Evaluation Design, Sampling, and Rationale

• Use a 12-point font, double spacing, 1 inch margins, and page numbering. Use a separate cover page in which the assignment number and your name are indicated.
• Please write section titles as outlined below in your writing.
• Use the APA format in in-text citations and references.
• I hesitate to give you a specific page limit, but you should be able to do a good job with this assignment in 5-7 pages, not including the cover page and references.

Directions:
In Assignment 4, you will present the evaluation design and sampling strategy you plan to use, and will discuss the rationale for your chosen design and sampling. You will use information from the previous three assignments as well as class materials to complete this assignment. Use the following questions to guide your writing. In answering each question, you must demonstrate knowledge of the course contents that are relevant to the question.

A. Introduction: A brief summary of previous assignments

In one paragraph, briefly summarize the following based on your previous assignments.
1) The context or organizational setting in which the evaluation will take place.
2) The intervention/program under your evaluation, and the target problem which your intervention/program intends to address.
3) The goal of your evaluation and your evaluation question(s).
4) Indicate whether your evaluation is a case-level or a program-level.

B. Evaluation Design

1) Describe the evaluation design you plan to use for your project. Provide a visual diagram of your evaluation design, and explain the design in context of your intervention/program.
(Note: For single case evaluation designs, see Week 8 Coursework. For program evaluation designs, see Week 9 Coursework.)
2) Provide the rationale for the evaluation design you propose to use.

C. Sampling

1) Define the population of interest in your evaluation.

2) Describe how a sample (or a case) for your evaluation will be drawn. Identify your sampling method and provide the rationale for your sampling method. Discuss recruitment strategies for your sample or case.

D. Discussion

1) Discuss potential threats to internal validity pertaining to your proposed evaluation design.
(Note: Think about whether your design has each of the potential threats to internal validity, as described in Week 7 Coursework).
2) Discuss external validity of your evaluation (related to your sampling strategy).
3) What is the overall level of rigor in your evaluation design?
(Note: Use hierarchy of evidence for program-level evaluations or hierarchy of evidence for case-level evaluations, as presented in Week 7 Coursework.)
4) Discuss potential ethical issues (e.g., human subject issues) that your evaluation design and sampling strategy may imply.
5) Identify what barriers you may encounter when you implement your proposed design and sampling method in your agency. How will you plan to overcome such barriers?