Evaluation Methodologies

Evaluation Methodologies

Introduction

Evaluation is a process by which it determines the setting changes generated by a project from the comparison between the current and the anticipated in planning. That is, it tries knowing how much a project has achieved its objectives or how much capacity to meet them possesses. Evaluation always produces information for decision-making, so it can also be considered as an activity aimed at improving the effectiveness of projects in relation to their goals, and to promote greater efficiency in the allocation of resources. In this regard, it should be noted that the evaluation is not an end in itself; rather it is a means to optimize the management. (Fraker, 2007)

Evaluation methodologies are used to assess a particular program in a broad sense, then compare interest rates before and after the program, based on which we can draw conclusions about its effectiveness. However, for such a comparison requires a large array of reliable comparable data for at least two periods, without which the results of evaluation of the program will remain undetected. The most obvious way to collect the necessary data is surveys.

Discussion

Evaluation designs are classified in a number of categories and these vary in feasibility, the degree of clarity and cost.

Experimental Design

It is a method of study, in which the objects of study (students, teachers, senior citizens that is the target audience of the program) randomly divided into two groups: the group is exposed to the program, and a control group, there is a basis for comparison. One of the most commonly used experimental designs is the design of a randomized sample. (Hotz, 2007)

Design Randomized Sample

Randomized sample design is a form of a pilot study in which the effects of one or more interventions are evaluated on the basis of a random allocation of objects in the experimental and control groups. Randomized distribution of objects in groups means that each of them has the same chance of being in the program. The experimental group is exposed to the program, while the control group not exposed to it and is used as the base for comparison. After the implementation of the program through surveys of all the groups, researchers are trying to understand how significant changes in the intervention group compared with the control. (Heckman & Robb, 2005)

Just a random distribution makes sure that groups are really comparable, and that the observed differences in the results are not the result of extraneous factors or pre-existing differences. For example, what conclusion can be made on the basis of what has been handling a group of students to perform better than the control group when the first group of students to the program involved more skilled and creative teachers, rather than the second? How to explain the observed differences between the groups: the effect of the program or initially the difference between them? Same random distribution of students by groups would show only the effect of the program (Heckman, 2010)

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Limitations of Experimental Design

However, the use of experimental design has ...