenberg · Cleveland Shields · Zoe Taylor (20)

Bruce Carter · Eunjoo Jung · Ambika Krishnakumar · Matthew Mulvaney · Kamala Ramadoss · Rachel Razza · Jaipaul Roopnarine · Merril Silverstein (21)

Yvonne Caldera · Yoojin Chae · Sara Dodd · Malinda Colwell · Zhen Cong · Jacki Fitzpatrick · Sybil Hart · Monica Martin · Ann Mastergeorge · Michael McCarty · Miriam Mulsow · Sylvia Niehuis · Michael O’Boyle · Wonjung Oh · Alan Reifman · Jean Scott · Elizabeth Sharp · Elizabeth Trejos · Zhe Wang · Dana Weiser (22)

Mellisa M. Brown ·  Erron Huey ·  Peggy Lisenbee ·  Elizabeth McCarroll ·  Lin Moore ·  Katherine Rose ·  Sharla Snider ·  Brigitte Vittrup ·  Pedro J Blanco ·  Lisa Grubbs ·  Ryan Holliman ·  Joel Muro ·  Lamar Muro ·  Joyce Armstrong ·  Rhonda Buckley ·  Nerissa Gillum ·  Shann-Hwa Hwang ·  Catherine Dutton ·  Linda Brock ·  Veronica Kuhn ·  Linda Ladd ·  Aaron Norton ·  Sarah Woods (23)

Marina Bers · Ann Easterbrooks · David Henry Feldman  · Tama Leventhal  · Richard Lerner · Christine McWayne · Jayanthi Mistry · Ellen Pinderhughes · Maryanne Wolf  · Kathleen Camara · Calvin Gidney · Fran Jacobs · Sasha Fleary · Sara Johnson (24)

Janet Fast ·  Deanna Williamson ·  Rhonda Breitkreuz ·  Matthew Johnson ·  Pushpanjali Dashora ·  Adam Galovan (25)

Kirk A. Astroth ·  Melissa A. Barnett ·  Emily A. Butler ·  Adam Clark ·  Melissa Curran ·  Melissa Y. Delgado ·  James Edward Hunt ·  Darin Knapp ·  Timothy Ottusch ·  Andrea Romero ·  Katherine E. Speirs ·  Angela R. Taylor ·  Russell (Russ) B. Toomey ·  Michele E. Walsh ·  Katharine H. Zeiders (26)

Len Abbeduto   ·  Jay Belsky   ·  Zhe Chen   ·  Daniel Choe   ·  Drew Cingel   ·  Jennifer Falbe   ·  Emilio Ferrer   ·  Marjorie Solomon Friedman   ·  Lorena Garcia   ·  Kevin Gee   ·  Simona Ghetti   ·  Beth Goodlin-Jones   ·  Katharine Graf-Estes   ·  Kevin Grimm ·  Amanda Guyer   ·  Randi Hagerman   ·  Robin Hansen   ·  Paul Hastings   ·  David Hessl   ·  Leah Hibel   ·  Ladson Hinton   ·  Suad Joseph ·  Siwei Liu   ·  Craig McDonald ·  Lisa Miller   ·  Peter Mundy   ·  Adrienne Nishina   ·  Lisa Oakes   ·  Beth Ober   ·  Lenna Ontai   ·  Susan Rivera   ·  Patricia Roberson  ·  Richard Robins   ·  Sally Rogers   ·  Gail Goodman   ·  Julie Schweitzer   ·  Martin Smith   ·  Emily Solari   ·  Aubyn Stahmer   ·  Tamara Swaab   ·  Johnna Swartz   ·  Ross Thompson   ·  Yuuko Tonkovich   ·  Brian Trainor   ·  Kali Trzesniewski   ·  Karen Watson-Gegeo   ·  Keith Widaman (27)

Kari Adamsons ·  Keith Bellizzi ·  Alaina Brenick ·  Preson Britner ·  Edna Brown ·  Noel Card ·  Annamaria Csizmadia ·  Laura Donorfio ·  Lisa Eaton ·  Michael Ego ·  Kim Gans ·  Linda Halgunseth ·  Sara Harkness ·  Maria Larusso ·  Eva Lefkowitz ·  Caitlin Lombardi ·  Laura Mauldin ·  Rebecca Puhl ·  Sandra Rigazio-DiGilio ·  Beth Russell ·  Ronald Sabatelli ·  Marlene Schwartz ·  Charles Super ·  Rachel Tambling ·  Ryan Watson ·  Shannon Weaver ·  Steven Wisensale (28)

Ann Aviles ·  Tia Barnes ·  Martha Buell ·  Roderick Carey ·  Jennifer Carrano ·  Valerie Earnshaw ·  Michael Ferrari ·  Ruth Fleury-Steiner ·  Jennifer Gallo-Fox ·  Mellissa Gordon ·  Rena Hallam ·  Myae Han ·  Jason Hustedt ·  Allison Karpyn ·  Henry May ·  Lynn Okagaki ·  Rob Palkovitz ·  Cynthia Paris ·  Barbara Settles ·  Bahira Sherif Trask (29)

Tracy Irani ·  Rosemary V. Barnett ·  Linda Bobroff ·  Randall Cantrell ·  Latoya J. O’Neal ·  Jerry Culen ·  David C. Diehl ·  Keith Diem ·  Kate Fogarty ·  Larry Forthun ·  Martie Gillen ·  Michael Gutter ·  Victor Harris ·  Jennifer A. Jones ·  Muthusami Kumaran ·  Sarah D. Lynne ·  Angie Lindsey ·  Jorge Ruiz-Menjivar ·  Dale Pracht ·  Heidi Radunovich ·  Karla Shelnutt ·  Amy Simonne ·  Suzanna Smith ·  Michael Spranger ·  Mickie Swisher (30)

Diane W. Bales ·  J. Maria Bermudez ·  Geoffrey L. Brown ·  Chalandra Matrice Bryant ·  Margaret OBrien Caughy ·  Ted G. Futris ·  Jerry Gale ·  Steven M. Kogan ·  Denise Clark Lewis ·  Assaf Oshri ·  Desiree M. Seponski ·  Emilie Smith ·  Kandauda K. A. S. Wickrama (31)

Kim Anderson ·  Lynda Ashbourne ·  John Beaton ·  Andrea Breen ·  Susan Chuang ·  John Dwyer ·  Leon Kuczysnki ·  Tuuli Kukkonen ·  Clare MacMartin ·  Scott B. Maitland ·  Robin Milhausen ·  Ruth Neustifter ·  Michele Preyde ·  Carla Rice ·  Olga Smoliak (formerly Sutherland) ·  Hannah Tait Neufeld ·  Tricia van Rhijn ·  Kimberley Wilson (32)

Susan Silverberg Koerner ·  Kelly Freeman Bost ·  Aaron Ebata ·  Gail Ferguson ·  Barbara Fiese ·  Jennifer Hardesty ·  Robert Hughes, Jr. ·  Robin Jarrett ·  Karen Kramer ·  Soo Ah Kwon ·  Reed Larson ·  Christy Lleras ·  Brent McBride ·  Nancy McElwain ·  Brian Ogolsky ·  Ramona Oswald ·  Marcela Raffaelli ·  Sharde’ Smith ·  Kelly Tu (33)

Robert Flashman ·  Jason Hans ·  Claudia Heath ·  Amy Hosier ·  Jennifer Hunter ·  Hyungsoo Kim ·  Bruce Ross ·  Donna Smith ·  Alex Vazsonyi ·  Ron Werner-Wilson ·  Nathan Wood (34)

Patricia A. Alexander ·  Donald Joseph Bolger ·  Lucas Payne Butler ·  Natasha J. Cabrera ·  Kevin N. Dunbar ·  Nathan A. Fox ·  Brenda P. Jones Harden ·  Melanie A. Killen ·  Elisa L. Klein ·  Kelly S. Mix ·  Richard William Prather II ·  Geetha B Ramani ·  Kenneth H. Rubin ·  Min Wang ·  Kathryn R. Wentzel ·  Allan L. Wigfield  ·  Gregory R. Hancock ·  Jeffrey Harring ·  Hong Jiao ·  Yang Liu ·  Laura M Stapleton ·  Tracy Morrison Sweet ·  Ji Seung Yang (35)

Elaine Anderson ·   Patricia Barros-Gomes ·   Norman B. Epstein    ·   Jessica Fish ·  Ali Hurtado ·  Marian Moser Jones ·  Jinhee Kim  ·  Leigh A. Leslie  ·  Amy Lewin  ·  Mona Mittal  ·  Manouchehr Mokhtari ·  Sandra C. Quinn ·  Kevin M. Roy ·  Edmond Shenassa ·  Mia Smith-Bynum ·  Julia Steinberg ·  Marie Thoma (36)

Gerald August ·  Lynne Borden ·  William Doherty ·  Jodi Dworkin ·  Abigail Gewirtz ·  Tabitha Grier-Reed ·  Steven Harris ·  Jenifer McGuire ·  Tai Mendenhall ·  Timothy Piehler ·  Martha Rueter ·  Joyce Serido ·  Cathy Solheim ·  Marlene Stum ·  Susan Walker ·  Lindsey Weiler ·  Liz Wieling ·  Zha Blong Xiong ·  Virginia Zuiker (37)

Lawrence Ganong ·  Jean Ispa ·  Jacquelyn Benson ·  Tashel Bordere ·  Gustavo Carlo ·  Chelsea Garneau-Rosner ·  Sarah Killoren ·  Antoinette Landor ·  Louis Manfra ·  Kale Monk ·  Fancisco Palermo ·  Christine Proulx ·  Russell Ravert ·  Duane Rudy ·  Rachel Thibodeau (38)

Richard Bischoff ·  Kelley Buchheister ·  Jeong-Kyun Choi ·  Rochelle Dalla ·  Maria Rosario de Guzman ·  Dipti Dev ·  Holly Hatton-Bowers ·  Cody Hollist ·  Soo-Young Hong ·  Marjorie Kostelnik ·  Samuel Meisels ·  Victoria Molfese ·  Gilbert Parra ·  Helen Raikes ·  Allison Reisbig ·  Susan Sarver ·  Rachel Schachter ·  Paul Springer ·  Julia Torquati ·  Natalie Williams ·  Yan (Ruth) Xia (39)

David J. Antencio ·  Alexandra Nicole Davis ·  Cathy Gutierrez-Gomez ·  Ziarat Hossain ·  Ryan J. Kelly ·  David T. Lardier Jr. ·  Cara Streit (40)

Arthur Anastopoulos   ·  Cheryl Buehler   ·  Susan Calkins   ·  Mark Fine   ·  Anne Fletcher   ·  Karen La Paro   ·  Esther Leerkes   ·  Catherine Scott-Little ·   Jonathan Tudge   ·  Stephanie Irby Coard   ·  Jennifer L. Coffman   ·  Danielle Crosby   ·  Heather Helms   ·  Linda Hestenes   ·  Andrea Hunter ·  Roger Mills-Koonce   ·  Mary Morgan   ·  Sudha Shreeniwas   ·  Andrew Supple ·  Rachel Boit (41)

Xinyin Chen ·  Douglas Frye ·  Howard Stevenson ·  Daniel Wagner ·  Sharon Wolf (42)

Samantha Daley ·  David Donnelly ·  Kathryn Douthit ·  Joyce Duckles ·  Doug Guiffrida ·  Daniel Linnenberg ·  Martin Lynch ·  Karen Mackie ·  Andre Marquis ·  Dena Phillips Swanson ·  Bonnie Rubenstein ·  Silvia Sörensen (43)

Mary Jane Moran ·  Samara Madrid Akpovo ·  Hillary Fouts ·  Megan Haselschwerdt ·  Julia Jaekel ·  Elizabeth Johnson ·  Cara Djonko-Moore ·  Spencer Olmstead ·  Margaret Quinn ·  Amy Rauer ·  Delores Smith ·  Heidi Stolz (44)

Elma Lorenzo-Blanco ·  Hannah Williamson ·  Fatima Varner ·  Su Yeong Kim ·  Lisa Neff ·  Marci Gleason ·  Edward Anderson ·  Karen Fingerman ·  Stephen Russell ·  Elizabeth Gershoff ·  Nancy Hazen-Swann ·  Deborah Jacobvitz ·  Aprile Benner (45)

Janean Dilworth-Bart ·  Larissa Duncan ·  Sarah Halpern-Meekin ·  Sigan Hartley ·  Margaret Kerr ·  Heather Kirkorian ·  Kristin Litzelman ·  Robert Nix ·  Lauren Papp ·  Julie Poehlmann-Tynan ·  Charles Raison ·  Linda Roberts ·  Stephen Small (46)

Scot Allgood ·  Ann Berghout Austin ·  Troy Beckert ·  Lisa Boyce ·  Kay Bradford ·  Travis Dorsch ·  Aryn Dotterer ·  Elizabeth Braungart Fauth ·  Brian Higginbotham ·  Yoon Lee ·  Shelley Lindauer ·  Yin Liu ·  Diana Meter ·  Josh Novak ·  Megan Oka ·  Dave Robinson ·  Lori Roggman ·  David Schramm ·  Ryan Seedall ·  Shawn Whiteman (47)

Katherine Allen ·  Joyce Arditti ·  Mark Benson ·  Rosemary Blieszner ·  Megan Doblin-MacNab ·  Mariana Falconier ·  April Few-Demo ·  Erika Grafsky ·  Jeff Jackson ·  Christine Kaestle ·  Benjamin Katz ·  Kee Jeong Kim ·  Ashley Landers ·  Bertranna Muruthi ·  Karen Roberto ·  Laura Sands ·  Tina Savla ·  Carolyn Shivers ·  Cindy Smith ·  Pam Teaster ·  Anisa Zvonkovic (48)

Sara Anderson ·  Suzanne Hartman ·  Kristin Moilanen ·  Amy Root ·  Jessica Troilo ·  Bobbie Warash (49; data dropped for this program)

Sampling Frame

The sampling frame for this survey included one faculty member from each of the 48 HDFS doctoral programs identified. For virtually every department, the graduate studies chair was invited with one exception of a department that requested that the department chair receive the survey. Here is the content of the email invitation:

Dear Dr. {last name},

You are invited, as a graduate studies chair from one of the 49 Human Development and Family Science related-doctoral programs, to complete the HDFS-ranking survey linked below. When I published theHDFS Report graduate program rankings in 2014, I committed to re-ranking departments every 3 years. It is now 2017.

If you do not feel qualified to complete this ranking, or do not have the time, please forward this email to a faculty colleague in your HDFS department or program who could fill it out. Your link will work only once, so please do not distribute this email to more than one colleague. This survey will be active until Monday, November 6th at midnight.

You might wonder what the reach of the initial HDFS rankings has been. First, if you google “hdfs ranking”, The HDFS Report ranking is the first hit. Second, the ranking has had over 5600 visitors in the past 12 months, and over 9000 page views. Thus I believe it has a wide reach and has hopefully directed graduate students to your programs.

You will randomly be invited to rank either programs by university and name, or groups of faculty, stripped of the university and department names. The survey takes about 10 minutes if you get the program ranking version, and about 20 minutes if you get the faculty ranking version. Thank you for taking the time complete this survey.

Best wishes,
Claire Kamp Dush
Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science Program, The Ohio State University

Final Sample

The final sample for the study included 38 faculty. No program had more than one faculty member respond. The final response rate was 79%. The sample included 2 department chairs, 26 graduate studies chairs, 3 faculty members (note respondents could choose more than one institutional role).  Thirty-nine percent were full professors, 55% were associate professors, and 5% were assistant professors. Sixty-three percent identified as female; two did not report their gender identity. Seventy-eight percent were White, one respondent was African-American, one was Asian, tow were multiracial. Three did not report their race.

Survey

The survey, which was active from October 9, 2017 to November 6, 2017, was created in Qualtrics by Claire Kamp Dush and Rachel Arocho.

Questionnaire

  1. What university are you currently affiliated with? 48 universities listed, along with an “other” option
  2. At what university did you receive your Ph.D.? 48 universities housing HDFS-type departments/graduate programs listed, along with an “other” option

After these two questions are answered, one of two blocks of questions is randomly assigned to each survey.

Block 1 – Ranking of Programs

  1. Please evaluate the following programs on a scale of 1 Marginal to 5 Outstanding, or Unable to Evaluate. You will not rate your current program or PhD institution. The 49 departments/graduate programs, including university names, were randomly listed to be ranked. Respondents did not see any program from the university they selected in 1, nor any program from the university they selected in 2.
  2. What are the top programs in the area of Family Science? (Choose up to 5, hold the ‘ctrl’ (Windows) or Command (Mac) key while clicking to make multiple selections). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The 49 departments/graduate programs, including university names, were alphabetically listed. Respondents did not see any program from the university they selected in 1, nor any program from the university they selected in 2.
  3. What are the top programs in the area of Child Development? (Choose up to 5, hold the ‘ctrl’ (Windows) or Command (Mac) key while clicking to make multiple selections). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The 49 departments/graduate programs, including university names, were alphabetically listed. Respondents did not see any program from the university they selected in 1, nor any program from the university they selected in 2.
  4. What are the top programs in the area of Adolescent Development and Emerging Adulthood? (Choose up to 5, hold the ‘ctrl’ (Windows) or Command (Mac) key while clicking to make multiple selections). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The 49 departments/graduate programs, including university names, were alphabetically listed. Respondents did not see any program from the university they selected in 1, nor any program from the university they selected in 2.
  5. What are the top programs in the area of Adult Development and Aging? (Choose up to 5, hold the ‘ctrl’ (Windows) or Command (Mac) key while clicking to make multiple selections). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The 49 departments/graduate programs, including university names, were alphabetically listed. Respondents did not see any program from the university they selected in 1, nor any program from the university they selected in 2.

Block 2 – Ranking of Faculty

  1. Please evaluate each group of faculty on a scale of 1 Marginal to 5 Outstanding, or Unable to Evaluate. You will not rate your current program or PhD institution. The 49 departments/graduate programs, including university names, were randomly listed to be ranked. Respondents did not see any program from the university they selected in 1, nor any program from the university they selected in 2.
  2. What are the top groups of faculty in the area of Family Science?  (Choose up to 5). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The faculty in each of the 49 departments/graduate programs were randomly listed as groups to be chosen, the same random order was retained from question 1 in this block for ease of response. Respondents did not see the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 1, nor the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 2.
  3. What are the top groups of faculty in the area of Child Development?  (Choose up to 5). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The faculty in each of the 49 departments/graduate programs were randomly listed as groups to be chosen, the same random order was retained from question 1 in this block for ease of response. Respondents did not see the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 1, nor the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 2.
  4. What are the top groups of faculty in the area of Adolescent Development and Emerging Adulthood?  (Choose up to 5). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The faculty in each of the 49 departments/graduate programs were randomly listed as groups to be chosen, the same random order was retained from question 1 in this block for ease of response. Respondents did not see the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 1, nor the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 2.
  5. What are the top groups of faculty in the area of Adult Development and Aging?  (Choose up to 5). You will not be able to choose your current program or PhD institution. The faculty in each of the 49 departments/graduate programs were randomly listed as groups to be chosen, the same random order was retained from question 1 in this block for ease of response. Respondents did not see the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 1, nor the faculty in any program at the university they selected in 2.

Finally, all respondents are asked the following questions.

  1. Should “Health and Family Wellbeing” be added as ranking area to this survey?
    1. Yes (1)
    2. No (2)
  2. What is your current institutional role? Multiple may be chosen.
    1. Dean/Associate Dean (1)
    2. Department Chair (2)
    3. Center Director (3)
    4. Chair of Graduate Studies Committee, Graduate Program Coordinator (4)
    5. Faculty member/Lecturer/Instructor (5)
    6. Graduate Student/Undergraduate Student (6)
    7. Other (7) ____________________
  3. What is your rank?
    1. Professor (1)
    2. Associate Professor (2)
    3. Assistant Professor (3)
    4. Non-tenure track Clinical Faculty (4)
    5. Non-tenure track Lecturer/Instructor (5)
    6. Graduate Student (6)
    7. Undergraduate Student (7)
    8. Other (8) ____________________
  4. What is your gender identity? (optional)
    1. Female (1)
    2. Female to male transgender (2)
    3. Male (3)
    4. Male to female transgender (4)
    5. Not sure (5)
    6. Other (please specify): (6) ____________________
  5. What is your race? (optional)
    1. White/Caucasian (1)
    2. African American (2)
    3. Hispanic (3)
    4. Asian (4)
    5. Native American (5)
    6. Pacific Islander (6)
    7. Other (7)
  6. Comments (optional)
  7.  Please provide your name, institution, and email address to facilitate the 2020 survey (optional).

First name (1) ____________________
Last name (2) ____________________
Email address (3) ____________________
Institution (4) ____________________

Sliders. All rankings were conducted using “sliders”, which allow responders to drag a bar along a continuum from 1 Marginal to 5 Outstanding. One decimal place was allowed. The “show value” option was used, so that the value chosen appears at the end of the bar. Sliders have less error associated with them as it is not possible to click the wrong “button” accidentally. Further, sliders allow for a more continuous scale.

Accessibility. Sliders cannot be used with screen readers. Thus, we also created an accessible version of the survey, and one respondent chose to use the accessible version. Instead of sliders, the accessible version instructed “Please evaluate the following programs on a scale of 1 Marginal to 5  Outstanding, or 0 for Unable to Evaluate. You may use up to one decimal point.”

Ranking

Rachel Arocho and I conducted the analyses for this ranking following the methods used in 2014. First, we conducted the average program ranking and faculty ranking, as two separate variables, for each university. We then created a trimmed mean for the program ranking and the faculty ranking, much in the style of US News and World Report rankings, whereby we dropped the highest and lowest score for each program (if there were ties, for example, if a program had multiple high scores of the same value, only one high score was dropped). Next, we examined the correlations between each of the two methods. The correlation between the raw program ranking and faculty ranking was (0.8482). The correlation between the trimmed program ranking and faculty ranking was (0.8549). We reported the raw mean rankings because that method was used in 2014. Means were reported to six decimal places. We first ordered the schools by the raw means. Then, we rounded the means to one decimal place following procedures in 2014. We had ties after ordering based on rounding, so we then changed schools with the same score to the same rank, but the remainder of the schools retained their rank, in the style of both the Philosophical Gourmet Report and US News and World Report and following 2014 procedures. Schools/programs that were ranked below a peer assessment of 2.0 were not be ranked, but rather, were marked as “Rank Not Published” and listed alphabetically following 2014 procedures.

For the specialty programs, we summed the number of nominations from the program and faculty rankings for an overall total number of nominations. The programs with the most nominations were listed in the top 5; ties were allowed.

Qualitative Comments

Here are the qualitative comments.

“Thanks for doing this!”

“Very frustrated with this survey. It was virtually impossible to rank a ‘faculty’ by reputation only – that reputation might be from interaction at professional meetings but not at all related to the quality of that person’s scholarship. In my opinion, this survey has NO validity and is a detriment to the field of family science. I appreciate your effort – but not good science.”

“reading through that many names felt cumbersome.  I am not sure how valid my estimates really are, I am not an expert in all of these domains, I can only really react to whether I recognize faculty or not”

“I am surprised by how few names I actually recognized. I didn’t rank a lot of departments for  that reason.”

“Thank you for doing this again Claire!”

“I spent some time browsing the faculty member profiles at the different HDFS programs around the country, and I found it very useful (I moved some of my rankings based on faculty members in different programs). I wonder if providing the school links somewhere might be useful for others to do the same?”

Dissemination

The report was disseminated on my blog, Adventures in Human Development and Family Science. A link to the report was also sent to 49 individuals who were originally invited to participate.

Next Ranking

I plan to conduct the ranking again in 2020. I am open to suggestions on improving the methodology. I am planning to invite both department chairs and grad studies chair in 2020 to increase the sample size.

It was suggested to me that I rank programs in “Health and Family Wellbeing” in 2020. I asked respondents “Should “Health and Family Wellbeing” be added as ranking area to this survey?” and the answer was 60% yes. I am ambivalent about adding this category and am unsure whether or not to do so. Comments welcome.