NCJ Number
50470
Date Published
1977
Length
6 pages
Annotation
SOME OF THE BASIC ISSUES INVOLVED IN VIEWING EVALUATION AS RESEARCH ARE FORMULATED, AND WAYS IN WHICH SUCH STUDIES CAN BE IMPROVED ARE INDICATED.
Abstract
FROM A METHODOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW, EVALUATION IS SEEN AS A MEANS FOR DETERMINING THE DEGREE TO WHICH A PLANNED PROGRAM OF INTERVENTION ACHIEVES THE GOALS FOR WHICH IT WAS DESIGNED. ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF EVALUATION IS TO DETERMINE WHY A PARTICULAR PROGRAM WAS EFFECTIVE OR INEFFECTIVE. ESSENTIALLY, EVALUATION IS VIEWED AS A SCIENTIFIC METHOD THAT BEGINS WITH AN HYPOTHESIS CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP OF ACTIVITY 'A' TO OBJECTIVE 'B.' EVALUATION THEN EMPLOYS CRITICAL EXAMINATION METHODS USING CONTROL FACTORS WHICH TEST WHETHER IT WAS REALLY ACTIVITY 'A' THAT ACHIEVED OBJECTIVE (B), AND WHICH INDICATE HOW AND WHY THE ACTIVITY WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVE. USING THIS APPROACH, EVALUATIVE RESEARCH IS SEEN AS A FORM OF SOCIAL EXPERIMENT. AS A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT, AN EVALUATION TESTS THE VALIDITY OF THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE ACTION PROGRAM UNDER CONSIDERATION HAS THE POWER TO EFFECT CERTAIN CAUSAL PROCESSES RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DESIRED GOAL. THE IDEAL EVALUATION STUDY TESTS UNDER FIELD EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ACTIVITY 'A' WILL ATTAIN OBJECTIVE 'B' BECAUSE IT IS ABLE TO INFLUENCE PROCESS 'C' WHICH EFFECTS THE OCCURRENCE OF THE OBJECTIVE. TWO POSSIBLE SOURCES OF FAILURE IN THE PROGRAM ARE NOTED: THE INABILITY OF THE PROGRAM TO INFLUENCE THE CAUSAL VARIABLE AND THE INVALIDITY OF THE THEORY LINKING THE CAUSAL VARIABLE TO THE DESIRED OBJECTIVE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT EVALUATION, AS THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF STUDYING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PLANNED SOCIAL CHANGE, CAN PLAY A BASIC PART IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FIELD OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE. EVALUATION SUPPLIES A BODY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ALLOWING ADMINISTRATORS OF SOCIAL CHANGE TO EMPLOY SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES IN THEIR WORK. (RCB)