Making Sense of Replication Studies: Guidance for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Researchers

Making Sense of Replication Studies: Guidance for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Researchers

ASPE Research Brief
Published: May 12, 2015
Publisher: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Human Services Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

To date, most teen pregnancy prevention programs have been evaluated only once, often in small-scale efficacy trials involving the program developer. In recent years, however, a growing number of studies have sought to test how these programs perform when implemented on a broader scale, in different settings, or with different populations. These replication studies have the potential to greatly advance the field of teen pregnancy prevention research and help sustain the recent drop in teen birth rates in the United States. Achieving these goals, however, will require a careful interpretation and synthesis of study findings that avoids overly simplistic notions of replication “failure” and “success.” This research brief provides practical guidance for making sense of the growing body of replication studies in teen pregnancy prevention research. It is intended primarily for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working in the field of teen pregnancy prevention research, to help them navigate and make the best use of findings from the growing number of replication studies.

Efficiency Meets Impact.
That's Progress Together.

To solve their most pressing challenges, organizations turn to Mathematica for deeply integrated expertise. We bring together subject matter and policy experts, data scientists, methodologists, and technologists who work across topics and sectors to help our partners design, improve, and scale evidence-based solutions.

Work With Us