This text describes how to design and analyze small efficacy or evaluation studies. The problem facing many researchers is how to design a study that is as small as possible, yet big enough to yield relatively unambiguous evidence about an intervention's average effect. This text begins with an overview of validity, causal inference, statistics, effect sizes, and measurement. The authors then focus on designs for small, randomized trials, followed by a section on non-randomized causal designs: here they focus on three designs most useful for small studies including the non-equivalent control group, difference-in-difference, and interrupted time series designs. The final section summarizes the book, compares designs, discusses approaches to choosing a design, and provides guidance on reporting. Five case examples are used throughout the book to illustrate the material and there is a glossary of terms and concepts.
Hedges, Larry V.: - Larry V. Hedges is one of eight Board of Trustees Professors at Northwestern, the university's most distinguished academic position. He holds appointments in statistics and data science, psychology, education and social policy, and medical social sciences. Previously, he was the Stella M. Rowley Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. He received the Yidan Prize in Education Research in 2018 and the José Vasconcelos World Award of Education from the World Culture Council in 2023 He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Statistical Association, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Educational Research Association. He is also a member of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, which established an annual endowed lecture in his honor. He was selected to give the inaugural Hedges Lecture in 2016. Hedges was nominated by President Barack Obama to the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2012, and was elected Chair of the Board in 2016. Widely published, he has authored or co-authored 250 journal articles and 13 books including Coe, Waring, Hedges, & Day Ashley, Research Methods and Methodologies in Education, 3rd edition (2021, Sage London). He has also co-directed research training institutes on research design funded by the US Institute of Education Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation for the last 20 years.
Tipton, Elizabeth: -
Elizabeth (Beth) Tipton is Professor of Statistics and Data Science at Northwestern University, where she is also holds an appointment in the School of Education and Social Policy and as a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. She is an elected fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the American Educational Research Association. Her research has been recognized with early career awards from the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Research Synthesis Methods. In 2021, she received the Frederick Mosteller award for Distinguished Contributions to Research Synthesis from the Campbell Collaboration. In 2025, she will serve as both the President of the Board of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness and the Chair of the Social Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association. She has previously served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics and is a member of the editorial board at several other journals, including Psychological Bulletin. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Institute for Education Sciences, the Spencer Foundation, and the Raikes Foundation. Her research focuses on the development of methods for experimental design, meta-analysis, and the translation of evidence. She has also co-directed a research training institute funded by the National Science Foundation on research design for STEM education researchers.
