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UK EDP 656 - Evaluation Research

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Evaluation ResearchSlide 2Slide 3Evaluation research reflects social scientists’ increasing desire to make a difference in the world. At the same time, there is the influence ofTopics Appropriate to Evaluation ResearchFormulating the Problem: Issues of MeasurementWhat is the outcome, or the response variable?Slide 8Measuring Experimental ContextsSpecifying InterventionsSlide 11Specifying the PopulationNew versus Existing MeasuresSlide 14Operationalizing Success/FailureCost-benefit analysisSlide 17Types of Evaluation Research DesignsSlide 19Slide 20Slide 21Slide 22Slide 23Slide 24Slide 25Slide 26Logistical ProblemsSlide 28Slide 29Slide 30Use of Research ResultsSlide 32Social Indicators ResearchSlide 34Computer Simulation:Slide 36Evaluation ResearchEvaluation research, sometimes called program evaluation, refers to a research purpose rather than a specific method. This purpose is to evaluate the impact of social interventions such as new teaching methods, innovations in parole, and a host of others.Evaluation research is a form of applied research—it is intended to have some real-world effect.Many methods, like surveys and experiments can be used in evaluation research.In recent years, the field of evaluation research has become an increasingly popular and active research specialty, as reflected in textbooks, courses, and projects.Evaluation research reflects social scientists’ increasing desire to make a difference in the world. At the same time, there is the influence ofan increase in federal requirements that program evaluations must accompany the implementation of new programs, and the availability of research funds to fulfill those requirements.Topics Appropriate to Evaluation Research Evaluation research is appropriate whenever some social intervention occurs or is planned. Social intervention is an action taken within a social context for the purpose of producing some intended result.In its simplest sense, evaluation research is the process of determining whether a social intervention has produced the intended result.The topics appropriate for evaluation research are limitless. The questions appropriate for evaluation research are of great practical significance: jobs, programs, and investments as well as values and beliefs.Formulating the Problem: Issues of Measurement Problem: What is the purpose of the intervention to be evaluated?This question often produces vague results. A common problem is measuring the “unmeasurable.” Evaluation research is a matter of finding out whether something is there or not there, whether something happened or did not happen. To conduct evaluation research, we must be able to operationalize, observe, and measure.What is the outcome, or the response variable?If a social program is intended to accomplish something, we must be able to measure that something.It is essential to achieve agreements on definitions in advance. In some cases you may find that the definitions of a problem and a sufficient solution are defined by law or by agency regulations; if so you must be aware of such specifications and accommodate them.Whatever the agreed-upon definitions, you must also achieve agreement on how the measurements will be made. There may be several outcome measures, for instance surveys of attitudes and behaviors, existing statistics, use of other resources.Measuring Experimental Contexts Measuring the dependent variable directly involved in the experimental program is only a beginning. It is often appropriate and important to measure those aspects of the context of an experiment researchers think might affect the experiment. For example, what is happening in the larger society beyond the experimental group, which may affect the experimental group.Specifying InterventionsBesides making measurements relevant to the outcomes of a program, researchers must measure the program intervention—the experimental stimulus.•The experimental stimulus is the program intervention. If the research design includes an experimental and a control group, then the experimental stimulus will be handled.Assigning a person to the experimental group is the same as scoring that person “yes” on the stimulus, and assigning “no” to the person in the control group. Considerations: who participates fully; who misses participation in the program periodically; who misses participation in the program a lot? Measures may need to be included to measure level of participation. The problems may be more difficult than that. The factors to consider should be addressed thoroughly.Specifying the Population It is important to define the population of possible subjects for whom the program is appropriate. Ideally, all or a sample of appropriate subjects will then be assigned to experimental and control groups as warranted by the study design. Beyond defining the relevant population, the researcher should make fairly precise measurements of the variables considered in the definition.New versus Existing Measures If the study addresses something that’s never been measured before, the choice is easy—new measures.If the study addresses something that others have tried to measure, the researcher will need to evaluate the relative worth of various existing measurement devices in terms of her or his specific research situations and purpose.Advantages of creating measures: •They can offer greater relevance and validity than using existing measures. Advantages of using existing measures:•Creating good measures takes time and energy, both of which could be saved by adopting an existing technique. •Of greater scientific significance, measures that have been used frequently by other researchers carry a body of possible comparisons that might be important to the current evaluation. •Finally, measures with a long history of use usually have known degrees of validity and reliability, but newly created measures will require pretesting or will be used with considerable uncertainty.Operationalizing Success/Failure Potentially one of the most taxing aspects of evaluation research is determining whether the program under review


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UK EDP 656 - Evaluation Research

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