Exam 1: Evaluative Research: Key Concepts and Applications in Facilitating Change

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To determine what types of questions would be useful, it is crucial to gain an understanding of the program and what it is trying to do. This helps you think about the information needs from the perspective of the program and its multiple stakeholders. In particular, the evaluator will want to develop a good understanding of the program's intended beneficiaries, the program's expected benefits or results, and the actions taken by the program to effect those benefits.

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Evaluation is typically defined as a set of mechanisms for collecting and using information to (a) learn about projects, policies, and programs; (b) determine their effects, both intended and unintended; and (c) understand the way they are implemented. This definition might sound like research, and there is clearly important overlap among methods and processes used when doing evaluation and conduction research. The main distinction that is used to distinguish between research and evaluation is the purpose of each. Whereas the primary purpose of research is viewed as the creation of generalizable knowledge, the purpose of evaluation is more typically seen as focusing on the effects of a particular program, policy, or practice.

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The creation of a logic model, to graphically illustrate how a program is expected to work, can be a critical tool for informing organizational and evaluation planning. The logic model can help frame an evaluation's focus and objectives, from its data sources to its key questions and indicators of outcome. A logic model is also very important for helping the different stakeholders, including the evaluator, be clear about the manner in which the different program components and goals logically fit together. The logic model helps "connect the dots" between different program elements and describes how they contribute to different types of change in the (sometimes multiple) intended beneficiary of the program. As a logic model is created and shared, the research questions can and should be refined and clarified and prioritized as more is learned about the program and its operations.