The traditionally direct route from high school to full-time work for most students has given way to a variety of paths. The Academy for Educational Development's National Institute for Work and Learning (AED/NIWL) undertook a 4-year study of school-to-work transition education reform. The study focused on identifying useful models for and the impact of school-to-work transition reform initiatives. A number of activities carried out the study: a comprehensive review and synthesis of the literature; the commissioning of a series of papers on critical issues; the convening of a national conference; 14 case studies of exemplary school-to-work transition initiatives; and the dissemination of diverse products to the research, policy, and education communities. This volume, the third in a series of four, describes the study's research design and methodology. The study's research design consisted of a framework that outlines the relationships among the many contexts within which school-to-work programs and systems operate, the design and implementation of these reforms, and the outcomes produced for organizations and students. Case-study data, collected during site visits to each of the 14 programs in 1993 or 1994, were obtained through individual interviews with many different stakeholders; focus group discussions; observation of classrooms, meetings, and work sites; and document analysis. (LMI)