Academy for Educational Development

NICHCY Unveils New Database for Parents, Educators, and Policymakers

Washington, D.C., March 27, 2006 — Research is becoming more and more important to people working with children with special needs. Parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers need to know how research can guide their planning, decision making, and teaching. Now, NICHCY, the country's foremost authority on the latest trends in special education, is providing some clear, user-friendly answers.

The NICHCY Research-to-Practice Database, available at http://research.nichcy.org/, is designed to be an accessible, efficient, and practical tool to support academic and behavioral interventions for children with special needs. It was developed with input from all groups involved with the education of children with disabilities including parents, teachers, local and state level education administrators, special education experts, researchers, and policy makers.

"While most research databases provide basic bibliographic information, other important information may be missing, difficult to understand, or be too brief to be of much use," said Suzanne Ripley, the director of the AED Disabilities Studies and Services Center. "The NICHCY Research Database extends the traditional abstract by providing valuable information about each study." The database includes:

• Background information on why the study is important
• Specific research questions that guided the study
• Research design and the methods used Information about the research subjects such as number of participants, age, how subjects were selected, and the nature of the disability studied
• Description of the type of intervention studied including its duration
• Research findings
• Conclusions and implications for practice
• Additional resources that connect users to information, tools, and examples of effective practice based on the research presented

NICHCY is housed at the Academy for Educational Development and supported by funds from the U.S. Department of Education.

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