Bryan G. Cook

University of Virginia | UVa · School of Education and Human Development

Effective teaching and special education programming should be informed by scientific research published in peer-reviewed journals. However, many peer-reviewed articles, including how-to articles based on research findings in practitioner-focused journals, are not freely accessible to instructional coaches, department chairs, special education admi...

Peer-education interventions can be used to improve peer knowledge of autism and attitudes toward students with autism. In this study, we use a convergent parallel mixed methods design to assess the impact and social validity of Kit for Kids – a peer-education intervention for elementary and middle-school students. Sixty-four middle school students...

Open access to research findings, syntheses of research, and papers providing guidance on implementing research-based practices is critical for informing policy and practice in special education and related fields. Yet most published articles are behind paywalls and cannot be accessed freely by many practitioners, policymakers, individuals with dis...

Despite the importance of replication studies, previous reviews showed that they comprised less than 1% of publications in special education journals. This review conceptually replicates Lemons and colleagues’ previous review to provide updated rates of replication studies in special education journals. We identified 78 studies published in 44 spec...

Crisis management programs are marketed to help special education professionals support students with disabilities (SWDs) who engage in challenging behavior (Couvillon et al., 2010; 2019). There is a critical need to appraise the evidence in support of these programs, particularly whether they benefit SWD and the staff who support them (Adamson et...

Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) is a three-tiered framework shown to improve student behavioral outcomes. There has been considerable investment in scaling up Tier 1 PBIS but less focus on scaling Tier 2 supports. Having greater insight into teachers,’ students,’ and families’ perceptions regarding the social validity of Tier 2...

Despite calls for open science reforms in special education research, little is known about the perceptions or practices of special education researchers regarding open science. In this study, we modified the Open Science Survey to conduct a preliminary examination of the knowledge, attitudes, perceived norms, and behavioral intent of 155 special e...

Research-based practices generally improve student outcomes but are not regularly implemented with fidelity in classrooms. Websites that feature research-based practices may be used to improve pre-service teachers’ understanding of the practices; however, little is known about pre-service teachers’ experiences with or perceptions of these websites....

This article is part of a special LDRP research‐to‐practice series introducing key concepts to enable special education practitioners and other nonresearchers to be more informed research consumers. In the article, we explore how social validity is assessed in special education research and how to interpret social validity assessments. Rather than...

Despite the importance of replication studies, previous reviews showed that they comprised less than 1% of publications in special education journals. This review conceptually replicates Lemons et al. (2016) to provide updated explicit replication study rates. We searched electronically for replication studies published in 44 special education jour...

Effective teaching and special education programming should be informed by scientific research published in peer-reviewed journals. However, many peer-reviewed articles, including how-to articles based on research findings in practitioner-focused journals, are not freely accessible to instructional coaches, department chairs, special education admi...

Preregistration involves researchers publicly registering key study elements before conducting a study to increase the transparency of research and limit the use and impact of questionable research practices. To support special education researchers’ engagement with preregistrations, in this article we provide an overview of preregistration and sys...

This paper is part of a special LDRP research-to-practice series introducing key concepts to enable special education practitioners and other non-researchers to be more informed research consumers. In the paper we explore how social validity is assessed in special education research and how to interpret social validity assessments. Rather than focu...

Open practices, such as preregistration, registered reports, open materials, open data, open analytic code, replication, open peer review, open access, and conflict-of-interest and funding statements , support the transparency, accessibility, and reproducibility of research and other scholarship. The purpose of this review was to examine the preval...

Mixed‐methods research can uniquely inform special education practice by combining qualitative and quantitative research approaches. However, its distinct features can also make mixed‐methods research difficult to understand and apply. In this article, we provide an introduction to mixed‐methods research purposes, designs, and quality consideration...

Despite calls for open science reforms in special education research, little is known about the perceptions or practices of special education researchers regarding open science. In this study, we modified the Open Science Survey (OSS) to examine the knowledge, attitudes, perceived norms, and behaviors of 155 special education researchers for three...

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are designed to answer causal questions with internal validity. However, threats to internal validity exist for even well-designed RCTs. In this article, we focus on how preregistration can help address some specific threats to internal validity related to the reporting of results. Preregistration involves resear...

Preregistration involves researchers publicly registering key study elements before conducting a study for the purpose of increasing transparency of research and limiting the use and impact of questionable research practices. To support special education researchers’ engagement with preregistrations, in this paper we provide an overview of preregis...

Open practices such as preregistration, registered reports, open materials, open data, open analytic code, replication, open peer review, open access, and conflict-of-interest and funding statements support the transparency, accessibility, and reproducibility of research and other scholarship. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine th...

Special education scholars aim to conduct rigorous scientific research to benefit students with disabilities, their families, and teachers. Challenges exist, however, that stymie that effort and compromise the credibility, equity, impact, and efficiency of our work. Open science reforms have been posited to address those challenges and support a mo...

Qualitative research methods are used within special education research to provide insights about how and why phenomena occur. They can, however, be misunderstood and applied inappropriately. Our aim in this article is to provide an overview of qualitative methods, including their purpose, contributions to research involving students with learning...

Challenging student behavior can have negative consequences for both educators and students. Although effective behavior management strategies can improve student behavior, they are not consistently implemented with fidelity. The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods study is to investigate which resources educators and other school personnel u...

Open-science reforms, which aim to increase credibility and access of research, have the potential to benefit the research base in special education, as well as practice and policy informed by that research base. Awareness of open science is increasing among special education researchers. However, relatively few researchers in the field have experi...

Scientific research provides a reliable means for developing and accumulating knowledge bases to guide policy and practice. However, evidence from meta-research and large-scale replication projects suggests that the published research base likely reflects bias, which threatens the validity and credibility of research-based recommendations. Moreover...

In this volume of Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, we explore the next big things that will shape the field. We asked chapter authors to predict what they believe will be influential ideas and reforms in the near future and to describe how to implement them to generate positive effects. Although change is constant, it comes in many...

The research-to-practice gap occurs when practices supported as effective by research are infrequently used in applied settings, such as classrooms. This gap may be due to teachers preferring to use practices they find to be trustworthy, usable, and accessible. Instead of relying on research, teachers frequently use resources from other teachers, w...

Openness is a foundational principle in science. Making the tools and products of scientific research openly accessible advances core aims and values of education researchers, such as the credibility, equity, impact, and efficiency of research. The digital revolution has expanded opportunities for providing greater access to research. In this artic...

This article introduces a special series of registered reports in Remedial and Special Education. Registered reports are an innovative approach to publishing that aim to increase the credibility of research. Registered reports are provisionally accepted for publication before a study is conducted, based on the importance of the research questions a...

Research indicating many study results do not replicate has raised questions about the credibility of science and prompted concerns about a potential reproducibility crisis. Moreover, most published research is not freely accessible, which limits the potential impact of science. Open science, which aims to make the research process more open and re...

Concerns about the conduct of research are pervasive in many fields, including education. In this preregistered study, we replicated and extended previous studies from other fields by asking education researchers about 10 questionable research practices and five open research practices. We asked them to estimate the prevalence of the practices in t...

Open-science reforms, which aim to increase the credibility and access of research, have the potential to benefit the research base in special education, as well as practice and policy informed by that research base. Awareness of open science is increasing among special education researchers. However, relatively few researchers in the field have ex...

Open-access (OA) options, including preprints and postprints, provide free access to research, accelerate the dissemination of academic work, are associated with increased impact of scholarly work, and may aid in dissemination of null results. However, OA publishing is not an established practice for many special education researchers, and journal...

This paper introduces a special series of registered reports in Remedial and Special Education. Registered reports are an innovative approach to publishing that aim to increase the credibility of research. Registered reports are provisionally accepted for publication before a study is conducted, based on the importance of the research questions and...

Research indicating many study results do not replicate has raised questions about the credibility of science and prompted concerns about a potential reproducibility crisis. Moreover, most published research is not freely accessible, which limits the potential impact of science. Open science, which aims to make the research process more open and re...

Treatment fidelity refers to the extent to which an intervention is implemented as planned. If researchers do not assess and report treatment fidelity, or if treatment fidelity is shown to be low, findings from intervention studies are difficult to interpret, because the intervention may not have been implemented as planned. In this article, our ai...

Publication bias occurs when studies with statistically significant results and large effects are more likely to be published than similarly rigorous studies with null and mixed findings. Results-blind peer review requires peer reviewers to consider only the “Introduction” and “Method” sections of submitted manuscripts prior to making editorial rec...

Meta‐analysis is one approach for synthesizing research studies to identify generally effective instructional practices for students with learning disabilities (LD). In this article, we define core components of meta‐analytic literature reviews, discuss how to interpret findings from meta‐analyses, and provide guidelines for how research consumers...

Open access (OA) options, including preprints and postprints, provide free access to research, accelerate the dissemination of academic work, are associated with increased impact of scholarly work, and allow for dissemination of null results. However, OA publishing is not an established practice for many special education researchers, and journal a...

Researchers have conducted studies examining the efficacy of inclusion for nearly a century. Evidence-based reforms in special education have emphasized the important role of research evidence when making educational decisions for students with disabilities. In this chapter, we examine the research base of inclusion to determine whether and how spe...

The primary purpose of this book is to offer a broad-based examination into the role of scientific inquiry in contemporary special education. As with the first two editions, which were published in 2001 and 2011, the goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the philosophical, ethical, methodological, and analytical fundamentals of social scie...

The Community of Open Scholarship Grassroots Networks (COSGN), includes 120 grassroots networks, representing virtually every region of the world and every research discipline. These networks communicate and coordinate on topics of common interest. We propose, using an NSF 19-501 Full-Scale implementation grant, to formalize governance and coordina...

Evidence‐based reviews are a type of systematic literature review used to identify evidence‐based practices. When conducting an evidence‐based review, researchers apply predetermined standards to identify evidence‐based practices—practices that have been shown to reliably improve an outcome for a population of learners, according to evidence from a...

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) present some of the greatest challenges faced by educators, and experience some of the most problematic outcomes. To increase the likelihood that students with EBD will be successful in school and in life, practitioners should implement effective interventions. Trustworthy research is the prima...

Discussions of how to improve research quality are predominant in a number of fields, including education. But how prevalent are the use of problematic practices and the improved practices meant to counter them? This baseline information will be a critical data source as education researchers seek to improve our research practices. In this preregis...

To draw informed conclusions from research studies, research consumers need full and accurate descriptions of study methods and procedures. Preregistration has been proposed as a means to clarify reporting of research methods and procedures, with the goal of reducing bias in research. However, preregistration has been applied primarily to research...

The purpose of education research is to better understand educational phenomena to inform policy and improve practice. Forward progress within any field is based on the validity and credibility of that field’s research base - educators cannot make informed decisions based on anecdotal evidence, opaque research practices, or on studies that cannot b...

To draw informed conclusions from research studies, research consumers need full and accurate descriptions of study methods and procedures. Preregistration has been proposed as a means to clarify reporting of research methods and procedures, with the goal of reducing bias in research. However, preregistration has been applied primarily to research...

Single-case research methods provide a basis for demonstrating that an intervention produces a reliable change in a targeted outcome for individual cases. To supplement visual analysis of data in single-case studies, researchers frequently report statistics—often referred to as effect sizes—to summarize study findings. The recent proliferation of e...

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) present some of the greatest challenges faced by educators, and experience some of the most problematic outcomes. To increase the likelihood that students with EBD will be successful in school and in life, practitioners should implement effective interventions. Trustworthy research is the prima...

Educators frequently use social media platforms such as Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers for guidance on teaching. In this article, we explore reasons why these websites are popular with educators, consider their potential risks and benefits, and provide examples of resources provided on these sites. We recommend that educators first identify an...

In this manuscript, we (a) briefly describe proposed open-science practices to increase transparency of research in special education and related disciplines, and (b) provide recommendations for research funders, professional societies, journal editors and publishers, and individual researchers to support awareness, exploration, and adoption of ope...

In this manuscript, we (a) briefly describe proposed open-science practices to increase transparency of research in special education and related disciplines, and (b) provide recommendations for research funders, professional societies, journal editors and publishers, and individual researchers to support awareness, exploration, and adoption of ope...

Single-case research methods provide the basis for evaluating effective instructional approaches in special education. The purpose of this article is to provide special educators an overview of single-case research methods, with an emphasis on how these designs are used to establish whether an instructional practice relates to improved learner outc...

Scientific evidence should guide the selection of practice for individuals with disabilities. Scientific evidence, however, must be trustworthy to move special education toward greater empirical certainty and more effective policies and practices. Transparency, openness, and reproducibility increase the trustworthiness of evidence. We propose that...

Scientific evidence should guide the selection of practice for individuals with disabilities. Scientific evidence, however, must be trustworthy to move special education toward greater empirical certainty and more effective policies and practices. Transparency, openness, and reproducibility increase the trustworthiness of evidence. We propose that...

Effect sizes are powerful tools for evaluating the practical importance of study findings that should be considered in the context of study characteristics such as participants, dependent variables, and comparison condition. In this article, we discuss how group-difference effect sizes are used to gauge the practical importance of group experimenta...

The importance of publishing studies with null findings to the scientific enterprise is garnering attention in social science at large and education in particular. In this article, we first define null findings and publication bias as they relate to group and single-subject instructional intervention research. We then explore the prevalence of inst...

p values are commonly reported in quantitative research, but are often misunderstood and misinterpreted by research consumers. Our aim in this article is to provide special educators with guidance for appropriately interpreting p values, with the broader goal of improving research consumers’ understanding and interpretation of research findings. Sp...

This comprehensive review synthesizes findings from 29 studies in which students with disabilities utilized behavioral self‐management techniques in inclusive settings. Findings suggest that consistent with 2 earlier reviews of these types of studies, most behavioral self‐management techniques continue to be adaptable in inclusive settings with mod...

Researchers sometimes conduct a study and find that the predicted relation between variables did not exist or that the intervention did not have a positive impact on student outcomes; these are referred to as null findings because they fail to disconfirm the null hypothesis. Rather than consider such studies as failures and disregard the null findi...

Publication bias involves the disproportionate representation of studies with large and significant effects in the published research. Among other problems, publication bias results in inflated omnibus effect sizes in meta-analyses, giving the impression that interventions have stronger effects than they actually do. Although evidence suggests that...

Special educators are urged to use research findings to inform their instruction in order to improve student outcomes. However, it can be difficult to tell whether and how research findings apply to one’s own students. In this article, we discuss how special educators can consider the samples and the sampling methods in studies to examine the relev...

This review provides a summary and appraisal commentary on the treatment review by Wong, C., Odom, S. L., Hume, K. A., Cox, A. W., Fettig, A., Kucharczyk, S., Brock, M. E. … Schultz, T. R. (2015). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A comprehensive review. Journal of Autism and Development D...

The aim of this article is to provide practitioners and other nonresearchers a basic understanding of research designs to aid in appropriately interpreting and applying research findings in special education. Research design provides the blueprint for conducting a research study and shapes what kind of knowledge is generated by the study. We discus...

Evidence-based reforms that emphasize the identification and implementation of empirically validated practices are at the forefront of educational research, and recently, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC; 2014) published a set of standards for establishing evidence-based practices in special education. Although 30 years of research support...

Replication research is essential to scientific knowledge. Reviews of replication studies often electronically search for replicat* as a textword, which does not identify studies that replicate previous research but do not self-identify as such. We examined whether the 83 intervention studies published in six non-categorical research journals in sp...

Reading fluency, which is critical for developing reading comprehension, is a fundamental skill in both school and life. However, many students with learning and behavioral disabilities are disfluent readers. To improve reading performance for these learners, educators should implement practices shown by reliable research to cause improved reading...

Disruptive student behavior contributes to poor student outcomes, loss of classroom instructional time, and teacher burnout. Physical movement is an intervention that has been used to target and ameliorate disruptive student behavior for students with learning and behavioral disabilities. A review of two movement-based interventions - Brain Gym® an...

Educators' decisions regarding what instructional practices they use have significant consequences for the learning and life outcomes of their students. This is especially true for students with learning and behavioral disabilities, who require highly effective instruction to succeed in school and achieve their goals. In this volume of Advances in...

Special education researchers conduct studies that can be considered replications. However, they do not often refer to them as replication studies. The purpose of this article is to consider the potential benefits of conceptualizing special education intervention research within a framework of systematic, conceptual replication. Specifically, we ad...

Replicating previously reported empirical research is a necessary aspect of an evidence-based field of special education, but little formal investigation into the prevalence of replication research in the special education research literature has been conducted. Various factors may explain the lack of attention to replication of special education i...

Bias poses a significant threat to the validity of research findings as well as practices and policies based on research. Reforms to academic publishing have been proposed and implemented in other fields to address bias in research. In this paper I review some sources of bias in research, some proposed areas of reform in academic publishing (e.g.,...

Evidence-based practice is among the most influential and compelling reforms in contemporary education. Despite their potential to improve the outcomes of students with disabilities, adoption and implementation of evidence-based reforms have been disappointing, with the gap between research and practice remaining wide. Practice-based evidence provi...

When classifying the evidence base of practices, special education scholars typically appraise study quality to identify and exclude from consideration in their reviews unacceptable-quality studies that are likely biased and might bias review findings if included. However, study quality appraisals used in the process of identifying evidence-based p...

Because of their highly intensive and variable learning needs, learners with severe intellectual disability present significant challenges to special educators and other stakeholders in terms of selecting and implementing effective instructional practices. Although scholars have made considerable progress in conducting and synthesizing research nec...

Evidence-based practices are supported as generally effective for populations of learners by bodies of high-quality and experimental research and, when aligned with stakeholder values and practical needs, should be prioritized for implementation. However, evidence-based practices are not currently available for all learner types in all outcome area...

We present and explain several reasons that special education as a field has not been served well by the lessons of our history, but has the extraordinary opportunity, if not responsibility, to learn from history and use these lessons to guide practice. Our premises include (a) special educators may be less aware of their past than professionals in...

Response to intervention (RTI) reforms have changed the structure of many aspects of special education for students with and at risk for learning disabilities (LD). Regardless of the structure of services, the core of special education for students with LD remains intensive instruction. Many students with LD are not being provided with appropriate...

Valid, scientific research is critical for ascertaining the effects of instructional techniques on learners with disabilities and for guiding effective special education practice and policy. Researchers in fields such as psychology and medicine have identified serious and widespread shortcomings in their research literatures related to replication...

Obesity, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in childhood are important indicators of present and future health and are associated with school-related outcomes such as academic achievement, behavior, peer relationships, and self-esteem. Using logistic regression models that controlled for gender, age, ethnicity/race, and socioeconomic status,...

As an initial step toward improving the outcomes of learners with disabilities, special educators have formulated guidelines for identifying evidence-based practices. We describe the Council of Exceptional Children’s new set of standards for identifying evidence-based practices in special education and how they (a) were systematically vetted by exp...

Although researchers in special education have made significant advances in defining and identifying evidence-based practices, scholars often constitute an insular group that disseminates research findings primarily through outlets and venues targeting like-minded researchers using traditional approaches. Thus, despite tangible results in determini...

Establishing a process for identifying evidence-based practices (EBPs) in special education has been a significant advance for the field because it has the potential for generating more effective educational programs and producing more positive outcomes for students with disabilities. However, the potential benefit of EBPs is bounded by the quality...

Establishing a process for identifying evidence-based practices (EBPs) in special education has been a significant advance for the field because it has the potential for generating more effective educational programs and producing more positive outcomes for students with disabilities. However, the potential benefit of EBPs is bounded by the quality...