This article presents quality indicators for experimental and quasi-experimental studies for special education. These indicators are intended not only to evaluate the merits of a completed research report or article but also to serve as an organizer of critical issues for consideration in research. We believe these indicators can be used widely, from assisting in the development of research plans to evaluating proposals. In this article, the framework and rationale is explained by providing brief descriptions of each indicator. Finally, we suggest a standard for determining whether a practice may be considered evidence-based. It is our intent that this standard for evidenced-based practice and the indicators be reviewed, revised as needed, and adopted by the field of special education.

Parenting interactions are important for children's early development, but existing observational measures of parenting are often difficult for practitioners to use in their work with parents and have been developed based on primarily European American middle-income parents. Practitioners working with parents of infants and young children need a psychometrically strong observational measure of parenting behaviors appropriate for diverse groups. We tested the reliability and validity of 89 specific parenting behavior items by having observers rate over 4,500 viderecorded observations of parent-infant interaction from the archive of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project and other research. These observations at multiple age points were from over 2,000 low-icome families, including European Americans, African Americans, and Latino Americans. Interrater agreement was tested for each item. Scale internal consistency and single-factor structure were tested within each of four domains-affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching. Validity was tested with concurrent parenting measures and child development outcome measures. The 29 most consistently reliable and valid items comprise the final version of Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO), an evidence-based observational measure of parenting with very young children that is psychometrically sound and useful for practitioners working with diverse groups.

Using measures of child and family functioning, this study evaluated levels of parenting stress in 880 families of children with disabilities. Results suggest that factors such as income, time available for interaction with the child, and social support predict parenting stress much better than do aspects of child functioning. Implications for intervention and for future research are discussed.

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The parenting stress of families who have a child with a disability is an area receiving considerable research. The present study used a family strengths or "normality" perspective to investigate three issues regarding parent-related and child-related parenting stress, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) (Abidin, 1990). A large sample (n -725) of families who had a young child with disabilities participated. A comparison of parent-related and child-related parenting stress between the sample of families with a child with disabilities and the PSI normative sample was conducted. The distribution of PSI scores for the sample of families of children with disabilities was examined for statistical normality, and normative data for these families were presented. An item analysis was conducted on child-related parenting stress to examine issues regarding its construct validity for families of children with disabilities. Issues regarding the use of stress measures and to the construct of child-related stress as these impact on early intervention activities are discussed.