Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development

This document, released in September 2013, grew out of a Joint Committee of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) that was convened to establish cross-agency guidelines for improving the quality, coherence, and pace of knowledge development in STEM education. In this report, the Joint Committee 1) defines the types of ED- and NSF-funded research that relates to the development and testing of interventions and strategies designed to increase learning, and 2) specifies how the types of research relate to one another, and describe the theoretical and empirical basis needed to justify each research type. Through this document, the Joint Committee seeks to provide a broad framework that clarifies research types and provides basic guidance about the purpose, justification, design features, and expected outcomes from various research types. The report is considered a "living document" that may be adapted, rearranged, added to, or otherwise changed by ED, NSF, or other federal agencies over time to respond to changing needs, priorities, and knowledge about STEM learning research.