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Evaluating Change

Evaluating Change. Chapter 10. ‘Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without abrasion.’ - Saul Alinsky . Evaluative Research .

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Evaluating Change

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  1. Evaluating Change Chapter 10

  2. ‘Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without abrasion.’ - Saul Alinsky O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  3. Evaluative Research • Evaluative research is undertaken to determine the value of some initiative such as a programme or policy • Findings of evaluative studies are considered crucial to rational and informed decision making O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  4. Evaluating Outcomes and Process • Evaluative studies can relate to • outcomes, ‘did it work?’ • process, ‘how can the design and implementation of the initiative be improved?’ O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  5. Methodological options • Rather be defined by any particular methodological approach, evaluative goals and perspectives sought determine appropriate methodology O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  6. Methodological Options - Process • Multiple and diverse process evaluation methods include • interviews • surveys • focus groups • observation • document review • They can also be important tools in outcome evaluations that seek provider and community perspectives O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  7. Methodological Options – Outcome • Methods that allow for direct comparison can be highly useful when evaluating outcomes. These often include • experiments • quasi-experiments O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  8. Politics of Evaluation • Evaluative research is political with both stakeholders and researchers having diverse goals and complex relationships O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  9. Negotiating Expectations • Navigating the politics of evaluation is easiest if client and researcher objectives/ expectation are made clear and are openly negotiated O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

  10. Real-World Complexity • Evaluative research takes place in the real-world with all its associated complexity • Real-world challenges include • when the decision to evaluate comes after initial implementation • when objectives are not clearly articulated or are not readily measurable • when the intervention has not been going long enough to expect results • when effects of the initiative can be • difficult to measure • difficult to attribute to the initiative O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: Sage. Chapter 10.

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