Reference Desk Overview

Submit education-related questions to Ask A REL, an electronic Reference Desk offered by REL-NEI. Download the Reference Desk Flyer to learn more.

In an effort to provide stakeholders with timely responses to research-based education questions, REL Northeast and Islands has launched a new service—the Reference Desk—which offers references, referrals, and citations in brief reports generated quickly, sometimes within a few days. Responses contain links to relevant websites, research reports, and journal articles, as well as targeted referrals to organizations or government-funded centers that might provide more information or offer technical assistance.

To submit a request to the Reference Desk, visit the new Ask A REL feature on the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) website or contact your state or jurisdiction liaison. (See below for a list of REL-NEI liaisons.)

The speed and brevity of Reference Desk responses meet the needs of policymakers and educators who don’t have time to read a lengthy report about a particular education issue. This is in contrast to REL-NEI’s Technical Briefs and Fast Response Projects, which provide detailed analyses but may take several months to a year to complete.

Examples of requests submitted by Northeast and Islands stakeholders to the Reference Desk include:

• What research exists about how to measure school dropouts?
• How will schools in general, and rural schools in particular, address the demands for increased student performance when resources are increasingly diverted to pay for energy costs?
• What does the research say about student mobility and achievement?

Requests are not limited to these topics, however, and stakeholders are encouraged to submit questions about all education-related topics.