Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 1, Research Design

William L. Hamilton and Peter H. Rossi

Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report No. (FANRR19-1) 39 pp, February 2002

This is the first of four reports in the "Nutrition and Health Outcome Study," which assesses the effects of USDA's food assistance and nutrition programs on nutrition and health outcomes. This report reviews the research designs available to evaluators for assessing the effect of USDA's food assistance and nutrition programs. The random assignment experiment is the "gold standard" design for such an evaluation. Where random assignment is impossible, quasi-experimental designs are used to infer what would have happened to program participants if the program had not existed. Eight types of quasi-experimental design are identified as having been used in evaluations of food assistance and nutrition programs, although none can guarantee unbiased estimates of program impacts.

Keywords: USDA food assistance and nutrition programs, nutrition and health outcomes, research design, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, FANRP, ERS, USDA

In this report ...

Chapters are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

• Abstract, Contents, and Summary, 116 kb
• Introduction, 18 kb
• Impact Evaluation of Ongoing Programs, 60 kb
• Nonimpact Research for Assessing Ongoing Programs, 19 kb
• Impact Evaluation of Demonstrations, 56 kb
• Other Program Evaluation Situations, 28 kb
• Parting Words, 15 kb
• References, 24 kb

• Entire report, 234 kb

1. Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 2, Data Sources, FANRR-19-2

2. Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 3, Literature Review, FANRR-19-3

3. Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 4, Executive Summary of the Literature Review, FANRR-19-4

4. Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume I, Food Stamp Program Participants and Nonparticipants, E-FAN-04-014-1

5. Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume II, WIC Participants and Nonparticipants, E-FAN-04-014-2

6. Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume III, School-Age Children, E-FAN-04-014-3

7. Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume IV, Older Adults, E-FAN-04-014-4

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Updated date: February 1, 2002