ERIC Number: ED502531
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jul
Pages: 85
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Empirical Issues in the Design of Group-Randomized Studies to Measure the Effects of Interventions for Children. MDRC Working Papers on Research Methodology
Bloom, Howard; Zhu, Pei; Jacob, Robin; Raudenbush, Stephen; Martinez, Andres; Lin, Fen
MDRC
This paper provides practical guidance for researchers who are designing studies that randomize groups to measure the impacts of interventions on children. To do so, the paper: (1) provides new empirical information about the values of parameters that influence the precision of impact estimates (intra-class correlations and R-squares); (2) examines the implications of planning group-randomized studies for three-level hierarchical situations, using empirical information obtained by estimating two-level hierarchical models (which under many conditions appears to not be problematic); and (3) assesses the implications of the uncertainty that exists when the design of group-randomized studies is based on estimates of intra-class correlations. Data for the paper come from two studies: the Chicago Literacy Initiative: Making Better Early Readers study (CLIMBERs) and the School Break-fast Pilot Project (SBPP). The analysis sample from CLIMBERs comprised 430 4-year old children from 47 preschool classrooms in 23 Chicago public schools. The analysis sample from the SBPP study comprised 1,151 third-graders from 233 classrooms in 111 schools in six school districts. Four appendixes are included: (1) Description of Outcome Measures; (2) Definition of the Multiplier M; (3) Complete Set of Results for Three-Level vs. Two-Level Model Comparisons: Nonstandardized Unconditional Variance Components; and (4) Proofs of the Relationship between Three-Level Models and Two-Level Models in Terms of Precision. (Contains 20 footnotes, 1 figure and 14 tables.) [This document is also sponsored by Judith Gueron Fund for methodological Innovation in Social Policy Research at MDRC, and the Jerry Lee foundation.]
Descriptors: Pilot Projects, Research Methodology, Intervention, Sampling, Preschool Children, Preschool Evaluation, Evaluation Research, Correlation, Item Analysis, Weighted Scores, Evaluation Methods, Test Construction, Psychometrics, Information Sources
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Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: William T. Grant Foundation; Abt Associates, Inc.; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Rockefeller Foundation, New York, NY.; Grable Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Authoring Institution: MDRC
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Author Affiliations: N/A