Directions in implementation research methods for behavioral and social science.
There is a growing interest, by researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, in evidence-based policy and practice. As a result, more dollars are being invested in program evaluation in order to establish "what works," and in some cases, funding is specifically tied to those programs found to be effective. However, reproducing positive effects found in research requires more than simply adopting an evidence-based program. Implementation research can provide guidance on which components of an intervention matter most for program impacts and how implementation components can best be implemented. However, while the body of rigorous research on effective practices continues to grow, research on implementation lags behind. To address these issues, the Administration for Children and Families and federal partners convened a roundtable meeting entitled, Improving Implementation                 Research Methods                 for Behavioral                 and Social                 Science, in the fall of 2010. This special section of the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research includes papers from the roundtable and highlights the role implementation science can play in shedding light on the difficult task of taking evidence-based practices to scale.
Molly
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Irwin
Lauren H
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Supplee
D035841:Behavioral Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D001525:Behavioral Sciences; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D012942:Social Sciences