This report analyzes early childhood research activities supported by the Interagency Panel on Early Childhood Research and Development during the 1974 fiscal year, and identifies trends and shifts in the agencies' research plans. The report is composed of five chapters which contain the following: (1) information about the historical background, operational structure, and 1974 fiscal year activities of the Interagency Panel; (2) a summary review of current areas of emphasis within the field of early childhood (applied, basic, global, longitudinal, and beneficial research, research on the research process, the developmental process, and the family, community, and society); (3) information about the distribution of early childhood research across agencies; (4) examination of the research programs of individual agencies; and (5) tentative plans and priorities of the agencies for the 1975 fiscal year and beyond. Numerous charts and tables present the report's information in concise form. A list of the documents prepared for the Interagency Panels on Early Childhood and Adolescence Research and Development since 1973 and other related information are included in the appendixes. (ED)