Proposal to Conduct Annual Workshops on Better Quasi-Experimental Design and Analysis

There is a continuing and pressing need for valid causal research to support education decision-making. At the same time, it is often difficult, and sometimes impossible to conduct a randomized experiment to address causal questions in education. The purpose of this series of annual workshops was to train education researchers in the design and analysis of quasi-experimental studies. Specifically, these workshops provided training in four specific areas of quasi-experimental design and analysis: regression discontinuity, interrupted time series, nonequivalent control group design, and instrumental variables. Using an approach that expanded and improved upon a previous IES training program in quasi-experimental designs, the workshops addressed some of the gaps and needed research in the field.