Workshops on Quasi-Experimental Design and Analysis in Education
August 4 - 8, 2008. Thirty attendees.
Deadline for applications: June 2, 2008
August 11 - 15, 2008. Sixty attendees.
Deadline for applications: June 23, 2008
With generous financial support of The Spencer Foundation, Professors Tom Cook of Northwestern University and Will Shadish of University of California - Merced will lead two workshops this summer on the design and analysis of practical quasi-experiments for use in education.
Workshop details: http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/events/workshops/qeworkshop.html
These workshops are designed to complement the current interest in randomized experiments in education by simultaneously seeking to improve the quality of the quasi-experiments that are needed when random assignment is not feasible or breaks down. Several recent analyses of the quality of quasi-experiments in education point to designs and analyses that are generally below the state of the art, and so the workshop's principal aim is to improve this state.
Each workshop will have attendees from academe and school districts, plus a few employees from contract research firms and the Federal government. Most attendees will already have a Ph.D. degree, but senior graduate students working on quasi-experimental matters are also encouraged to apply. Workshop organizers are particularly looking for people who are doing - or plan to do - a specific quasi-experimental project or who are active in writing about quasi-experimental theory or practice or causal analysis in general.
Thanks to Spencer's generosity, the cost for tuition and meals during the week will be covered. Attendees will be responsible for their own travel and lodging costs. We will negotiate a discounted rate at a local hotel. Applicants who are accepted will have up to one month prior to the workshop to make alternate arrangements. Attendees will be encouraged to bring details of quasi-experiments they are doing or contemplating. After the workshop, there can be some follow up with individual projects and general theoretical matters.
While applicants can only attend one workshop, they can apply for both of them. The deadline for applications for the first workshop is June 2; for the second workshop, June 23. By following the link above, the application form may be accessed.
General questions and formal applications (accompanied by a CV and a statement of interest) should be directed either:
Electronically to: burke@northwestern.edu
Or, by mail to:
Ms. Karen Burke
Institute for Policy Research
2040 Sheridan Road
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL 60208