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Critical Perspectives

  • Kara Finnigan: The Political and Social Contexts of Research Evidence Use in Partnerships
  • Ruth Stewart et al.: Transforming evidence for policy: do we have the evidence generation house in order?
  • Mark Rickinson and Marcia McKenzie: Understanding the research-policy relationship in ESE: insights from the critical policy and evidence use literatures
  • David E. Kirkland: No Small Matters: Reimagining the Use of Research Evidence From A Racial Justice Perspective
  • Caitlin Farrell, et al.: Conceptions and Practices of Equity in Research-Practice Partnerships
  • Fabienne Doucet: Centering the Margins: (Re)defining Useful Research Evidence Through Critical Perspectives
  • Karen Bogenschneider: Engaging Policymakers: A New Era of Research and Theory That Builds on the Basics

Methodological Perspectives

  • Itzhak Yanovitzky: Why Should We Study the Use of Research Evidence as a Behavior?
  • Mark Rickinson, et al.: Using Research Well: A Framework for Understanding Quality Use of Research Evidence
  • William Penuel and Anna-Ruth Allen: To Study Conceptual Use of Research, Consider Tradeoffs Among Methods
  • Zachary P. Neal et al.: Just Google it: measuring schools’ use of research evidence with internet search results
  • Jennifer Lawlor, et al.: Approaches to measuring use of research evidence in K-12 settings: A systematic review
  • Drew Gitomer and Kevin Crouse: Studying the Use of Research Evidence: A Review of Methods
  • Barbara Davidson, Julie Greenberg, and Susan Pimental: Avoiding Confirmation Bias When Implementing Evidence-Based Instructional Practices
  • Max Crowley and Taylor Scott: Congressional Use of Evidence Can Be Improved: Reflections from a Trial of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration Model
  • Karen Bogenschneider: Fresh Insights on Measuring Research Use: Policymaker Perspectives on How Theory Falls Short
  • Lorraine McDonnell and Stephen Weatherford: Expanding the Definition of Evidence in Studies on the Use of Research Evidence in Policy
  • Drew Gitomer and Kevin Crouse: Studying the Use of Research Evidence: A Review of Methods

Historical and Current Concepts

  • Vivian Tseng and Cynthia Coburn: Using Evidence in the US
  • Vivian Tseng: Research on Research Use: Building Theory, Empirical Evidence, and a Global Field (WT Grant Digest, Issue 7)
  • Larry V. Hedges: Challenges in building usable knowledge in education
  • Elizabeth N. Farley-Ripple, Kathryn Oliver and Annette Boaz: Mapping the community: use of research evidence in policy and practice
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Zachary P. Neal et al.: Just Google it: measuring schools’ use of research evidence with internet search results

Measuring the use of research evidence (URE) by schools has become a central focus of education researchers. However, it has proven challenging due to low response rates, social desirability bias, and costly or time-consuming data collection methods. To overcome these challenges and meet the needs of research focused on URE, this paper introduces a non-reactive archival measure: Archival Search of Use of Research Evidence (ASURE). ASURE counts references to research or evidence on a school’s or school district’s website to capture the extent of its rhetorical use of research evidence. After illustrating the collection of ASURE in all public school districts in Michigan (N = 595), we use data on these districts to show that ASURE is reliable and valid, and thus offers a promising new strategy for measuring URE in schools. We conclude by considering future steps for exploring ASURE, not simply as a measure of URE in schools, but instead as a measurement strategy for assessing URE in a broad range of organisational contexts.

Citation: Neal, Z., Lawlor, J., Watling Neal, J., Mills, K., & McAlindon, K. (2019). Just Google it: measuring schools’ use of research evidence with internet search results. Evidence & policy: a journal of research, debate and practice, 15(1), 103-123. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426418X15172392413087

ASURE, education, measure
William Penuel and Anna-Ruth Allen: To Study Conceptual Use of Research, Consider Tradeoffs Among Methods