Program Evaluation Research Papers

Program Evaluation Research

The purpose of this paper is to define and discuss evaluation research and what it is, and how it is conducted. Discuss the importance of evaluation research and any impact the research may have on program implementation. Discuss the types of evaluations discussed in the reading Powell (2006) and the phases it entails. Discuss the stakeholders in the evaluation and their respective interests according to Metcalfe, Aitken, & Gaff (2008), and what role should the stakeholders play in an evaluation.

Evaluation research is a method of research that is used in a social setting to provide feedback. Evaluation research could be conducted in a variety of ways utilizing different formats in collecting the data. Evaluation

Different administrators use it for a variety of reasons. Some researchers may use evaluation research after new products are released. The data collected can tell the manufacturer how durable a product may be. Data collected and analyzed may be of use for improvements or upgrades to products. Lots of businesses may use evaluation research to validate a practice or services rendered to the consumer. Evaluation research works to improve organization and gain a true insight to what is really going on within an organization or when dealing with programs. Evaluation research is conducted in a variety of areas such as community, health research, scholarly programs, and consumer product, to name a few. These types of research also explain why a program works and how it may work (Metcalfe, Aitken, & Gaff

Evaluation research methods are conducted as needed, when problems arise, or at any time it is deemed necessary. Methods may be completed using input measurement, output, and impact assessment outcomes. Macro evaluations are conducted with rule sets meaning that there are rules that are differentiated by sets. Micro evaluations are conducted using single rules against a common set of measures (Zou, 2008). Other types of evaluation research include subjective, objective, formative and summative evaluation research. Subjective research is based on one point of view, for example, a teacher formulates her ratings of what a passing grade in a discussion question would be in her class, and in contrast an objective evaluation would not include what the teacher's ratings are, it would not involve her feedback. Formative evaluations happen in the beginning phase of a program. The evaluations are conducted most commonly in these two ways, focus group discussion and in-depth interviews. Both focus group discussion and in-depth interviews are useful in gaining insight into a person or community on their particular views of the world around them and what motivates them. These groups can also lay the groundwork to uncover important information that can be used for future program