RESEARCH SELECTION CRITERIA

1. Look at outcome evidence of the intervention. This includes:

Independent Variables: Did the research study compare programs that you are interested in?

Dependent Variables: Are the outcomes of the research the same outcomes that you are interested in? Were the impacts positive and significant?

Sample: If the developer indicated that their product resulted in positive outcomes, how many students demonstrated improvements? Did these students have disabilities? How old were the students or what grade were they in? Are these students similar to the students to whom you will be bringing the innovation?

Experimental Controls: Were the conditions associated with the research controlled for? For instance, did the researcher demonstrate that there was nothing else that could have affected the outcome? For example, if the program was targeting basic reading skills and significant gains were reported, are there other factors that could have explained the students' gains? Strong research will attempt to control for these other factors.

Sample Setting: Does the setting in which the studies were conducted sound similar to yours? If the research was conducted in a laboratory or in a non-academic venue, it might be difficult to make inferences to your own setting.

2. Consider historical origins of the intervention/program – how long has the program been around? Who and what circumstances surrounded its development?

3. Look at the pervasiveness of intervention/program – how widely used is the intervention? In what settings does the intervention appear most suitable?

4. Determine fiscal costs associated with the implementation and maintenance of the intervention/program. What will it require?

5. What are personnel and staffing implications of the intervention/program? Do you have people with similar qualifications in your school or school district? What commitments will these people have to make?

6. What is the degree of flexibility in implementing the intervention? Can the program be modified to be consistent with your needs without compromising the integrity or effectiveness of the intervention? Is it replicable?

7. Is there external support, in addition to EMSTAC, offered by the program developer that would be available to the district during the initial implementation stages of the intervention/program?

8. Is the intervention philosophically compatible with existing programs, and acceptable to teachers and administrators who will be implementing it?

Once you have selected a number of interventions that appear appropriate for your setting and area of need, you will want to compare and contrast each intervention to determine its' appropriateness. There are numerous factors involved in assessing and examining an intervention. Thus, we have created both the Guide to Selecting an Intervention and the Intervention Selection Work Tool to assist you in examining and assessing the various important factors. Although the guide and the work tool are both designed to evaluate, compare, and contrast interventions and programs, each tool evaluates in a slightly different manner. After reviewing and using both documents you may find that one fits your style and needs better, or you may find that the combination of using both provides the best information for you.

Please click here to download a copy of the Guide to Selecting an Intervention. It will open in a new browser window.

In the following pages, we have provided an example that utilizes the Intervention Selection Work Tool. After working through the example, you may want to use the Guide to compare and contrast the results obtained through the use of the two tools.