Conducting high quality writing intervention research: Twelve recommendations

Abstract

Writing intervention research can enhance our knowledge about writing, its development, and how to teach it effectively. Despite the importance of such research, many of the writing intervention studies conducted previously were of poor quality, as documented by Graham and colleagues in a series of meta-analyses (Graham, McKeown, Kiuhara, & Harris, 2012; Graham & Perin, 2007; Rogers & Graham, 2008). In this article, we offer 12 recommendations for conducting high quality intervention research, recommendations that draw on those meta-analyses as well as previous work on improving the quality of intervention research (Pressley & Harris, 1994a, 1994b) and our experiences as writing intervention researchers and editors of journals that publish intervention research (including the Journal of Writing Research) . The recommendations address issues and actions involved in designing, conducting, and reporting such research.