|
Method
|
Overall Purpose
|
Advantages
|
Challenges
|
| Surveys |
- Quickly and/or easily gets lots of information from people in a non threatening way
|
- can complete anonymously
- inexpensive to administer
- easy to compare and analyze
- administer to many people
- can get lots of data
- many sample questionnaires already exist
|
- might not get careful feedback
- wording can bias client's responses
- impersonal
- may need sampling expert
- doesn't get full story
|
| Interviews |
- Understand someone's impressions or experiences
- Learn more about answers to questionnaires
|
- get full range and depth of information
- develops relationship with client
- can be flexible with client
|
- can take ime
- can be hard to analyze and compare
- can be costly
- interviewer can bias client's responses
|
| Observation |
- Gather firsthand information about people, events, or programs
|
- view operations of a program as they are actually occurring
- can adapt to events as they occur
|
- can be difficult to interpret seen behaviors
- can be complex to categorize observations
- can influence behaviors of program participants
- can be expensive
|
| Focus groups |
- Explore a topic in depth through group discussion
|
- quickly and reliably get common impressions
- can be efficient way to get much range and depth of information in short time
- can convey key information about programs
|
- can be hard to analyze responses
- need good facilitator for safety and closure
- difficult to schedule 6-8 people together
|
| Case studies |
- Understand an experience or conduct comprehensive examination through cross comparison of cases
|
- depicts client's experience in program input, process and results
- powerful means to portray program to outsiders
|
- usually time consuming to collect, organize and describe
- represents depth of information, rather than breadth
|
Table was adapted from the Basic Guide to Program Evaluation, http://www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/fnl_eval.htm#anchor1585345
