Conducting Implementation Research in Intervention Evaluation Studies: Resources for Researchers

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

Evaluations that are designed to assess the efficacy or effectiveness of an intervention also typically include a study of the intervention’s implementation. Such implementation research (IR) seeks to understand the intervention’s detailed plans and also the extent of the actual implementation of those plans; context features; and services available to and received by the control group. While IR is a core part of intervention studies, guidance and resources are limited that support researchers in designing and conducting IR. Many graduate courses on program evaluation cover impact designs in detail, but provide only cursory (if any) coverage of IR.

Panelists in this roundtable will share resources that they have developed and used for conducting IR as part of impact studies of education interventions and of teen pregnancy prevention programs. Questions that panelists and attendees will discuss include: What are the challenges and opportunities for using these resources in policy and program domains beyond education or teen pregnancy prevention? What additional supports and resources are most needed for conducting high-quality IR in intervention studies? How can IR findings be more effectively reported and shared? What are the cost implications of more comprehensive IR data collection, analysis, and reporting; and how can researchers weigh different considerations in allocating resources to IR in evaluations?

Policy Area

• Methods and Tools of Analysis

Moderator

• Stephanie Moulton, The Ohio State University

Organizer

• Carolyn J. Hill, MDRC

Speakers

• Beth Boulay, Brown University

• Eric Bruns, UW SOM

• Carolyn J. Hill, MDRC

• Lauren Scher, Mathematica