Deck 14: Evaluation

Question 1

Goal attainment scaling enables the worker to

A) Obtain information for planning a group
B) Obtain information about the efficiency of the group
C) Obtain information about whether the group as a whole obtains its goals
D) Obtains information for developing a group

Answer 1

C

Question 2

To improve practice, practice wisdom

A) Should not be combined with evaluation methods
B) Can be combined with evaluation methods
C) Has no place in improving practice methods
D) Should be given priority over evaluation methods

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Monitoring by the group worker does not usually include

A) Group recording form
B) Summary recordings
C) Process recordings
D) Keeping the minutes of a meeting

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Ways to obtain program information for planning a group do not usually include

A) Talking to administrators
B) Reviewing relevant journals
C) Reading the bylaws of the sponsoring organization
D) Examine records from previous groups

Question 5

When monitoring a group it is important to record information

A) As soon as possible after the group meeting
B) During the meeting
C) Before the next meeting
D) Before the group ends

Question 6

Decisions about what measures to use do not include

A) The objective of the evaluation
B) Properties of the measure
C) Constructs that will be measured
D) How often the measure will be used

Question 7

When using monitoring by group members

A) The worker should decide what data to collect
B) The worker and the member should decide when to collect the data
C) The member decides how much data to collect
D) The member decides how to collect the data

Question 8

Monitoring by group members does not usually include

A) Session evaluation forms
B) Single system designs
C) Self-monitoring of progress on goals
D) Verbal evaluations

Question 9

Disadvantages to making a CD recording of a group do not include

A) Trust may be inhibited
B) It may provide more information than is needed
C) It can make it easy to use coding systems
D) The worker or a supervisor might have to spend too much time to find relevant information

Question 10

Benefits of evaluations of specific groups do not usually include

A) Improving leaders' skills
B) Demonstrate the usefulness of a group
C) Encourage members to share their satisfactions and dissatisfactions with the group
D) Enables administrators to fire or sanction a group leader

Question 11

Needs assessments are used to

A) Monitor the group
B) Plan the group
C) Evaluate the group
D) Develop the group

Question 12

Steps in the developmental evaluation process do not include

A) Gathering and analyzing relevant data
B) Modifying an existing group program
C) Evaluating the group program
D) Modifying the program based on the data obtained

Question 13

A data collection method that is not usually used when evaluating a group

A) Reliable and valid scales
B) Progress notes
C) Focus groups
D) Self-reports from members

Question 14

Single system designs include

A) AB designs
B) Multiple baseline designs
C) Withdrawal designs
D) Changing category designs

Question 15

Efficiency evaluations

A) Are more important than effectiveness evaluations
B) Can be complex and time consuming
C) Are similar to single system evaluations
D) Are usually done before effectiveness evaluations

Question 16

Single-system methods

A) Evaluate data collected at one point in time
B) Evaluate data collected over time
C) Can't be used to collect data about the entire group
D) Can't be used for developing a group

Question 17

Case study methods do not include

A) Case comparison methods
B) Ethnographic studies
C) Focus group interviews
D) Quasi-experimental designs

Question 18

When workers do not evaluate their work with a group it is most often because

A) There is no agency support for evaluation
B) There is no accountability required
C) There is no time
D) Social workers do not know how to evaluate their work

Question 19

Broad types of evaluation methods do not include

A) Developing a group
B) Monitoring a group
C) Testing the effectiveness of a group
D) Deciding between casework and group work

Question 20

Types of measures do not include

A) Self-reports
B) Observational measures
C) Products of group interaction
D) Focus groups

Question 21

If you are the leader or a member of a task or treatment group, ask members to fill out the Session Evaluation Form presented in Figure 14.3 at the end of a meeting. Prepare a written analysis of the responses of the group members to each question. What conclusions can you reach about the helpfulness of the meeting, the satisfaction of the members, and the effectiveness of the leader? How could the group be more helpful and satisfying to the members? How helpful was the measure in providing feedback about the effectiveness of the group?

Question 22

The requirement of statistical analyses for independent observations

A) Makes research on casework harder than research on group work
B) Makes research on casework easier than research on group work
C) Does not affect research on group work
D) Effects group work research more than casework research

Question 23

Schedule an interview with an administrator in a social service agency and ask the following questions: What requirements do funding agencies have for evaluating the group work services offered by the agency? Have these requirements changed in recent years? What additional efforts, if any, are made to evaluate the quality of the services offered by the agency? What incentives and disincentives do workers have for evaluating their practice?

Question 24

Session evaluation forms do not usually include

A) Members' satisfaction with the group
B) Members' satisfaction with each other
C) Members' satisfaction with the leader
D) Members' satisfaction with the content of the session

Question 25

The official record of the proceedings of task group meetings are

A) Minutes
B) Written reports
C) Oral reports
D) Executive summaries

Question 26

Locate a social service agency offering group work services. How are group work services monitored? Is there a standardized format for recording information on each group session? Is a summary form used periodically or at the end of a group? Are clients asked to provide feedback about their satisfaction with the group work services that are offered? If you were called in as a consultant to this agency, how would you change the way services are monitored?

Question 27

Effectiveness evaluations do not include

A) Quasi-experimental designs
B) Experimental designs
C) Statistical methods
D) Case study methods

Question 28

Select a target population or problem for a group work service. Conduct a literature search using a computerized online database such as Social Work Abstracts or Social Services Abstracts. Find the articles that appear to be most relevant. How helpful was the computer search in planning for the group?

Question 29

In task groups, members' oral reports are important ways to

A) Monitor the progress of the group
B) Plan the group
C) Develop the group
D) Evaluate the group

Question 30

Identify a population that you think may be in need of group work services. Prepare a questionnaire that could be used to assess the needs of this population. Make sure to include items that assess the barriers that may interfere with this particular population's use of existing group work services.