A previous report [R.R. Hake, Am. J. Phys. 66, 64-74 (1998)] of mechanics test data for 62 introductory physics courses with total enrollment of 6542 students strongly suggested that classroom use of interactive engagement (IE) methods can increase mechanics-course effectiveness in both conceptual understanding and problem-solving well beyond that achieved by traditional methods. This article is intended to assist (a) instructors in selecting and implementing IE methods, and (b) physics-education researchers in assessing and utilizing the raw data of the survey. Test scores, instructional methods, materials used, institutions, and instructors for each of the survey courses are tabulated and referenced. Suggestions for the mitigation of various implementation problems are given, based on case studies of seven atypical courses which employed IE methods but achieved low normalized gains characteristic of traditional methods. Some research questions raised by the present survey and amenable to experimental investigation are posed.