NCJ Number
89668
Date Published
1978
Length
47 pages
Annotation
This paper presents some of the commands necessary for a user to analyze information stored in EVAL, a computer program that maintains on-line the records and evaluation reports of the research project 'An Empirical Study of Methods Used in Criminal Justice Evaluations.'
Abstract
The EVAL system is currently implemented on the Multics Operating System at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After providing instructions on gaining access to Multics, EVAL messages are described; they include (1) broadcast messages, which are of general interest to users; (2) system messages, which provide the name of the user, the date and time when a report is added, and the report identification number; (3) memo, which allows users to send messages to other EVAL users; (4) prompting messages, which tell a user that required information is missing or that information supplied by the user was incorrectly specified; and (5) information messages, which tell the user about the status of EVAL or the result of the EVAL command the user previously issued. Six EVAL commands are described, and they are sufficient to analyze the information stored in EVAL. The list command yields all reports stored in the system, and the print command prints a report or reports on the terminal. The write command is essentially the same as the print command, except that the output is stored in a file. The 'dprint' command differs from the write and print command in that the output is printed by a high speed line-printer instead of at the terminal. The searching command enables the user to locate reorts that satisfy the searching criteria, and the stat command provides a frequency count for the answers to each question in the questionnaire for each evaluation report. Tables are provided for the various codes, and the appendixes contain EVAL's questionnaire and a display of a typical storage record.