WWC Single Case Design Training, Module 4: Nondesign Components

Module 4 of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Single Case Design Standards Training describes the nondesign components in the WWC Standards which may affect a single case design study’s WWC rating. In this module, we describe WWC outcome requirements, describe a confounding factor, and demonstrate examples of confounding factors in single case designs. Finally, we describe how outcome requirements and confounding factors can affect a study’s WWC single-case design standards rating.

The WWC is an investment of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education and was established in 2002. The work of the WWC is managed by a team of staff at IES and conducted under a set of contracts held by several leading firms with expertise in education, research methodology, and the dissemination of education research. For more than a decade, the WWC has been a central and trusted source of scientific evidence on education programs, products, practices, and policies. We review the research, determine which studies meet rigorous standards, and summarize the findings. We focus on high-quality research to answer the question, “What works in education?”