UNIT 4 seminar - Research Paper Example

Types of Program Evaluation Types of Program Evaluation There are three types of evaluation that are utilized in human service programs in a bid to ensure that all the adopted programs are effective. Formative evaluation is one of the three and usually carried out in the initial stages of adopting a program (Royse, Thyer, & Padgett, 2010). The purpose of formative evaluation is to solicit information that can help in the formation of the program and also in ensuring that it stabilizes. Formative evaluation is carried out after successful identification of salient needs for a certain program.

After successful formative evaluation, a process evaluation also takes place. Process evaluation comprises of assessment activities integrated into the implementation of the program. The purpose of the process evaluation is to determine the potential success or failure of a certain program. It assesses the implementation of a given program (Royse, Thyer, & Padgett, 2010). It may require a detailed description of the program, constant monitoring as well as quality assurance check. On the other hand, outcome evaluation is carried out after the conclusion of the implementation program in a bid to determine whether the program really works.

Moreover, outcome evaluation assesses the efficiency of the program on the target population. After a successful search for formative evaluation in the Kaplan Library, 8,648 appeared. This number was shocking because the scholarly articles yielded were too many. With such a high number of results, only a limited number of them are relevant. After the search of process evaluation in the same library, 1,182,652 results appeared (Smith, 2006). When outcome evaluation was searched on the Kaplan Library, the search yielded only 16 results.

This number was also shocking because it showed that limited researches on this aspect has been done. When formulating objectives, experts have highlighted that they should be measurable and specific. Measurable objectives are subject to successful assessment or evaluation yielding results that determine whether they are effective (Kellaghan, Madaus, & Stufflebeam, 2000). On the other hand, specificity is critical in formulating objectives as it minimizes chances of confusing ideas. Evidently, the three types of evaluation are critical in the adoption of any program as they reflect the potential of any program in addressing the needs of the target group.

ReferencesRoyse, D. D., Thyer, B. A., & Padgett, D. (2010). Program evaluation: An introduction. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.Smith, M. J. (2006). Program evaluation in the human services. New York: Springer Pub. Co.Kellaghan, T., Madaus, G. F., & Stufflebeam, D. L. (2000). Evaluation models: Viewpoints on educational and human services evaluation. Boston [u.a.: Kluwer.