Design Priorities and Disciplinary Perspectives: The Case of the US National Children's Study
The National Children's Study, undertaken in 2000 by collaboration among several federal government agencies led by NICHD, CDC, and EPA, is one of the largest and boldest longitudinal study of children's health ever undertaken. One of the key design issues has been the nature of the NCS sample. This essay describes the nature of the choices and the reasons for the decision that the NCS be based on a national probability sample. Designed as a study of the environmental influences on children's health and development, the NCS is expected to identify, enroll, and follow some 100,000 children from their birth to the age of 21. A broad definition of relevant environments of interest, and a full partnership among government, university and medical scientists introduces considerable challenges in the design of the study.
