Evaluation and Research Methods Flashcards

Which evaluation design uses randomization to assign participants to intervention and control groups?

Answer: Randomized controlled trial

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) randomly assigns participants to groups, providing the strongest evidence for causality.

A health educator wants to understand participants' lived experiences with diabetes management. Which data collection approach is most appropriate?

Answer: In-depth qualitative interviews

In-depth qualitative interviews best capture subjective lived experiences and personal meanings participants attach to health behaviors.

Internal validity in a health education study refers to:

Answer: The confidence that observed outcomes are caused by the intervention

Internal validity is the extent to which a causal relationship between the intervention and outcome can be confidently concluded.

A Gantt chart is most useful in program evaluation for:

Answer: Tracking project timelines and activity milestones

A Gantt chart is a project management tool that visually displays tasks, timelines, and milestones for program planning and monitoring.

Which measure of central tendency is most resistant to extreme outliers?

Answer: Median

The median is the middle value and is not mathematically affected by extreme scores, making it more robust than the mean.

A researcher compares smoking cessation rates between a program group and a comparison group using existing records. This is best described as a:

Answer: Quasi-experimental design

Quasi-experimental designs lack random assignment but use comparison groups to approximate experimental conditions.

Process evaluation primarily answers which question?

Answer: Was the program implemented as planned?

Process evaluation monitors program implementation fidelity, tracking whether activities were delivered as intended.