Steps: 1 & 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 & 6 | 7 | 8

It is desirable to engage an expert researcher as soon as it is possible to do so. Some districts may desire to perform the initial program steps themselves. Consider creating an RFP to find the right candidate. Some RFP criteria include: someone with experience in school districts; someone who can cite research projects they've already completed; and someone who has the capacity to help with design, selection of research methods, and analysis of data.

Experts can take on many additional roles, helping to:

• deal with issues of confidentiality, acquire necessary permissions, assume responsibility for obtaining and maintaining confidentiality and internal review documentation;
• establish a budget, with some understanding of what qualitative analysis costs versus quantitative analysis;
• establish a timeline for collecting data at sites (baseline, longitudinal), including help estimating when you might expect a difference in your independent variable (e.g., Missouri's eMINTS program does not collect student achievement data until two years after their technology and professional development has been implemented in participating districts.);
• define and create the communication infrastructure necessary for project success (e.g., staff and researchers may collaboratively prepare introductory letters to help explain the need for the research study to districts and schools).

RESOURCE: The NSF project management process
http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfp/start.htm

RESOURCE: eMINTS site
http://emints.more.net and http://emints.more.net/evaluation

Step Two:
Generate Problem Statements and/or Questions

What problem are you trying to solve (e.g., student outcomes are low)? Hold meetings or focus groups with stakeholders (including any research or evaluation consultants that have been hired, policy-makers, state education technology staff, content specialists, and instructional experts). Work with stakeholders to pose overall research questions. The selection of questions may be influenced by existing state technology plans, state standards and goals, or state funding priorities. Defining the research questions is fundamental: the research design and methods need to develop to answer the research questions, so making sure you have the right questions from the start is essential.

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