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April 2022

Responses to the Request for Information on the Existence and Use of Large Datasets To Address Education Research Questions

On April 29, 2022, the Institute of Education Sciences' (IES) National Center for Education Research (NCER) released a Request for Information on the Existence and Use of Large Datasets To Address Education Research Questions, which sought public input to identify existing large datasets that may be useful for education research and to learn more about the challenges and limitations that may affect access to and the value of these datasets for education research. The public had 30 days to respond to the RFI, and 38 unique responses were received within that period of time (one additional response was a duplicate). Respondents were nearly evenly split between nonprofit education organizations (13) and academic researchers (12), with substantial additional participation by Ed Tech companies (7) and people with other affiliations (6). We thank the field for their interest and engagement on this important topic. The full set of responses to the request for information (RFI) are available here.

Respondents expressed strong support for investments in additional large datasets to address education research problems (possibly due to respondent participation bias). There were a small number (20) of datasets referenced. However, respondents called for more than increasing available datasets; they recommended expanding the kinds of data included in large datasets. Respondents also called for better coordination around data governance and data use agreements.

The responses to this RFI provided many useful insights into the ways that the field can improve the construction of large datasets and the infrastructure to support data governance. For more information, see Director Mark Schneider's remarks about the RFI responses from July 2022: https://ies.ed.gov/director/remarks/07-28-2022.asp.

IES continues to think about these issues and welcomes feedback from the field at any time. Please contact Erin Higgins if you are interested in learning more about or providing additional comments about this topic.

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July 2017

Responses to the Request for Public Comment on IES Research Goals 3 and 4

In July 2017, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) issued a request for public comment on whether Goals 3 (Efficacy and Replication) and 4 (Effectiveness), as currently configured, are meeting the needs of the field or whether changes should be considered to encourage more replication and effectiveness studies. Specifically, the IES research centers asked for input on the following questions:

  1. What can IES do to encourage more visible and systematic replication research?
  2. How can IES revise the current requirements for Goal 4 to encourage more effectiveness studies?
  3. Does IES pay sufficient attention to collecting and analyzing data on program implementation under the current research goal structure?
  4. Does IES place enough emphasis on examining causal mechanisms and variation in impacts under the current goal structure?

This document summarizes the input IES received in response to the request for public comment.

PDF File Response to Public Comment on Goals 3 and 4 (80 KB) July 25, 2017

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August 2014

Responses to the Request for Public Comment on NCER and NCSER Research Programs

In August 2014, the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) issued a request for public comment on their research programs and the needs of the field as part of an ongoing effort to seek stakeholder input and to make improvements in NCER's and NCSER's research and training programs. Specifically, the IES research centers asked for comment on the following: (1) characteristics of education and special education studies that have had the most influence on policy and practice, and the lessons we can draw from these studies to inform NCER's and NCSER's future work; (2) critical problems or issues on which new research is needed; and (3) ways in which the NCER and NCSER can target their funds to do the most good for the field. This document summarizes the input NCER and NCSER received in response to the request for public comment.

PDF File View, download, and print the Responses to the Request for Public Comment on NCER and NCSER Research Programs document as a PDF file (330 KB)