EMPIRICAL STUDY OF METHODS USED IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE EVALUATIONS - FIRST QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT DECEMBER 1977-MARCH 31, 1977

• NCJ Number: 52597
• Author(s): R C LARSON
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 24 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78N1-AX-0007
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

PLANS FOR CONSTRUCTING THE SAMPLE OF EVALUATIONS TO BE CONSIDERED ARE REPORTED, ALONG WITH TASKS UNDERWAY, PUBLICATIONS PLANNED, AND THE SCHEDULING OF FUTURE ACTIVITIES.

Abstract

TASK I OF THE PROJECT HAS BEEN COMPLETED. IT INVOLVED SELECTING A SAMPLE OF 200 EVALUATIONS FROM 1,500 ABSTRACTS OF EVALUATIONS, WITH A VIEW TOWARD CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF THE SAMPLE OF EVALUATIONS IN TASK II. IN SELECTING EVALUATIONS TO BE EXAMINED, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DELIBERATE OVERREPRESENTATION WAS PLANNED TO PROVIDE FOR AN EXAMINATION OF EVALUATIONS OF EXEMPLARY PROJECTS THAT HAD BEEN ACCEPTED AND REJECTED BY LEAA. ATTENTION WAS ALSO GIVEN TO EVALUATIONS WHICH USED METHODOLOGIES WHICH ARE SPECIFIED FOCUSES OF THE RESEARCH--TIME SERIES ANALYSIS, EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN, USE OF MODELS IN EVALUATION, AND USE OF DECISION ANALYSIS IN EVALUATION. ISSUES TO BE EXAMINED IN THE RESEARCH INCLUDE (1) USE OF EVALUATIONS BY DECISIONMAKERS, (2) THE EXPECTED VALUE OF INFORMATION TO BE ACQUIRED FROM AN EVALUATION, (3) MISUSE AND ABUSE OF QUANTITATIVE METHODS, AND (4) USE OF ADOPTIVE EVALUATION METHODS TO REFLECT FEEDBACK FROM THE FIELD. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE STRUCTURED SAMPLE WILL BE COMPLETED BY APRIL 30, 1978 AND APPROXIMATELY 20 PERCENT OF THE REPORTS WILL HAVE BEEN REVIEWED BY JUNE 15. VARIOUS OTHER METHODOLOGICALLY ORIENTED TASKS ARE ALSO UNDERWAY, INCLUDING WORK ON TIME SERIES IN EVALUATION, AN EXAMINATION OF BAYESIAN AND DECISION ANALYTIC METHODS OF EVALUATION, AND AN ANALYSIS OF ONE-OFFICER VERSUS TWO-OFFICER PATROLS. PUBLICATIONS PROPOSED AND THOSE COMPLETED THUS FAR ARE INDICATED, AND THE BACKGROUNDS OF PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH ARE DESCRIBED. ATTACHMENTS INCLUDE AN INTERIM REPORT ON WORK PLANNED, A PROJECT PERSONNEL LIST, FORMS TO BE USED IN THE STUDY, A LIST OF PUBLICATIONS IN THE PROJECT LIBRARY, AND A BRIEF REPORT ON PROGRESS THUS FAR IN THE STUDY ON EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ONE-VERSUS TWO-OFFICER PATROL UNITS. FOR RELATED REPORTS, SEE NCJ 52598-52599. (RCB)