NCJ Number
54000
Date Published
1977
Length
17 pages
Annotation
A FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH TO DISTINGUISH AND EXAMINE THE RELATIONS AMONG THE NUMEROUS ACTIVITIES AND PURPOSES ENCOMPASSED BY THE 'EVALUATION' UMBRELLA IS PROPOSED.
Abstract
THE FRAMEWORK HAS TWO PURPOSES: (1) IDENTIFYING AND EXAMINING THE RELATIONS BETWEEN EVALUATION AND RELATED ACTIVITIES (PLANNING, BUDGETING, MANAGEMENT, IMPLEMENTATION), BETWEEN EVALUATION AND OTHER FORMS OF INQUIRY (RESEARCH, SYSTEMS ANALYSIS, MONITORING, AUDIT, MEASUREMENT, CONTROL, ETC.), AND BETWEEN EVALUATION AND ITS VARIATIONS (DESCRIPTIVE, RETROSPECTIVE, FORMATIVE, SUMMATIVE); AND (2) IDENTIFYING AND EXAMINING A SPECIFIC PROPOSED OR COMPLETED EVALUATION IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND ITS CHARACTERISTICS (WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT CLAIMS, ETC.), TO DISCOVER ITS POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS, TO EVALUATE IT IN COMPARISON TO ITS PROPOSED OBJECTIVES OR PURPOSE, AND TO COMPARE IT WITH SIMILAR EVALUATIONS. THE MODEL CHARACTERIZES VARIABLES OF INTEREST AS EVENTS IN SPACE AND TIME. THESE EVENTS ARE SELECTED FOR EXAMINATION BY IDENTIFYING THE OBSERVER (PARTICIPANT, ACTOR, DECISION POINT) AND BY SPECIFYING THE OBSERVER'S RELATIONSHIP TO THE EVENT(S) IN TERMS OF THE CONCEPTS OF CONFIDENCE AND UTILITY. THE MODEL MAY BE USED TO DESCRIBE AND LOCATE ANY PARTICULAR EVALUATION OF INTEREST IN TERMS OF THE ACTIVITY CONTEMPLATED AND ITS PURPOSE. BY PROVIDING A STABLE SET OF REFERENTS AND EXPLICIT TRANSFORMS (ALGEBRAIC EXPRESSIONS OF RELATIONS BETWEEN ELEMENTS), THE MODEL MAKES POSSIBLE CONSIDERATION OF RELATED OR ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITIES AND PURPOSES. THE MODEL IS STATED VERBALLY, MATHEMATICALLY, AND GRAPHICALLY, APPLICATIONS OF THE MODEL IN DEFINING THE TERM 'EVALUATION' AND ITS VARIATIONS AND IN EVALUATING AN EVALUATION ARE ILLUSTRATED. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)