Understanding WWC Research, Review, and Standards
Q: How does the WWC review evidence?
A: Each WWC topic is reviewed by a team composed of a principal investigator and a group of reviewers. The team develops a protocol that defines the scope of the review and how the standards will be applied to the evidence. After the protocol is developed, the team conducts a thorough search of the published and unpublished research literature to gather relevant studies. The search is supplemented by submissions from researchers and the public. The team reviews the relevant studies using the WWC Evidence Standards, and prepares intervention reports
summarizing evidence from
the studies that meet standards.
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Q: What standards has the WWC developed for reviewing evidence of effectiveness?
A: The WWC uses evidence standards to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a study's methodology, such as (1) the type of design it uses (i.e., randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental design), (2) the strength of the study's data (i.e., the types of outcomes it measures, data-collection response rates), and (3) the adequacy of the study's statistical procedures (i.e., whether sampling variance is estimated appropriately and whether results of key statistical tests are verifiable). Click here to learn more about the WWC standards.
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Q: How do I find out if the WWC has reviewed research on a certain program, practice, or intervention?
A: Under the Topic Areas tab on our website, users can access lists of the interventions reviewed by the WWC under each topic. Users may also search the WWC using the tool located at the top right of each page of our website to find a specific program, practice, or intervention.
Note: The WWC reviews existing research on interventions but does not conduct research on the interventions.
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Q: How can I determine if a study for a particular intervention was reviewed but did not pass WWC screens/standards?
A: For a complete list of interventions reviewed, please view the
“List of all Intervention Reports” link for each of the topic areas.
- Beginning Reading
- Character Education
- Dropout Prevention
- Early Childhood Education
- Elementary School Math
- English Language Learners
- Middle School Math
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Q: Can I suggest research studies that need to be conducted?
A: The WWC reviews existing research. It does not conduct new research studies.
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Q: Where can I find details on how a review was conducted, including specifics on inclusion criteria, topic parameters, and literature search terms?
A: The WWC has developed a review protocol for each topic area that includes information on the literature search and review processes involved in the topic review. You can find the protocols for each topic by clicking on the
Topic Area tab, selecting a topic, and viewing the PDF link on the page titled Review Protocol.
Also, you may select from the list of topics below to view the topic review protocol:
- Beginning Reading
- Character Education
- Dropout Prevention
- Early Childhood Education
- Elementary School Math
- English Language Learners
- Middle School Math
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Q: How can I find out if the WWC has reviewed research on a particular intervention if I do not see it under the topic’s main webpage?
A: Users may use the
“Search for an Intervention” tool located
on each topic page, or the search tool
at the top right of each page of our website to search for a particular intervention. Additionally, for a complete list of interventions reviewed, please view the
the “List of all Intervention Reports” link for each of the topic areas.
- Beginning Reading
- Character Education
- Dropout Prevention
- Early Childhood Education
- Elementary School Math
- English Language Learners
- Middle School Math
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|Institute of Education Sciences