Why are the groups of services used in the Pathways Clearinghouse meta-analyses and Evidence Snapshots different than the ones that are used on the website?
The Pathways Clearinghouse maintains a list of services that we use to characterize interventions and conduct analyses. This list is located on the website within Find Interventions that Work, under the filter “Select services the intervention should provide.” The list nests some of the services underneath other services, to show services that are part of a broader service category. A version of the list is also included in the Protocol for the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse: Methods and Standards. Interventions can offer any combination of the services on the list, and any of the services listed may be primary services. As the Pathways Clearinghouse continues to expand, other services may be added to the list.
Pathways Clearinghouse meta-analyses currently combine groups of closely related services from the list to produce a meaningful number of studies for analyses based on a group of services. Those groups are used as part of analyses to determine what types of services are associated with better outcomes. For example, What Works to Improve Employment and Earning for People with Low Incomes combines education and training services and compares the effectiveness of these services to other types of services, such as work and work-based learning and incentives and sanctions.
Evidence Snapshots are short briefs on the effectiveness of interventions that have a specific primary service. In some cases, a single Evidence Snapshot will summarize the effectiveness of interventions that provide either of two closely-related primary services. For instance, the Work Experience and Work-Based Learning Snapshot reports on interventions with primary services of work and work-based learning or work experience because these are two similar service strategies.