NCJ Number
52598
Date Published
1978
Length
34 pages
Annotation
RESULTS ARE REPORTED TO DATE ON AN ANALYSIS OF 200 EVALUATIONS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROJECTS, ALONG WITH A REPORT ON PROJECT PUBLICATIONS AND AN UPDATE ON SPECIAL METHODOLOGICAL STUDIES.
Abstract
FOLLOWING THE SELECTION OF 200 CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROJECT EVALUATIONS FROM A COLLECTION OF 1,500 EVALUATION ABSTRACTS, ABOUT 25 PERCENT OF THE SAMPLE OF 200 EVALUATION REPORTS WAS ANALYZED. QUANTITATIVE METHODS HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY ABUSED, WITH 'QUANTITATIVE' USUALLY BEING INTERPRETED BY THE EVALUATORS TO MEAN 'STATISTICAL' RATHER THAN 'MODEL-BASED.' BECAUSE OF LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE RUDIMENTARY ASPECTS OF MODELING APPLIED TO A PROBLEM, PARTICULARLY IN THE LOGISTICAL AREA, STATISTICAL MANIPULATIONS AND RELATED INTERPRETATIONS ARE FREQUENTLY NONSENSICAL. BECAUSE OF QUANTITATIVE SHORTCOMINGS IN THE PRACTICE OF EVALUATIONS, PROJECT EFFORTS ARE BEING REDOUBLED IN THE AREA OF MODEL-BASED EVALUATIONS. RESULTS OF THIS EFFORT ARE TO BE SEEN IN PUBLICATIONS TO BE RELEASED LATER. A COMPUTER SYSTEM HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR MAINTAINING THE PROJECT'S RECORDS ON EACH OF THE EVALUATIONS IN THE SAMPLE OF 200. A SIMULATED COMPUTER TERMINAL SESSION IS INCLUDED IN THE APPENDIX. ABSTRACTS ARE PRESENTED ON PROJECT STUDIES OF A MODEL-BASED EVALUATION OF ONEVERSUS TWO-OFFICER PATROL STAFFING AND THE USE OF BAYESIAN TECHNIQUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE EVALUATION. A SAMPLE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE USED BY THOSE EXAMINING THE SAMPLE OF EVALUATIONS IS INCLUDED ALONG WITH A LIST OF PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE PROJECT LIBRARY. FOR OTHER REPORTS, SEE NCJ-52597, 52599, AND 55104. (RCB)