The validity of causal claims with repeated measures designs: A within-study comparison evaluation of differences-in-differences and the comparative interrupted time series.

Modern policies are commonly evaluated not with randomized experiments but with repeated measures designs like difference-in-differences (DID) and the comparative interrupted time series (CITS). The key benefit of these designs is that they control for unobserved confounders that are fixed over time. However, DID and CITS designs only result in unbiased impact estimates when the model assumptions are consistent with the data at hand.

What makes an effective grants peer reviewer? An exploratory study of the necessary skills.

This exploratory mixed methods study describes skills required to be an effective peer reviewer as a member of review panels conducted for federal agencies that fund research, and examines how reviewer experience and the use of technology within such panels impacts reviewer skill development. Two specific review panel formats are considered: in-person face-to-face and virtual video conference. Data were collected through interviews with seven program officers and five expert peer review panelists, and surveys from 51 respondents.