Evaluating Your Program - What Do You Measure and How?Posted by Hove Pratt on January 21st, 2021 This is the fourth in the compilation of articles on program evaluation. You will find the others also posted on this site. These articles are created to provide agencies with the summary of the program evaluation process as well as the way to ask informed questions of professional consultants they help. Taking without any consideration that you have worked from the previous steps in this method which are outlined in the articles, once you are able to hone in about the question of what you are likely to measure in your evaluation, and how. The answer to this question is both easy and complex. Simple in that you're going to stick to the lead you've lay out on your own by consulting your list objectives (outcome statements) and emphasizing those which can be from the scope of this particular evaluation. Complex, in that measuring those outcomes is not nearly as simple as it can certainly seem. Begin by wondering which team you need information from. If your real question is, "Are our clients delighted by the level of support you can expect for job searches?" then you need some methods of soliciting customers' views. On the other hand, in case your real question is, "Do people who complete our program hold the necessary skills to take on the career they trained for?" you may need information from your program graduates, but perhaps also from employers who've hired your previous graduates. Be sure to also consider accessibility and time demands. From this point, consider if you would like what customers KNOW, CAN DO or their ATTITUDES and BELIEFS. This question will guide the most your getting yourself ready your evaluation. If you are looking at everything you clients KNOW, you likely desire a test of some type that measures their mastery of some body of knowledge. Ideally Strategic market Research Perth should have some criteria to compare their performance against; some national norms and/or their unique previous performance. If you would like what your clients CAN DO, you will want some method that monitors the behavior(s) involved. For example, you should analyze your clients' resumes to determine when they have adequately incorporated the guidance provided in the recent workout. Or, if market research companies perth wish to know should your clients can employ specific parenting techniques, some direct observation of parent/child interactions may be required. If you would like the ATTITUDES and BELIEFS of customers and other stakeholders, you will need to design some means for these to tell you what they think, probably anonymously. Surveys may be common, much like focus groups and interviews. The make-up of your customer base and the sensitivity in the topic will need to be considered in deciding which procedure for use. from this source of caution: these techniques are easy to do badly. Many think administering a survey is actually recording a few pre-determined questions for others to answer. Or, that interviews and concentrate groups are as simple and easy sitting people into have a very conversation. Nothing might be more mistaken. To utilize these techniques in the way that results in credible information appears uncomplicated, but requires the maximum amount of care and planning because most complex laboratory experiment. Finally, when you actually proceed using your data collection, revisit your scope, purpose and objectives once more. Is the approach you've planned more likely to yield techniques to the questions that stimulated this evaluation? I've suggested in other articles with this series that you ought to seek the guidance and support of the professional in this method. Now is REALLY not time to visit it alone. Search your region for consultants that do program evaluation research. If that does not work, make contact with a local college or university for the suggestion; focus on one from the social science departments. Happy Evaluating!Like it? Share it! More by this author |