Deck 6: The Assessment of Need

Question 1

Before a program is implemented, the evaluator should

A) not be consulted.
B) support whatever decisions the stakeholders make.
C) ask about the conceptual foundations of the plans.
D) measure outcomes carefully and reliably.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The conceptual model (also called the "impact model") of a program refers to

A) the statistical analysis to be used.
B) the needs that program planners ascribe to the population.
C) the processes hypothesized to lead to the outcomes desired.
D) a careful description of the program participants and the setting of the program.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Evaluators need to know the specific definitions of good program outcomes because

A) representatives of the media may ask them.
B) using specific objectives permits program sponsors to hide their ignorance.
C) the staff members might communicate these expectations to the program participants.
D) using vague definitions makes it impossible to know if program goals were achieved.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Knowing the characteristics of the target population will make it easier to

A) get stakeholders' approval for program plans.
B) design a useful service program.
C) reduce Type I errors.
D) develop financial backing for the program.

Question 5

The needs that professionals ascribe to a population

A) might not be what the population needs.
B) will not be questioned publicly.
C) should not be changed as a result of an evaluation.
D) will always reflect the population's actual needs.

Question 6

If a target population does not acknowledge the needs that program planners ascribe to them,

A) people will probably still pay for the service.
B) funding agencies will never support the service.
C) people should be educated about their needs because planners are never wrong.
D) people are unlikely to cooperate with the treatment.

Question 7

The staff members of human service programs often __________ the extent of the need for their services.

A) overestimate
B) underestimate
C) accurately tabulate
D) deny

Question 8

A program might be ineffective because the -------------

A) target population does not feel a need for the service provided.
B) program treats the needs of the target population.
C) program deals with needs that the population really has.
D) program has a well thought-out impact model.

Question 9

Program goals should stress

A) only final outcome goals.
B) only goals related to the functioning of the program.
C) specific initial steps since anything can go wrong while offering a human service.
D) various types of goals, from the development of resources through final outcomes.

Question 10

An impact model permits one to

A) hide a weak program from the evaluator.
B) avoid hard decisions about resource allocation.
C) lower Type I but not Type II errors.
D) relate program activities to final outcomes.

Question 11

Programs that are too weak to affect the problem they are planned to treat

A) are seldom implemented.
B) should be revised in the planning stage.
C) never have widespread stakeholder support.
D) should be implemented carefully.

Question 12

Evaluability assessment refers to careful

A) analysis of stakeholder needs.
B) analysis of program plans.
C) measurement of program results.
D) measurement of program implementation.

Question 13

Census data can be used in program planning by

A) asking key informants to evaluate the census data.
B) contrasting one community with larger areas, such as a state.
C) searching for a community's strong points.
D) showing errors in census procedures.

Question 14

Case studies of individuals who were unable to obtain social services, such as health care or assistance in getting a job,

A) have no place in scientific program evaluation.
B) can show the extent of a need for a social service among the residents of a community.
C) form the foundation of a quantitative assessment of need.
D) can be used to demonstrate that existing social agencies do not meet the needs of all residents.

Question 15

Incidence of a problem is to prevalence of a problem as

A) number of cases of the common cold per year is to number of cases of the common cold on a given day.
B) number of cases of the common cold on a given day is to number of cases of the common cold per year.
C) number of cases of the common cold is to severity of the colds.
D) frequency is to magnitude.

Question 16

When surveying residents about the need for a human service, one must not confuse

A) informants versus community residents.
B) opinions versus attitudes.
C) verbal support for a service versus likely level of use.
D) statistical significance versus the reliability of the results.

Question 17

Process evaluation includes

A) an assessment of interpersonal interaction during psychotherapy.
B) an assessment of successful outcomes.
C) a decision about program termination or continuation.
D) an assessment of how the program is being implemented and whether it is being implemented as originally planned.

Question 18

Need was defined as ____________________ between what is and what should be.

A) a discrepancy
B) an identity
C) a similarity
D) a confusion

Question 19

The textbook definition of need would include a difference between what people have and what people

A) desire.
B) expect on the basis of social norms.
C) require to be in a satisfactory state.
D) ideally could make good use of.

Question 20

People offering a service often overestimate the degree to which people need the service because they are in a good position to learn about the people most in need. Remembering these people but ignoring others who do not need the service is an example of

A) wishful thinking.
B) biased selection among various available pieces of information.
C) limited conclusion validity.
D) the decision heuristic, availability.

Question 21

The consumer price index and FBI crime statistics are examples of

A) social indicators.
B) equivalent dependent variables.
C) social problems.
D) availability biases.

Question 22

Social indicators are quite valuable; however, they

A) are nearly impossible to interpret to satisfy a client.
B) invariably overestimate the need for services.
C) seldom display any valid relationship to real social problems.
D) can be corrupted to serve political purposes.

Question 23

The Focus Group approach to assessing needs utilizes

A) representative, randomly selected, members of the public answering a survey.
B) selected community members discussing needs with a trained leader.
C) selected community members answering a survey.
D) randomly sampled census data focusing on a particular social problem.

Question 24

Need assessment is particularly hard because

A) random assignment to groups is ethically wrong.
B) statistical analyses so helpful to other phases of evaluation do not apply to need assessment.
C) some people deny their needs and others do not recognize some of their needs.
D) census figures are so much in error that they cannot be used.

Question 25

The place to begin planning a social program is with

A) an assessment of the unmet needs of the community.
B) an inventory of the resources available from the government and private agencies.
C) the staff available.
D) a list of services experts think should be provided.

Question 26

Some social needs can be overestimated because

A) people tend to remember tragic, bizarre, and unusual events.
B) proponents of social programs usually make balanced presentations of needs.
C) quantitative information is easily recalled.
D) common events experienced by many people are easy to identify.

Question 27

List the best key informants for a curriculum development planning committee in a public high school. Add their strengths and weaknesses as information sources to the list.

Question 28

Develop three potentially useful questions that could be used in a survey to determine the needs of college students for some non-academic, campus service such as personal counseling, vocational counseling, entertainment, etc.

Question 29

If people do not recognize a need, how would this finding affect the planning of a program?

Question 30

Discuss an example of a program that did not contribute to meeting unmet needs.

Question 31

Why is it important to assess needs with careful awareness of and sensitivity to the social practices of the people who are thought to have unmet needs?