Formative Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Formative Evaluation Essay The processes of evaluation depend mainly on the purpose of the evaluation and the object to be evaluated. There are many processes of evaluation, but the most important basic distinction in these processes is between formative and summative. Formative Evaluation In this process, the evaluation is done on the strengths, weaknesses and even on how to improve the object. It is usually done by examining the delivery of the service or the technology, implementation of the quality, and the assessment of the organizational personnel, procedures, and context among others. The formative evaluation can be subdivided into the following types of evaluation which are very essential: assessment evaluation, which is used in order to determine the feasibility of the evaluation and how the administrators, sponsors, donors among others can help to improve its usefulness; process evaluation, this mainly involves investigation of the process of service or technology delivery and other alternative delivery processes; needs assessment, this is used to determine who needs the program, the greatness of the need, and even how to meet the need; and lastly, implementation evaluation, which involves the monitoring of the fidelity of service or technology deliverance ( Trochim, 2006). Summative evaluation This process of evaluation examines the outcomes of the effects of some object on the service or technological deliverance. It usually describes what happens subsequent to technology or service delivery, assess whether the object caused the observed outcome, and even est imate the cost associated with the object. The summative evaluation consists of several types and these include: impact evaluation, this usually involves the assessment of the overall effects of the service or the technology; outcome evaluation, this deals with investigating whether the service or the technology caused the effects on that specific target outcome; cost effectiveness and benefit analysis, which deals with questions of efficiency and effectiveness by standardizing the outcomes in terms of values and cost; meta-analysis, which involves the integration of the outcome estimates from the all the studies done to come to an overall judgement about the question(s) being evaluated; and lastly, secondary analysis, which involves reexamination of the existing data so that new questions can be addressed or new methods can used (Trochim, 2006). The most important objectives of evaluation is to provide a useful feedback to various audiences, who may include administrators, sponsors, staff and even donors among others. It is often done to gauge success in attaining organization goals. In most cases, the feedback from evaluation is perceived as useful since it helps in decision-making and policy formulation. However, in very rare cases the evaluation feedback can fail to influence the making of short-term decisions. The evaluation tool is mainly used in a workplace by the employers to review employee performance and is usually done by the supervisors or senior managers. In such a case, it may involve assessing how the employee is doing using performance scale rating which show the strengths and weaknesses in important areas which may include promptness and following given instructions among others. The employees are also given the chance to share their suggestions and concerns about the workplace experiences and details such as pay raise, promotions and many others. Furthermore, the significant progress made in achieving the employee goals in a set time period is also evaluated. These employee goals can be set by the organization or can be set voluntary. Word Count: 560 Reference List Trochim W. T. (2006). Research Methods Knowledge Base. Retrieved on May 2, 2009 from http://www. socialresearchmethods. net/kb/index. php

Tienanmen Square: Where was the Violence? :: essays research papers

Were civilian casualties more extensive inside or outside of Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989? A) Plan of Investigation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bloodshed at Tiananmen Square in Beijing shocked the world. As a result of large-scale Chinese cover-up the public knew little about the deaths that occurred on the morning of June 4th 1989. The aim of this investigation is to find out where the casualties were most extensive. The information needed to answer this question would not be provided for 11 years after which documents began to surface helping explain the unknown tragedy. U.S. government documents surrounding the event were finally declassified. But even more importantly a collection of Chinese documents known as The Tiananmen Papers were leaked out of China. The research for this investigation comes from these two sets of documents. By analyzing both the US and China accounts, similarities and inconstancies will be identified and examined in an effort to find the most plausible answer. B) Summary of Evidence 1. On the Brink On the night of June 3rd, 1989 the communist nation China was on the brink of collapse. For months the capital city was saturated with millions of pro-democracy demonstrators. Students, intellectuals, and civilians had set up their democratic stronghold in the symbolic center of the country, Tiananmen Square. The overwhelming animosity against the communist party had shut down the nation, and embarrassed its leaders. The senior members of the Chinese politburo demanded that this uprising be subdued and disbanded. After months of fruitless efforts to resolve the matter peacefully the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was dispatched to clear Tiananmen Square and to put an end to the ever expanding trouble. The soldiers were instructed to be extremely disciplined, opening fire as the last resort (Liang, 370.) Additionally no bloodshed would be allowed in the Square itself because of its important symbolism. 2. To the Square The United States first received news about the violence in Beijing in a message from the US embassy in Beijing on the night of June 3rd 1989. The document reported that the PLA was using violent force to remove protestors as they moved on Tiananmen Square. Chinese tanks, APCs, trucks, and soldiers had met sizable civilian resistance. Thousands of protestors blockaded the PLA pelting the army with rocks, bottles, and molotov cocktails (Evans, Document 12.) Some proceeded to overturn and destroy military vehicles. Soldiers using automatic weapons fired into the mass of protestors. Demonstrators fell back slowly, continuing to fight for seven hours.

Meta-analysis

Meta-analysis was designed as a method of reducing the threats to validity that often arise as a result of small sample sizes. When sample sizes used for a particular experiment are too small, it becomes possible for errors to enter the data and cause it to become skewed or biased. Meta-analysis involves the survey and investigation of data from a number of related studies. Such analysis is usually advantageous in its ability to produce more accurate data. One of the problems that arise when conducting a review of studies comes from the methods chosen to analyze data. The usual methods of integrating research that has been previously done often prove unable to cope with the growing amounts of research with which some researchers have to deal. Meta-analysis helps eliminate this problem. It also delves into the quality of the research being evaluated, in order to reduce the problem of citing research without proper examination of the conclusions and the methods used to reach these. It also prescribes methods for researchers to weigh adequately all the evidence whether it is for or against their own preconceived ideas or preferences, thereby reducing the bias of research. Problems with internal validity arise as a result of such practices as non-randomization, small sample size, discontinuation of the studies by participants (drop-out), the occurrence of significant historical events during a study, lack of control groups, and the problem of extreme results versus the regression effect toward the mean (Losh, 2002). In order to improve the internal validity of research, meta-analysis covers a wide array of studies that serve to combat each of these problems in the following ways. Because meta-analysis deals with a large number of individual studies, problems regarding small sample size can be diminished as the number of participants within the study now becomes the aggregate of all those who participated in the individual studies. As a result, meta-analyses â€Å"have more power to detect small but clinically significant effects† (Davies & Crombie, n.d.). Biases in the data that arise from non-randomization and problems with lack of control groups can also be diminished because of the practices of meta-analysis experts in choosing carefully which studies to include in their research. When conducting this type of research, it becomes crucial to choose primary research that is â€Å"a complete, unbiased collection of original, high-quality studies that examine the same [†¦] question† (Davies & Crombie, n.d.). Researchers who adhere to this practice scrutinize the methodologies of the different studies and remove those that contain major contr ol and randomization flaws. The large number of studies used in meta-analysis also combats the problems or biases that may arise from such phenomena as regression toward the mean. When studies are done (or tests taken) it is often the case that a small percentage of participants score exceptionally high or low. It is often the case, too, that when/if retakes of these studies are done, these same exceptional scorers either increase or decrease their scores, taking them closer to the mean. With a large body of studies taken in meta-analysis, the effects of these exceptions and regressions can evened out, so that the study gives a more accurate and statistically valid picture of the problem/issue being examined. As external validity is related to the ability to generalize results across populations, though similar studies must be chosen for meta-analyses, the researcher may be careful to include ones that contain a wide variety of subject types. This will reduce the effects of population sensitization (familiarity with the processes of the test) as well as the likelihood of certain subject types to be (artificially) more inclined to one outcome or another based on the demographic of that particular group. The more inclusive the criteria for the participants, the more widely generalizable will the meta-analytic study become (Davies & Crombie, n.d.). References Davies, H.T.O. & I. K. Crombie. (n.d.). â€Å"What is meta-analysis?† Evidence-based Medicine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Howard Medical Communications. 1(8). Losh, S. C. (2002). â€Å"Quasi-experiments, internal validity, and experiments II.† Methods of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Educational Research.   Florida State University. Retrieved on January 29, 2007 from http://edf5481-01.fa02.fsu.edu/Guide4.html   

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