WWC Study Review Guide: Group Design Studies

Underlying all What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) products are WWC Study Review Guides, which are intended for use by WWC certified reviewers to assess studies against the WWC evidence standards. As part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency, promote collaboration, and encourage widespread use of the WWC standards, the Institute of Education Sciences provides external users with access to a web-based WWC Study Review Guide for conducting reviews of group design studies, including randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs. Reviewers use the Study Review Guide to document the characteristics of studies, including features that pertain to a study's eligibility under a WWC protocol. The Study Review Guide assists the reviewer in assessing the study design and implementation against the WWC standards, and coding the study findings in a systematic manner consistent with WWC reporting guidelines. The WWC provides a separate Excel-based tool for conducting reviews of single-case design studies. This document guides users through the public-use version of the WWC Study Review Guide, available at https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/wwcsrgpublic. Members of the public are invited to use the public-use version of the SRG to understand how WWC reviewers document the characteristics of a study, determine its eligibility, and assess its design and implementation against the WWC standards. [Cover title varies: "WWC Web-Based Study Review Guide User Guide."]