“He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place
it leads to. It is the means that determine the end. ”
- Harry Emerson Fosdick

Which Type of Evaluation Will Meet Your Needs?

To find out which type of evaluation is most appropriate for evaluating your program’s effectiveness, answer the questions below. Then follow the directions provided after each answer for an explanation of where you should go in this program for more information.

 
1. Question:
Does your program meet any of the following criteria?

  • It is just being planned and you want to determine how best to operate.
  • It has some problems you do not know how to solve.
  • It has just been modified and you want to know whether the modifications work.
  • It has just been adapted for a new setting, population, problem, or behavior.

 
Yes.
Click here to skip to the Formative Evaluation section for more.
No. If none of these criteria are met, go to the next question.
 
 
2. Question:
Your program is now in operation. Do you have information on who is being served, who is not being served, and how much service you are providing?
 
   
Yes.
Go to the next question.
No. Click here to skip to the Process Evaluation section for more.
 
 
3. Question:
Your program has completed at least one encounter with one member or one group in the target population (e.g., completed one training class). Have you measured the results of the completed encounter(s)?
 
   
Yes.
Go to the next question.
No. Click here to skip to Outcome Evaluation for more. If you believe you have had enough encounters to allow you to measure your success in meeting your overall program goals, read the next question.
 
 
4. Question:
Is your program ongoing?
 
   
Yes.
Continue to question 5.
No. Skip to question 6.
 
 
5. Question:
Has sufficient time passed and have you had contact with a sufficient number of people to allow you to measure how well the program has done in meeting its ultimate goal of tobacco behavior/morbidity/mortality?
 
   
Yes.
Continue to question 7.
No. Continue to collect data.
 
 
6. Question:
If your program is a one-time program, is it complete?
 
   
Yes.
Go to question 7.
No. Continue to collect data until the program is complete, then proceed to question 7.
 
 
7. Question:
Have you measured how well the program has done in meeting its ultimate goal?
 
   
Yes.
Congratulations! You are on track to a solid evaluation.
No. Go to Long-Term Outcome Evaluation.
 

 

 
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