Exam 1 Flashcards
Evaluation Chapters 1-3
Program evaluation
Application of social research methods to systematically investigate the effectiveness of social intervention programs in ways that are adapted to their political and organizational environments and are designed to inform social action to improve social conditions
Main tasks of program evaluation
Assess the effectiveness of social programs
Identify the factors that drive or undermine their effectiveness
Confirmation bias
The tendency to see things in ways that favor preexisting beliefs
Relativity of program effects
With rare exceptions, some program participants will show improvement on the outcomes the program targets, depending on the focus of the program. But that does not necessarily mean these gains were caused by participation in the program. Improvement for at least some individuals is quite likely to have occurred anyway in the natural course of events even without the help of the program
The two arms of evaluation
Description of program performance
Standards or criteria for judgement of program performance
Five domains of Evaluation
Need for the program
Program theory and design
Program process
Program impact
Program efficiency
Needs Assessment
First step in planning a new program
Used to systematically describe and diagnose social needs
Needs assessment may also be appropriate to examine whether an established program is responsive to the current needs of its target population and provide guidance for improvement.
Also looks at the extent of an issue.
Assessment of Program Theory and Design
Must reflect valid assumptions about the nature of the problem
Must represent a feasible approach
Often in the form of a logic model
Assessment of Program Process
Assessment of program process, evaluates the fidelity and quality of a program’s implementation.
May be done as a freestanding evaluation of the activities and operations of the program.
Program monitoring
When the process evaluation is an ongoing function that occurs regularly, it will usually be referred to as program monitoring.
may also include information about the status of program participants on targeted outcomes after they have completed the program and thus also include outcome monitoring.
Effectiveness of the Program: Impact Evaluation
Gauged by the change it produces in outcomes (EG: new behavior or mindset)
Asks whether the desired outcomes were actually attained.
depend in large part on whether it adequately operationalizes and implements an effective theory
Cost Analysis and Efficiency Assessment
Cost analysis
Efficiency assessment
Cost- benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis
Asks if a program can be done cheaper
Implementation failure
when the effects are null or weak because the program activities assumed necessary to bring about the desired improvements did not actually occur as intended
Theory failure
When the program conceptualization and design are not capable of generating the desired outcomes no matter how well implemented
Evaluation Sponsor
Person who commissions evaluation (Jeanna Somm)
Stakeholders
Individuals, groups, or organizations with significant interest in program (Carlisle community members and those involved with the program). All those potentially affected.
Formative Evaluation
Intended to improve a program
Summative Evaluation
Intended to make a summary judgment of a program performance usually to determine if the program should be:
Discontinued
Changed
Continued
disseminated/expanded
