Publications [#42165] of Jeffrey C Valentine

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Other scholarly work submitted

1. Valentine, J. C. & Cooper, H. "What Works Clearinghouse Study Design and Implementation Assessment Device (version 1.0)." Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. (2003).
   (last updated on 2005/10/18)

   Abstract:
   The Study Design and Implementation Assessment Device (Study DIAD) is a system for assessing the degree to which the design and implementation of an individual evaluation permits conclusions about the causal effects of an intervention. The fact that the Study DIAD focuses on research pertaining to the causal effects of educational interventions does not mean we believe that research designs meant to uncover causal relationships are the only tools that should be used by social scientists. Nor does it mean we believe that to be truly “scientific,” social science must be limited to randomized trials. To the contrary, we believe that (a) no single method can be used to address all interesting and important questions about educational interventions and (b) even when causal relationships are of primary interest, qualitative studies and quantitative surveys, among other types of research, yield important information about when, why, and how interventions work, and for whom. However, our central focus and the focus of the Study DIAD are on research designs―such as randomized trials, certain quasi-experiments, regression discontinuity designs―that have as their primary purpose uncovering causal relationships (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell 2002).