User-survey Analysis

Evaluating Policy Simplified

Evaluating an existing policy, that deals with a social concern, is an important step in the policy analysis process.

Once a policy is executed, it is essential to evaluate its effectiveness.

Is the policy meeting its original intent?

Are there unforeseen outcomes?

Tool for Evaluation

Method of Choice

Various methods/techniques are available to assist in evaluating policy performance.

User-survey analysis is the tool discussed for this presentation

POLICY EVALUATION

Interview process is most ideal

• representation by key stakeholders
• record responses verbatim
• answers are perceptions instead of facts

(Leedy & Ormond, 2005)

What does the results of the survey mean?

How do we get an evaluation from them?

Survey Questions

• Qualitative approach
• Open-ended questions and semi structured (Leedy & Ormrod, (2005)

User-survey Analysis Defined

EVALUATING POLICY TOOL:

User-Survey Analysis

Is a set of methods for gathering evidence about the worth or value of a policy or program from its actual users and other key stakeholders. (Dunn, 2012)

Analyzing Data from Survey

Survey Results

• identify categories or themes
• may get a sense of a pattern
• look for relationships among categories (Leedy & Ormond, 2005)

Application of Survey Results

Answers to these questions yield the necessary information to complete the numerous steps in a worth or value assessment: policy-program specification, policy-program assessment, and presentation of the worth or value assessment to the users (Dunn, 2012).

Information collected from survey results are analyzed; the value and worth are considered and presented to stakeholders to evaluate policy performance.

(Dunn, 2012)

Evaluating Policy

Definition:

Answers the question, of what value is the outcome?

• ethics and value are important for public policy
• evaluation is seen as an ethical appraisal that contributes to generating information about policy performance.

(Dunn, 2012).

Discussion Questions

References

1. User-survey analysis is a simple tool that can be used for evaluating a policy. How can you convince policy makers that this method is more useful versus a quantitative approach? If you can, please provide an example of its usefulness?

2. Contrast and/or compare the two attached articles discussing the same topic with regards to user survey analysis as an evaluation tool?

3. Evaluate the policies, from either reading. What could be changed, improved or eliminated?

Thank you!

Dunn, W.N. (2012). Public Policy Analysis (5th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.

Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. (2005). Practical Research – Planning and Design (8th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson

Articles

James, D. J., Cardew, P., Warren-Forward, M. (2011). Determining the pregnancy status of patients before diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures: the Australian experience. Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology 39, 220-225. doi: 10.2967/jnmt.111.088740.

James, D. J., Cardew, P., Warren-Forward, M. (2013). Pregnancy screening strategies for potentially challenging patients before diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures: qualitative survey analysis. Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology 41, 292-298. doi: 10.2967/jnmt.113.125856.