Parts of an Objective

Developing specific, measurable evaluation objectives requires time, orderly thinking, and a clear picture of the results expected from program activities. The more specific you can be, the better.

Each evaluation objective should contain the following elements:

• What
• From whom
• How
• By whom
• When

Tip: As long as these five elements are present, it's not important in what order they are noted.

The events or actions that you intend to accomplish; what you will determine. This part of the objective should specifically describe what you would like to achieve in measurable terms. Here are some examples of general statements that are not specific enough to truly measure.

• Determine the effectiveness of the materials displayed at the Smoke-Free Environment booth.
• Assess volunteers’ skills for educating legislators about Smoke-free Environments.

For this objective to be truly measurable, vague terms like “effectiveness” and “skills for educating” should be more explicitly expressed. The examples below more clearly describe what is required, making the events more easily measurable.

• Determine the attitudes toward the appearance of the materials displayed at the Smoke-Free Environment booth.
• Assess volunteers’ skills for approaching legislators about Smoke-free Environments.

Note that it is possible to have one high level objective about “effectiveness” with several, more specific objectives that define how "effectiveness" will be measured.
 

The number and specific characteristics of the persons or sources from whom you will gather evaluation information.

Examples:

• All participants, ages 12-35, who visited the Smoke-Free Environment booth.
• Twenty-five randomly selected volunteers trained during 2003-2004.

The methods by which the “what” will be achieved. Information collection can involve a spectrum of approaches – from counting the number of services, to completing a survey, to conducting focus groups, to using a standardized test that will result in a quantifiable score.

Examples:

• By conducting 90-minute focus groups of 6 to 8 participants each
• By observing each volunteer in a role-play of approaching a legislator

The number and specific characteristics of the persons who will gather the evaluation information.

Examples:

• Two trained facilitators with tobacco-related experience
• Four trained observers with lobbying experience

The timeframe in which you expect the evaluation activities to take place.

Example:

• By January 15, 2005

Putting the parts together, our two example objectives would read as follows:

Example 1:

By January 15, 2005, determine the attitudes toward the appearance of the materials displayed at the Smoke-Free Environment booth among all visitors to the Smoke-Free Environment booth, ages 12-35, by having two trained facilitators with tobacco experience conduct 90-minute focus groups of 6 to 8 participants each.

Example 2:

By January 15, 2005, assess the skills for approaching legislators of twenty-five randomly-selected volunteers’ trained during 2003-2004, by having four trained observers with lobbying experience observe each volunteer role-playing the process of approaching a legislator.

Tip: Depending on your needs, it is possible to have several objectives in a hierarchy – one high level, overarching objective with several more specific, supporting objectives.