For a duo with the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, answering cutting-edge research questions starts with identifying the unknown.

This is the premise for a new multi-volume research series edited by Susan Sheridan, CYFS director, and Elizabeth Moorman Kim, CYFS postdoctoral affiliate. By describing what researchers know and what they don’t know, the series seeks to establish a critical research agenda for the field.

The first book in the series, “Foundational Aspects of Family-School Partnerships,” was released by Springer Publishing Company this June. Sheridan and Kim wrote the first chapter of the book, which includes content from nationwide family-school partnership researchers.

According to Sheridan, the series represents the best and most current ideas from the field.

“The purpose of the series is to renew interest and activity around the development of cutting-edge research related to family-school partnerships,” Sheridan said. “I hope people will read these chapters and have more questions than answers, and conduct studies to tackle some of these challenging issues.”

Readers can choose to purchase a single chapter or the entire volume, which is available in both eBook and hardcover formats. These unique publishing features are designed to enable quick access and spur research activity, Sheridan said.

Subsequent volumes will be published later this year. The second volume will highlight partnership forming processes and cultural and developmental factors, while the third will focus on field-based research and interventions.

Future volumes will rely on continued collaboration. Sheridan and Kim plan to remain the series’ editors, but they are inviting independent researchers to edit additional volumes.

“We want to keep the series going,” Sheridan said. “By including multiple editors, we hope to serve as a platform for other researchers.”

To preview and purchase content from “Foundational Aspects of Family-School Partnerships,” go to http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319138374.