Research and Program Evaluation Flashcards

An evaluation conducted during program implementation to provide feedback for improvement is called:

Answer: Formative evaluation

Formative evaluation occurs while a program is ongoing and is used to refine and improve it.

A community agency surveys residents to identify gaps in mental health services before designing a new program. This is a:

Answer: Needs assessment

A needs assessment identifies the discrepancy between current and desired conditions before a program is developed.

An evaluator examines whether a school counseling curriculum is being delivered as designed. This focuses on:

Answer: Implementation fidelity (process evaluation)

Process evaluation examines how a program is delivered, including fidelity to its intended design.

In a logic model, the number of counseling sessions delivered and clients served are best classified as:

Answer: Outputs

Outputs are the direct, countable products of program activities, while outcomes are changes in participants.

The primary role of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to:

Answer: Protect the rights and welfare of human research participants

IRBs review research protocols to ensure the protection of human participants, as required by federal regulations.

An evaluator compares two programs by cost per client who achieves sobriety, without converting outcomes into dollars. This is a:

Answer: Cost-effectiveness analysis

Cost-effectiveness analysis compares costs per unit of a nonmonetary outcome, whereas cost-benefit analysis converts outcomes into dollars.

Practitioners who systematically study and improve their own counseling practice within their setting are conducting:

Answer: Action research

Action research is practitioner-led inquiry aimed at solving local problems and improving practice.