Where to Find Evidence-Based Interventions

  • 04/01/04

Editor's note: The following is reprinted from Appendix A of the U.S. Department of Education's "Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: A User Friendly Guide." The full guide can be found online at www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/rigorousevid.

The following Web sites can be useful in finding evidence-based educational interventions. These sites use varying criteria for determining which interventions are supported by evidence, but all distinguish between randomized controlled trials and other types of supporting evidence. We recommend that, in navigating these Web sites, you use this guide to help you make independent judgments about whether the listed interventions are supported by "strong" evidence, "possible" evidence or neither.

  • The What Works Clearinghouse (www.w-w-c.org) established by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers and the public with a central, independent and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education.
  • The Promising Practices Network (www.promisingpractices.net) Web site highlights programs and practices that credible research indicates are effective in improving outcomes for children, youth and families.
  • Blueprints for Violence Prevention (www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/index.html) is a national violence prevention initiative to identify programs that are effective in reducing adolescent violent crime, aggression, delinquency and substance abuse.
  • The International Campbell Collaboration (www.campbellcollaboration.org/Fralibrary.html) offers a registry of systematic reviews of evidence on the effects of interventions in the social, behavioral and educational arenas.
  • Social Programs That Work (www.excelgov.org/displayContent.asp?Keyword=prppcSocial) offers a series of papers developed by the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy on social programs that are backed by rigorous evidence of effectiveness.

This article originally appeared in the 04/01/2004 issue of THE Journal.


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