We present the conceptual, philosophical, and methodological basis for the Procedural and Coding Manual for Review of Evidence-Based Interventions (hereafter called the Procedural and Coding Manual), portions of which are discussed in the subsequent two,case-study application articles in this issue and which is available on the World Wide Web (http://www.sp-ebi.org). First, we discuss some key conceptual issues and areas of potential controversy surrounding the content and organization of the Procedural and Coding Manual. Second, we discuss our research framework for coding evidence-based interventions (EBIs), taking into account the dimensional classification approach adopted by the Task Force on Evidence-Based Interventions in School Psychology. We contrast this coding scheme with the approach embraced by the Committee on Science and Practice of the Society of Clinical Psychology, Division 12, American Psychological Association (APA), in their Procedural and Coding Manual for Identification of Evidence-Based Treatments (Weisz & Hawley, 2002). Third, we present our methodological framework for reviewing EBIs, including quantitative group-based and single-participant designs, qualitative research designs, and theory-guided confirmatory program evaluation models. The use of diverse methodologies to provide evidence for the efficacy of EBIs raises both conceptual and methodological issues for this "work in progress." Finally, we introduce the concept of a coding system to be implemented by practitioners to develop a knowledge base on what works in practice and help bridge the gap between research and practice. Implications for future work on classifying EBIs are presented within the context of the research-practice gap.
