Use of Group Designs in Program Evaluation

Order Instructions

Discussion: Use of Group Designs in Program Evaluation

When conducting an outcome evaluation for a program, social workers must select a research design that allows them to gather data in a feasible and appropriate manner while also maximizing validity. Group designs can be categorized as cross-sectional, meaning data is collected just once, or longitudinal, meaning data is collected twice or more. Collecting data before and after the program intervention provides a comparison that can more directly attribute client change to the program itself, rather than to an extraneous factor.

For this Discussion, you evaluate group research design methods that can be used for an outcome evaluation of a foster parent training program. You also generate criteria to be measured in the program.

To Prepare

Review Chapter 9 of the course text, paying particular attention to the “Group Designs for Programs” section.

Access the Social Work Case Studies media and navigate to the Planning a Program Evaluation case study. Consider which group research design would be most appropriate for the scenario.

By Day 3

Provide a brief description of the foster parent training program (1–2 sentences).

Identify which group research design you will use (from those outlined in the Resources as appropriate for the Program Evaluation case study) and state why.

Identify the outcomes to be measured.

Describe specific measurements that you will use to assess those outcomes.

Explain which data collection method you will use and why.

Specify who will collect the data and how the data will be collected.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two colleagues from the perspective of an interested stakeholder for the program by doing the following:

Provide a brief description of the stakeholder role that you are taking.

Provide an evaluation of the group research design that they have chosen and the measurement criteria they have generated.

Provide support based on your evaluation.

Ask questions about the plan for research design and the purpose of the evaluation from your chosen stakeholder perspective.