Question 1

Program or policy evaluation should be designed after implementation has occurred.

Accepted Answer

Program or policy evaluation should be designed before implementation occurs. It is important to establish evaluation criteria and methods beforehand to ensure that the program or policy is being implemented in a way that supports the desired outcomes. This also allows for adjustments to be made during implementation if necessary.

Question 2

A "control group" consisting of individuals not exposed to an intervention is required for an evaluator to determine the impact of an intervention on program participants.

Accepted Answer

A control group is necessary to establish a comparison group that has not received the intervention and therefore can be used to determine the impact of the intervention on the treatment group (program participants). This helps to rule out other potential factors that may have affected the outcome of the program.

Question 3

In impact assessments, the focus is on improving outcomes over time.

Accepted Answer

False

Question 4

Creating comparison groups can minimize the effects of confounding factors.

Accepted Answer

By creating comparison groups, researchers can control for confounding factors and minimize their effects on the study outcomes, resulting in more accurate and reliable conclusions.

Question 5

The pre-post design with multiple pretests is the most difficult and expensive to conduct.

Accepted Answer

The pre-post design with multiple pretests is not necessarily the most difficult and expensive to conduct; designs like randomized controlled trials or longitudinal studies often require more resources and complexity.

Question 6

Meta-analysis is a method for creating comparison groups.

Accepted Answer

Meta-analysis is not a method for creating comparison groups, but instead is a statistical technique for combining the results of multiple studies to generate an overall conclusion. Comparison groups are typically created through experimental design or other means of controlling for variables.

Question 7

Time series analysis examines the rate of some phenomenon at multiple points in time before an innovation and then compares those data to the same rate information for a period of time following implementation.

Accepted Answer

This is a correct definition of time series analysis which involves studying the trend and pattern of a variable over time and comparing it before and after a particular event or innovation.

Question 8

The Evaluation of Prison-Based Therapeutic Community Drug Treatment Programs in Pennsylvania used matched comparison groups at five prisons to test the impact of the Therapeutic Community approach.

Accepted Answer

The statement accurately describes the methodology used in the Evaluation of Prison-Based Therapeutic Community Drug Treatment Programs in Pennsylvania.

Question 9

The manner in which evaluation results are communicated can affect their utilization.

Accepted Answer

The way evaluation results are presented, such as the format or language used, can impact how the information is received and whether it is acted upon. Therefore, communication of evaluation results is an important factor in ensuring their utilization.

Question 10

The most common type of evaluation is:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The most common type of evaluation is:
...

Question 11

________________ are often limited because they give a snapshot of outcomes at a given point in time.

Accepted Answer

Impact assessments are designed to measure the effectiveness of a program or intervention, but they are typically conducted at a specific point in time and do not capture changes or improvements that may occur over a longer period. Continuous evaluations and efficiency analyses may also have limitations, but they are not specifically focused on the timing of the measurement.

Question 12

A bathroom scale that consistently evaluates a weight that is ten pounds below a person's actual weight is having problems with:

Accepted Answer

This is a problem with validity, as the scale is not accurately measuring a person's weight. Reliability refers to consistent results, and efficiency refers to how well a device performs its intended function in a timely manner, neither of which apply to this situation.

Question 13

Programs that accept only low-risk, low-needs clients have samples that suffer from:

Accepted Answer

Programs that accept only low-risk, low-needs clients suffer from biased selection, as they are intentionally choosing a specific group of individuals to participate, which may not be representative of the larger population. This can lead to inaccurate or biased findings and conclusions about the effectiveness of the program.

Question 14

The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment has been criticized for:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment has been...

Question 15

Matched control groups are often used to reduce the likelihood of:

Accepted Answer

Matched control groups are used to reduce the likelihood of confounding effects, which are extraneous variables that affect the dependent variable and can distort the true relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. Random assignment and retention are not typically affected by the use of matched control groups.

Question 16

The most ideal evaluation design is:

Accepted Answer

A longitudinal design with treatment and control groups allows for the assessment of changes over time and the comparison between those who received the intervention and those who did not, providing a robust framework for evaluating the effectiveness of a program or treatment.

Question 17

School studies often use a:

Accepted Answer

The answer of School studies often use a:
...

Quiz 7: Evaluating Outcomes