The report of the national response to intervention (RTI) evaluation study, conducted during 2011-2012, was released in November 2015. Anyone who has read the lengthy report can attest to its complexity and the design used in the study. Both these factors can influence the interpretation of the results from this evaluation. In this commentary, we…

This is a response to the document by Hughes et al. in this issue that offers a critique of the status of differential response (DR). We find the document to be helpful in intent, but do not find that it reflects scientifically sound methods, and contains many mischaracterizations of the status, impetus, research, and evaluation of DR to date. We…

This article is a response to "Issues in Differential Response", a review of the current evidence pertaining to differential response (DR) programs in child protective services (CPS). In my view, the Hughes, Rycus, Saunders-Adams, Hughes, and Hughes article suffers from several weaknesses. First, DR programs are critiqued as if they were…

The Hughes et al. paper is critiqued generally and in specific areas. The weak nature of the authors' empirical work is discussed along with their enigmatic writing and vague and incorrect use of references, and their simultaneous use of sweeping statements of opinion and narrow analytical focus. This review examines the authors' errors…

This article is an invited commentary and analysis of the authors' completed systematic evaluation of Child Protective Services (CPS) differential response (DR) models. I write this commentary based on 25 years of public child welfare experience followed by 13 years as a social work professor and researcher. In their review of DR, the…

This reaction article highlights areas of agreement and disagreement with the study conducted by Hughes, Rycus, Saunders-Adams, Hughes, and Hughes on the current state of research and practice in differential response (DR). Overall, we agree with several of the arguments put forth by Hughes et al. regarding the limitations of DR research and the…

In this article, the authors responded to nine commentaries by 17 contributors to their article, "Issues in Differential Response." The authors found that a majority of the respondents agreed with the major conclusions of "Issues in Differential Response." However, there were varying degrees of disagreement regarding the…

This article explores the applicability of interdisciplinary research on the implementation of technological innovations to the field of e-learning research. Arguing that there are important ways in which e-learning systems can be treated as "technological innovations," this article presents a review of several key theoretical and research design…

Investigated is the topic of research implementation and how it can affect evaluation results. Even when evaluations are well planned, the obtained results can be misleading if the conscientiously-constructed research plan is not correctly implemented in practice. In virtually every research arena, one finds major difficulties in implementing the…

This special series focused on treatment integrity in the child mental health and education field is timely. The articles do a laudable job of reviewing (a) the current status of treatment integrity research and measurement, (b) existing conceptual models of treatment integrity, and (c) the limitations of prior research. Overall, this thoughtful…

External and implementation factors and their potential threats to field test validity and the practical realities of the field testing process on results are discussed. External factors include site selection, negotiations, contracts, site monitoring, training, and type of product. Implementation factors include motivation, dependence on local…

Researchers have only recently recognized that assertions by various educators that they have implemented educational innovations do not all mean the same thing or bear the same weight, according to the authors of this report. Efforts made by the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin to…

Stakeholder-based studies modify the relationship between evaluator and user, producing conflict that can cause evaluators to regress to familiar, traditional patterns that leave interactive evaluation strategies only partially implemented. (Author/PN)

Analysis of the assumptions underlying the stakeholder approach to evaluation combined with the limited experience in testing the approach reported in this volume, suggests that some claims are cogent and others problematical. (Author)

The concept of treatment integrity cuts across a diversity of fields involved with providing treatments or interventions to individuals. In medical treatments, the concept of "treatment compliance" or "treatment adherence" is an important and problematic issue. In the field of nutrition, the concept of "dietary adherence" is important for…