What Is Evaluation Research

What is evaluation research: Methods & examples
-collect the appropriate data about the program on its effectiveness, budget-friendliness,
and opinions from customers, you can go one step further. The valuable information you
collect from the research allows you to have a clear idea of what to do next. You
can discard the project, upgrade it, make changes, or replace it. Now, let us go into
detail about evaluation research and its methods.
First things first: Definition of evaluation research
Basically, evaluation research is a research process where you measure the
effectiveness and success of a particular program, policy, intervention, or project. This
type of research lets you know if the goal of that product was met successfully
and shows you any areas that need improvement. The data gathered from the
evaluation research gives a good insight into whether or not the time, money, and
energy put into that project is worth it.
The findings from evaluation research can be used to form decisions about
whether to continue, modify, discontinue, and improve future programs or
interventions. Therefore, in other words, it means doing research to evaluate the
quality and effectiveness of the overall project.
Why conduct evaluation research & when?
Conducting evaluation research is an effective way of usability testing and cost-
effectiveness of the current project or product. Findings gathered from evaluative

research play a key role in assessing what works and what doesn't and identifying areas
of improvement for sponsors and administrators. This type of evaluation is a good
means for data collection, and it provides a concrete result for decision-making
processes.
There are different methods to collect feedback ranging from online surveys to focus
groups. Evaluation research is best used when:
 You are planning a different approach
 You want to make sure everything is going as you want them to
 You want to prove the effectiveness of an activity to the stakeholders and
administrators
 You want to set realistic goals for the future.
Methods to conduct an evaluation research
When you want to conduct evaluation research, there are different types of evaluation
research methods. You can go through possible methods and choose the most suitable
one(s) for you according to your target audience, manpower, and budget to go through
with the research steps. Let us look at the qualitative and quantitative research
methodologies.
Quantitative methods
These are the type of methods that asks questions to get tangible answers that rely
on numerical data and statistical analysis to draw conclusions. These questions

can be “How many people?”, “What is the price?”, “What is the profit rate?” etc.
Therefore, they provide researchers with quantitative data to draw concrete
conclusions. Now, let us look at the quantitative research methods.
1 - Online surveys
Surveys involve collecting data from a large number of people using appropriate
evaluation questions to gather accurate feedback. This type of method allows for
reaching a wider audience in a short time in a cost-effective manner. You can ask about
various topics, from user satisfaction to market research. And, It would be quite helpful
to use a free survey maker such as forms.app to help with your next research!
2 - Phone surveys
Phone surveys are a type of survey that involves conducting interviews with
participants over the phone. They are a form of quantitative research and are
commonly used by organizations and researchers to collect data from people in a short
time. During a phone survey, a trained interviewer will call the participant and ask them
a series of questions.
Qualitative methods
This type of research method basically aims to explore audience feedback. These
methods are used to study phenomena that cannot be easily measured using
statistical techniques, such as opinions, attitudes, and behaviors. Techniques
such as observation, interviews, and case studies are used to form evaluation for this
method.
1 - Case studies
Case studies involve the analysis of a single case or a small number of cases to be
explored further. In a case study, the researcher collects data from a variety of sources,
such as interviews, observations, and documents. The data collected from case
studies are often analyzed to identify patterns and themes.
2 - Focus groups
Using focus groups means having a small group of people and presenting them with a
certain topic. A focus group usually consists of 6-10 people. The focus groups are
introduced to a topic, product, or concept, and they present their reviews. Focus
groups are a good way to obtain data as the responses are immediate. This method is
commonly used by businesses to gain insight into their customers.
Evaluation research examples
Conducting evaluation research has helped many businesses to further themselves in
the market because a big part of success comes from listening to your audience. For
example, Lego found out that only around %10 of their customers were girls in
2011. They wanted to expand their audience. So, Lego conducted evaluation
research to find and launch products that will appeal to girls.
Surveys questions to use in your own evaluation research
No matter the type of method you decide to go with, there are some essential questions
you should include in your research process. If you prepare your questions beforehand
and ask the same questions to all participants/customers, you will end up with a uniform
set of answers. That will allow you to form a better judgment. Now, here are some good
questions to include:
1 - How often do you use the product?
2 - How satisfied are you with the features of the product?
3 - How would you rate the product on a scale of 1-5?
4 - How easy is it to use our product/service?
5 - How was your experience completing tasks using the product?
6 - Will you recommend this product to others?
7 - Are you excited about using the product in the future?
8 - What would you like to change in the product/project?
9 - Did the program produce the intended outcomes?
10 - What were the unintended outcomes?
What’s the difference between generative vs. evaluative research?
Generative research is conducted to generate new ideas or hypotheses by
understanding your users' motivations, pain points, and behaviors. The goal of
generative research is to define the possible research questions and develop new
theories and plan the best possible solution for those problems. Generative
research is often used at the beginning of a research project or product.
Evaluative research, on the other hand, is conducted to measure the effectiveness of a
project or program. The goal of evaluative research is to measure whether the
existing project, program, or product has achieved its intended objectives. This
method is used to assess the project at hand to ensure it is usable, works as intended,
and meets users' demands and expectations. This type of research will play a role in
deciding whether to continue, modify, or put an to the project.
You can determine either to use generative or evaluation research by figuring out what
you need to find out. However, of course, both methods can be useful throughout the
research process in obtaining different types of evidence. Therefore, firstly determine
your goal of conducting evaluation research, and then you can decide on the
method to go with.
Fazit
Conducting evaluation research means making sure everything is going as you want
them to in your project or finding areas of improvement for your next steps. There are
more than one methods to go with. You can do focus groups or case studies on
collecting opinions, or you can do online surveys to get tangible answers.

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What is evaluation research: Methods & examples

detail about evaluation research and its methods.

First things first: Definition of evaluation research

Basically, evaluation research is a research process where you measure the

effectiveness and success of a particular program, policy, intervention, or project. This

energy put into that project is worth it.

whether to continue, modify, discontinue, and improve future programs or

interventions. Therefore, in other words, it means doing research to evaluate the

quality and effectiveness of the overall project.

Why conduct evaluation research & when?

Conducting evaluation research is an effective way of usability testing and cost-

effectiveness of the current project or product. Findings gathered from evaluative

of improvement for sponsors and administrators. This type of evaluation is a good

groups. Evaluation research is best used when:

 You are planning a different approach

 You want to make sure everything is going as you want them to

 You want to prove the effectiveness of an activity to the stakeholders and

 You want to set realistic goals for the future.

Methods to conduct an evaluation research

on numerical data and statistical analysis to draw conclusions. These questions

Therefore, they provide researchers with quantitative data to draw concrete

conclusions. Now, let us look at the quantitative research methods.

statistical techniques, such as opinions, attitudes, and behaviors. Techniques

studies are often analyzed to identify patterns and themes.

commonly used by businesses to gain insight into their customers.

Evaluation research examples

Conducting evaluation research has helped many businesses to further themselves in

research to find and launch products that will appeal to girls.

Surveys questions to use in your own evaluation research

1 - How often do you use the product?

2 - How satisfied are you with the features of the product?

3 - How would you rate the product on a scale of 1-5?

4 - How easy is it to use our product/service?

5 - How was your experience completing tasks using the product?

6 - Will you recommend this product to others?

7 - Are you excited about using the product in the future?

8 - What would you like to change in the product/project?

9 - Did the program produce the intended outcomes?

10 - What were the unintended outcomes?

What’s the difference between generative vs. evaluative research?

Generative research is conducted to generate new ideas or hypotheses by

research is often used at the beginning of a research project or product.

Evaluative research, on the other hand, is conducted to measure the effectiveness of a

project or program. The goal of evaluative research is to measure whether the

deciding whether to continue, modify, or put an to the project.

research process in obtaining different types of evidence. Therefore, firstly determine

collecting opinions, or you can do online surveys to get tangible answers.

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