OPRE Reports
The Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE) of the U.S. Administration for Children & Families partnered with Child Trends in 2017 to issue a series of Child Care & Early Education Policy & Research Analysis reports. The four reports linked here are excellent sources of guidance on accessing, assessing, and using state early care and education administrative data to conduct important early childhood research studies.
Developing collaborative partnerships with state agencies to strengthen research using early care and education administrative data
Determining the feasibility of using state early care and education administrative data
Considerations in preparing to analyze administrative data to address child care and early education research questions
Early childhood data definitions: a guide for researchers using administrative data