title: SET-bullying: presentation of a collaborative project and discussion of its internal and external validity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the early 1980s, several school based anti-bullying interventions (SBABI) have been implemented and evaluated in different countries. Some meta-analyses have also drawn conclusions on the effectiveness of SBABIs. However, the relationship between time and effectiveness of SBABIs has not been fully studied. For this aim, a collaborative project, SET-Bullying, is established by researchers from Greece, Belgium, Norway and United Kingdom. Its primary objective is to further understand and statistically model the relationship between the time and the sustainability of the effectiveness of SBABI. The secondary objective of SET-Bullying is to assess the possibility of predicting the medium-term or long-term effectiveness using as key information the prior measurement and the short-term effectiveness of the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Researchers and owners of potentially eligible databases were asked to participate in this effort. Two studies have contributed data for the purpose of SET-Bullying. This paper summarizes the main characteristics of the participating studies and provides a high level overview of the collaborative project. It also discusses on the extent to which both study and project characteristics may pose threats to the expected internal and external validity of the potential outcomes of the project.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite these threats, this work represents the first effort to understand the impact of time on the observed effectiveness of SBABIs and assess its predictability, which would allow for better planning, implementation and evaluation of SBABIs.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Route de Lennik 808 CP596, 1070, Brussels, Belgium. Alexandros.Chalamandaris@ulb.ac.be.
authors.forename: Alexandros-Georgios
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Chalamandaris
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Route de Lennik 808 CP596, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michèle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilmet-Dramaix
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Darwin Building, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE, UK.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eslea
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioural Research in Education, University of Stavanger, 4036, Stavanger, Norway.
authors.forename: Sigrun Karin
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ertesvåg
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Route de Lennik 808 CP596, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piette
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium; D058445:Bullying / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009664:Norway; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012574:Schools; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Effectiveness; External validity; Internal validity; Project description; School-based anti-bullying interventions; Time