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Evaluating Interventions

General Steps to Designing

a Workable Evaluation

1. Create Concrete and Discrete Intervention Objectives

May Be Best to Create Goals and Objectives

1. General Goals That Cover the Main Areas

2. And Then Specific, Objective, and Operationalizable

Objectives Under Each Goal.

Theorize About What You Think Is Happening/Missing

I.e., What Are the Underlying Causes or Mechanisms

- What Can Prevent It or

Influence It?

Guided by Previous Research

As Well as Your Intuition

- N.B., You May Well Be

Proven Wrong, But Often

That’s When Things Are

Most Interesting

Types of Measurements

Isolate a Few, Important Concepts

  • Usually Theorizing About What Is Going on Makes This Easier

- Included Among the Concepts Can Be:

- The Outcomes

- Personal Characteristics,

- Social Factors, Etc. That Influence What

You’re Interested in

These Will Be Your Variables

Consider Ways of Measuring Your Variables

Direct Observation Is Often Best

  • Usually Easiest Way to Be Objective and Valid
  • Number of Actions in “Time Bins”
  • Number of Students Doing Something
  • Time Initiation (Reaction Time)
  • Time to Completion

Try to Make Your Variables as Finely-Grained and Quantitative as Possible

- I.e., As High on the Stevens Scale as You Can

- More on This in a Bit

Instead of Poor vs. Non-Poor

Total Family Income

Number of Family Members

Self-Report Can Be Good

  • Of Course, Must Consider Intentional or Unintentional Report Biases

Eligibility to Free/Reduced School Lunch

Instead of Is/Is Not a Bully or Victim of Bullying

- Times per Week Victim of Various Types of Bullying

- Types and Frequencies of Interactions as Observed by Third Party

- Nomination by Peers as Bully/Victim

Previously-Collected Data

  • Such as Grades, Census Data

Instead of Asking Whether a Student Is Sad

Scores on an Established Scale

(e.g., Beck Depression Scale)

Description of Others’ Behaviors

  • Usually Only When Nothing Else Is Feasible

1. Create Concrete and Discrete Intervention Objectives

2. Theorize About What You Think Is Happening/Missing

3. Isolate a Few, Important Concepts

4. Consider Ways of Measuring Your Variables

5. Consider Problems Collecting and Interpreting Data

6. Based on Interest and Feasibility, Choose the Best Ways to Measure Your Variables

7. Sketch the Expected Relationship Between the Variables

8. Reconsider Potential Problems with Interpreting Data

5 Next, Consider Problems Collecting and

Interpreting Data

E.g.,

  • Honestly Noting Personal Biases

- Confirming Stereotypes Without Looking Deeper

  • Foibles in Human Behavior/Perception

- First Thoughts Lead Subsequent, See the Rest of

the World as Similar to Our Own

  • Practical Constraints

- IRB Approval, Time Constraints, Logistics

1. Nominal

  • Levels of Variable Can Only Be Given Different Names
  • No Level Is “More” (Larger, Longer, Greater) Than Another
  • E.g., Gender, Race, Nationality

Nominal Are Often Measured Through:

  • Frequency
  • Proportion/Percent in Catgories

Ordinal

  • Levels Can Be Put into Order Along a Dimension
  • But Cannot Say How Far Apart Levels Are
  • E.g., HS Rank, Likert-Scaled Responses, Top Ten Desserts, Letter Grades
  • Ordinal May Also Be Presented as Proportions, etc.

Interval and Ratio

Interval

  • Distance Between Levels Can Be Measured, But There Is No Zero-Point
  • E.g., IQ, Scores on Most Psychological Instruments, Temperature

Ratio

  • Levels Can Be Measured
  • And There Is an Absolute Zero
  • E.g., Height, Weight, Age, Income

Interval and Ratio Data Are Often Considered as Dimensions

Although Ratio-Ratio Figures Are Usually the Most Informative

Combining Interval/Ratio Data with Nominal/Ordinal Allows Can Allow for Richer Pictures of What's Going on

The “Gini Index” Measures Income Inequality:

0 = Equal Distribution

100 = One Person Has Everything

The End

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