ABSTRACT
This chapter analysis the institutions that serve young children and their families, and also the policies that frame service provision. The interests of quantitative researchers revolve ultimately around describing the impact of a policy or of an institution. Quantitative researchers are more likely to examine impacts in regard to the desired end game, the outcomes, examined as group average scores on measures. Qualitative researchers are less likely to follow a templated format in their articles than are quantitative researchers. In addition to policy research conducted by qualitative researchers, there are many examples of mixed-methods evaluations of institutions in which qualitative data has formed a portion of the investigation. A recent policy innovation is the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), instituted most often at the state policy level. To improve the study's ability to address causation, the researchers used a technique called propensity score analysis.
