Now that you have an evaluation plan, you know what you want to find
out. Next, you need to take a realistic look at the resources
you have to conduct the evaluation.
Review the list below. Click the Feedback button for clarification.
Information Resources
When you are planning your
program evaluation, consider the extent to which you have available
information about related research in the area. In many cases evaluators
may spend time and energy re-inventing the wheel because they are not
aware of other research or program evaluation that has been done. For
example, say your school wants to use a training curriculum that has
not been used in the school before. Some stakeholders may have a strong
interest in having program evaluation that assesses the students’ reactions
to this curriculum. Before deciding to devote energy to this task,
see whether other schools in your district, or other schools with similar
student populations, have used this curriculum and reported on student
satisfaction. In many cases, questions have already been answered,
relieving you of the responsibility to repeat the effort. That will
free you to spend resources on questions that are important and unanswered.
In the last part of this Day 4 material we have a section on a review
of recent CRE research to help you decide whether evidence of your
program’s success may already exist and can be used to bolster
your evaluation.
Data Availability
You should also find out whether data are available or can be made
available to assess program impact. For example, if you are interested
in seeing whether the conflict management program reduced violence
significantly you will need to have baseline data of violence before
the program begins. Do you know whether the school or district keeps
this data on hand?
Commitment of Stakeholders
Now we are talking about
the willingness of the stakeholders to participate in program evaluation
processes. This may seem a given, but anyone who has done program evaluation
can tell you it is one of the most difficult factors. The reality is
that people get busy or do not provide you with the information they
once promised--information that is critical to your program evaluation.
Talk with stakeholders about the kinds of support they will give, the
kinds of information they will provide and the consequences of not
getting it. If stakeholders are reluctant initially, you can almost
be certain they will not be cooperative when you need the information.
Program Evaluation Experts
Do you have access to
program evaluation experts who can serve as mentors or guides during
your initial program evaluation experiences? Often area universities
or school districts have people on staff with this expertise.
Staffing
Do you have people in the school who are
willing to act as program evaluators? This can be more time consuming
than expected. Do you have people who can help prepare surveys, collect
data, record data, read reports, analyze data, and write reports? The
need for clerical kinds of support is greater in process evaluation
than outcome evaluation. But the need for expert aid (for statistical
analysis) is more pronounced in outcome evaluation.
Money
Do you have the money to pay for research
support, office supplies, copying costs, etc.?
Time
Do you have the time to do the evaluation?
Does the school staff have time to devote to it? Do teachers have time
to allow data collection in their classes?
Technology
If you are doing statistical analyses,
or are planning on using graphs in your report, do you have the necessary
computer software?
What are your resources?