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HOW TO DEVELOP A MORE SYSTEMATIC EVALUATION STRATEGY

NCJ Number
64380
Journal
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL Dated: (JULY 1978) Pages: 88-90,92-93
Author(s)
J T THOMPSON
Date Published
1978
Length
5 pages
Annotation
THIS MODEL FOR EVALUATING TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR PROFESSIONALS DETERMINES EVALUATION DESIGN, CRITERIA, AND METHODS ACCORDING TO EVALUATION PURPOSE AND TARGET AUDIENCE.
Abstract
THE SYSTEMATIC METHOD CATEGORIZES AUDIENCES AS (1) TRAINEES, (2) ORGANIZATIONAL DECISIONMAKERS, AND (3) TRAINERS. THE TRAINEE IS CONCERNED WITH WHETHER THE PROGRAM MADE A DIFFERENCE. THIS CONCERN IS MEASURED WITH BOTH PROCESS AND RESULTS CRITERIA. PROBLEMS FACED BY TRAINING PRACTITIONERS IN EVALUATING AT THE TRAINEE LEVEL INCLUDE 'HAWTHORNE EFFECTS' OR EFFECTS WORK ENVIRONMENT CHANGES, LOSS OF CONTACT WITH PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE NEEDED FOR FOLLOWUP QUESTIONNAIRES, AND FRICTION WHEN USING COMPARISON OR CONTROL GROUPS. EVALUATING FOR THE SECOND CATEGORY--ORGANIZATIONAL DECISIONMAKERS--INVOLVES MAINLY INTERNAL VALIDITY (I.E., DESIRABLE EFFECTS ARE SOUGHT ALONG WITH COST EFFECTIVENESS) AND THE POSSIBILITY OF GENERALIZING TRAINING EFFORT RESULTS. PROBLEMS INCLUDE POSSIBLE POLITICAL TRADE-OFFS, POSSIBLE GAP BETWEEN PROMISES AND RESULTS, AND LACK OF CONCURRENCE WITH OBJECTIVES. TRAINERS, THE THIRD AUDIENCE, NEED TO DETERMINE HOW THEY ARE DOING, HOW THE RESULTS CAN BE USED FOR FUTURE DECISIONMAKING, AND HOW THE TRAINING PROGRAM CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO ORGANIZATIONAL SUBSYSTEMS. EFFICIENCY CRITERIA MEASUREMENT SHOULD ANSWER QUESTIONS OF TIMELINESS AND IMPROVED TRAINING INTERVENTIONS. TRAINING DESIGN SHOULD ASSIST TRAINERS WITH PRACTITIONER-VERSUS-RESEARCHER ISSUES AND WITH TECHNICAL EVALUATION PROBLEMS. REFERENCES AND TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED.

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