Despite the widespread attention given to education reform, no substantial knowledge base has existed for identifying and implementing effective reforms for at-risk student populations. This document, the third of three volumes, describes the research design for a study that identified the essential mechanics of effective reforms for students at risk. The study also identified the incentives for and barriers to implementing and sustaining reforms and their effects on students. The case study of 18 school sites involved two-person trips to 12 schools in 1994 and one-person trips to 6 schools in 1995. The first 12 sites were grouped into 6 pairs, according to their distinctive reform characteristics: major urban reforms; low-budget, high-systemic-support efforts; high-community-achievement sites; public-private ventures; high school restructuring efforts; and work/learning combinations. Methods included archival analysis; a survey of school staff; three different focus groups with teachers, students, and parents; the shadowing of two students at each school; classroom and campus observations; and interviews with the principal, onsite program coordinator, district superintendent, funding representatives, program advocate, program developer, and other administrators. The report contains a summary of publications and proceedings from the 1992 National Conference on Educational Reforms and At-Risk Students. (LMI)