Defining Requirements for a Repository to Meet the Needs of K-12 Computer Science Educators, Researchers, and Evaluators

This Research Full Paper describes the early research conducted to design a searchable repository of peer-reviewed research related to pre-college computing activities. This repository is part of a larger project to enable the computer science education community to gather and analyze data related to the effectiveness of these activities. To ensure that the repository met the needs of the community, we convened a virtual focus group of experienced and expert researchers and educators to discuss the repository's value, what it should contain, and how it should be presented. This paper presents 1) an analysis of these discussions, which shows that participants were equally interested in the repository's content and quality, 2) an initial list of variables that can affect the outcomes of these activities, and 3) an initial set of questions researchers should ask when authoring computer science education research involving precollege computing activities. We also consider these results in light of the larger challenge raised by others of how to improve quality research in computing education.