Educational policy-makers around the world constantly make decisions about how to use scarce resources to improve
the education of children. Unfortunately, their decisions are rarely informed by evidence on the consequences of
these initiatives in other settings. Nor are decisions typically accompanied by well-formulated plans to evaluate
their causal impacts. As a result, knowledge about what works in different situations has been very slow to accumulate.
Over the last several decades, advances in research methodology, administrative record keeping, and statistical
software have dramatically increased the potential for researchers to conduct compelling evaluations of the causal
impacts of educational interventions, and the number of well-designed studies is growing. Written in clear, concise
prose, Methods Matter: Improving Causal Inference in Educational and Social Science Research offers essential guidance
for those who evaluate educational policies. Using numerous examples of high-quality studies that have evaluated
the causal impacts of important educational interventions, the authors go beyond the simple presentation of new
analytical methods to discuss the controversies surrounding each study, and provide heuristic explanations that
are also broadly accessible. Murnane and Willett offer strong methodological insights on causal inference, while
also examining the consequences of a wide variety of educational policies implemented in the U.S. and abroad. Representing
a unique contribution to the literature surrounding educational research, this landmark text will be invaluable
for students and researchers in education and public policy, as well as those interested in social science.