Rob Olsen is a Research Professor in the George Washington Institute of Public Policy (GWIPP). His research has included randomized trials of social programs and the development and testing of methods for designing and analyzing randomized trials. Over the past 15 years, his work has focused particularly on the external validity, or generalizability, of trial findings. He has examined how well findings generalize to their target populations, evaluated statistical methods for improving generalizability, and developed new methods for doing so. Drawing on this research, he has published practical research guides, taught workshops, and created a website of resources for researchers.
Prof. Olsen is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for Research on Educational Effectiveness. Before joining GWIPP, Prof. Olsen held research positions at Mathematica, the Urban Institute, Abt Associates, and Westat. He received his Ph.D. in labor economics from Cornell University in 1999.
Prof. Olsen is currently developing a study of alternative institutional arrangements for funding, conducting, and overseeing impact evaluations in education. The project will compare major approaches that have been used to support randomized trials of educational interventions, examining how they differ in quality, transparency, timeliness, cost, and subsequent use of the evidence they produce. The study aims to provide practical guidance for federal agencies, foundations, and other funders seeking to maximize the value of future investments in rigorous impact evaluation.
External Validity Bias of Purposive and Random Site Selection When Sites Can Opt Out: Evidence from the Head Start Program. With Stephen H. Bell and Emily Diaz. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
Defining Target Populations for Impact Studies of Education Interventions: Balancing Generalizability and Feasibility in the Real World. With Philip M. Gleason. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
Using Quotas Constructed from Auxiliary Data to Guide the Recruitment of Sites for Randomized Controlled Trials. With Maria Luisa Vasquez-Rossi. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
Using a Multi-site RCT to Predict Impacts for a Single Site: Do Better Methods and Data Yield More Accurate Predictions? With Larry L. Orr, Stephen H. Bell, Elena Badilla-Goicoechea, Atsushi Miyaoka, and Elizabeth A. Stuart. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
Selecting Districts and Schools for Impact Studies in Education: A Simulation Study of Different Strategies. With Daniel Litwok, Austin Nichols, and Azim Shivji. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
Enhancing the Generalizability of Impact Studies in Education (NCEE 2022-003). With Elizabeth Tipton. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
Using the Results from Rigorous Multisite Evaluations to Inform Local Policy Decisions. With Larry L. Orr, Stephen H. Bell, Ian Schmid, Azim Shivji, and Elizabeth A. Stuart. Journal of Public Policy Analysis and Management.
A Review of Statistical Methods for Generalizing from Evaluations of Educational Interventions. With Elizabeth Tipton. Educational Researcher.
Using Preferred Applicant Random Assignment (PARA) to Reduce Randomization Bias in Randomized Trials of Discretionary Programs. With Stephen H. Bell and Austin Nichols. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.
Characteristics of School Districts that Participate in Rigorous National Educational Evaluations. With Elizabeth A. Stuart, Stephen H. Bell, Cyrus Ebnesajjad, and Larry L. Orr. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
On the “Where” of Social Experiments: Selecting More Representative Samples to Inform Policy. With Larry L. Orr. New Directions for Evaluation.
Estimates of Bias When Impact Evaluations Select Sites Purposively. With Stephen H. Bell, Larry L. Orr, and Elizabeth A. Stuart. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.
External Validity in Policy Evaluations that Choose Sites Purposively. With Larry L. Orr, Stephen H. Bell, and Elizabeth A. Stuart. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.