¶ … integrate evaluation techniques in your daily work routine to improve your job performance? (Answer taken from PDF uploaded - Program_Evaluation_-_Overview_and_Definitions_PowerPoint) Gredler explains that evaluation is the structural accumulation of any and knowledge that helps to make informed and profitable choices and corporate decisions M.B. Dignan further adds that all basic evaluations are procedural assessments of the results and overall functionality of any and all programs. P.D. Sarvela and a colleague R.J. Mcdermott gave a more detailed explanation in 'Health Education Evaluation and Measurement' by saying that basic evaluation was the utilization of a number of processes that were used to understand and decipher if a program had been functionalized in accordance to the aim with which it was created. Hence, basic assessment of a program is to highlight whether or not the program was able to practically attain the objectives it had originally theoretically set. Research procedures on the other hand are made up of different procedures that can be used for evaluation based on what kind of evaluation the situation requires.

Hence, when one talks about evaluation, one does not need to ask questions about the sample size they need for evaluation or the control group structures and criteria required or the statistical analysis that they will require. All of these questions are answered if and when research procedures are implemented. Basic evaluations help procure, instigate and evaluate both the participants, sponsors as well as the collaborators. Furthermore, while research procedures are built around the purpose of filling a gap in knowledge or adding to the current knowledge on a topic; evaluation helps attain community input and recognition as well as increase overall funding efforts for a program that has been assessed to either be popular or necessary.

Evaluation can hence be applied in normal daily routines as well. This is so because evaluation helps in various ways: it helps one understand the purpose behind every action that they conduct on a daily basis like paying bills or highlighting the shortcomings of a function; on a corporate daily structure, it can help employees improve overall customer services that they provide; customer as well can have established structures to interact in and hence help in assessing the usefulness of any program; it further helps recognize the daily glitches that occur in functionality of programs; helps conduct comparisons of norms or cultural inclinations assess behavioral or situational changes experienced before and after an implementation of a program; assess if the implementation of the program are being done for the right targeted audience and if they are being used to their optimal potential; assess the cost benefit ratio of the functionality of the programs and the overall investments made in those programs.

As a health education employee, I can use evaluation to improve my overall job performance by evaluating the following various aspects: identify the average cost for a program when measured against one individual; assess the impact a process has on the behavior of an individual (when engaged in an individual activity, a group activity or a one-on-one activity); recognize the overall savings that the program implementation can have as well as the overall effectiveness of the programs on raising funds and awareness on health education; address the questions that are necessary to ask in order to identify the networks or combinations of a program that work most beneficently; make sure that all those programs that prove to be cost-effective and have a profitable cost benefit ratio are identified and acknowledged so that the managed care companies can also implement the chosen programs on a national education health structures.

Others traits and approaches that I can adopt in order to attain fairer results is by: engaging in activities that create mutual respect amongst the participants and the collaborators; have a planned and systematic inquiry process designed before application of evaluation; recognizing the social and global responsibilities of public and education welfare and making sure that evaluations of programs also analyzes the extent to which a program fulfills these responsibilities.

2. Describe the following in detail: Focus group interviews, nominal process, and Delphi techniques. Select one (1) of these and describe how the process would integrate into the program planning and evaluation process. (Answer taken from PDF uploaded - Needs_Assessment_PowerPiont)

Focus group interview can be easily described as the process that is designed to identify and collect comprehensive and thorough data over numerous smaller...

The process through which this data is collected is through the use of smaller and controlled focus groups where the interaction between group members also serves as vital input for the data along with the individual questioning. Of course, there are numerous purposes that the focus group interview can fulfill. Focus group interview can attain any and all general data and stats to be later used in survey questionnaires as well as attain all general perceptions and opinions about one very specific topic or event. Focus group can also be efficiently used to interpret the data that has been collected in another format as well as serve as the human test trial for the success of a program or product/service before implementing it on a large scale.
The nominal group process is a procedure that is primarily a prelude to the actual evaluation process. The nominal group process is where all the preparation for the evaluation is done and the basic plans are made for the dos and don'ts in the evaluation. The main tasks and aspects that are covered in the nominal process include: the aim that has to be achieved; the nature of groups that need to be interviewed; the design of the groups that will be the most suitable with the time restraints and resources available; hire and train all the collaborators, volunteers and helpers in the activities necessary for the completion of the evaluation process that will follow; construct the primary question and all complimentary questions that need to be addressed; as well as setup all the logistics and tangible facilities. The nominal process is a lot more formal and controlled and most of the final results are compiled and prioritized based on a voting consensus that is done after each question has been answered and at the end of the entire session.

The Delphi technique is another process that is done in preparation of the evaluation process of a program. The purpose and structure is similar to that of nominal process but the focus in the Delphi technique is more so on getting the peripherals right i.e. The facilities, the volunteers, the timeline in which to conduct the evaluation, making sure that all the supporting staff is well-equipped and effective in executing what they have been trained to do; recognize all the essential participants that will add more depth to the topic or program being evaluated; identify and simplify the aims of the evaluation. The primary difference in this technique is that it conducts pre and post interviews where the questions are modified based on the results of the pre-interviews and then are sent out again for the post interview sessions. There are rare occasions when the need for a third session of the questionnaires is also required. All the answers from the sessions are recorded, listed assessed and assessed thereof.

Perhaps the Delphi technique when utilized in the program evaluation structure would be one that most companies would invest in, in the modern world, especially since it presents the most comprehensive procedure of the collection of data. It not only helps the collaborators come up with the most simplified and specified goals but it also allows them to focus on the quality of the supporting staff, volunteers and participants who will eventually form the basis of all the results collected. Moreover, the program evaluation can efficiently use the pre and post interview structure to analyze the changes in behavior, masses' perception or social structure before a program has been implemented on an extensive scale.

3. Outline the steps you would follow to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire. (Answer taken from PDF uploaded - 5-data_collection and )

Any and all valid and reliable questionnaires are complementary. This means that if a questionnaire is valid, it will also most probably be reliable as well. Of course the perfect questionnaire would be one where the validity and reliability are perfectly balanced. Validity and reliability of a questionnaire can be attained through the application of the following processes:

The fact that the questions can be repeated over the long-term and in similar researches is critical

The consistency of result from the same structure when employed in different structures is leveled

The scores are all consistently tallied across the coefficient range the two groups or sets of questionnaires have consistency in structure as well

When designing the questionnaire for a large survey, the above four factors will prove to be important as well as the identification of the aims that the questionnaire is meant to really attain. Once these aims have been identified, the next step would be divide the…