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April 17, 2012

Dr. Lori Wingate—Assistant Director, The Evaluation Center, WMU

In this Eval Café session, Lori Wingate will engage participants in a discussion of some common misunderstandings when it comes to program evaluation language and practice.  In a profession where virtually anyone can put “evaluator” on their business card, it is immensely important that we protect the integrity of the terminology we use and be conscientious about how our individual practices collectively influence the field.  We will look at some widely repeated evaluation mistakes and missteps, consider the causes and consequences of these problems, and generate ideas about we can each work to set the record straight and keep in that way. Participants are invited to bring their favorite examples of evaluation myths, misconceptions, and mistakes to enrich and broaden the discussion.

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April 10, 2012

Dr. Chris Coryn—Associate Professor and Director,  Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation Program, WMU

Kristin A. Hobson—Interdisciplinary Evaluation  Doctoral Student, WMU

In this Evaluation Café, the presenters will demonstrate how meta-analysis methods can be used to study the effects of multi-site programs and projects, including how meta-analysis can be used to investigate and explain between-site variability. The presenters will also discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of the meta-analysis approach over more traditional multi-site evaluation methods using an example from a recent study of Heifer International projects in three countries.

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April 3, 2012

Dr. Cris Sullivan— Professor, Ecological and Community Psychology and Coordinator, Violence Against Women Research and Outreach Initiative, MSU

The goal of empowerment-based programs is to help clients increase their personal, interpersonal, and political power. This talk describes a collaborative partnership with a domestic violence shelter program interested in evaluating how well they integrated the empowerment model into day-to-day service provision and whether their approach to empowerment-based service delivery was contributing to the intended “empowered outcomes” for the women with whom they work. In the presentation, I will describe how we jointly defined empowerment within this setting, how the empowerment-based practices and intended empowered outcomes were measured, and how the process has impacted the work of the advocates.

March 27, 2012

Dr. Mary Anne Sydlik—Director, SAMPI, WMU
Dr. Bob Ruhf—Senior Research Associate, SAMPI, WMU
Kristin Everet—Senior Research Assistant, SAMPI, WMU

Science and Mathematics Program Improvement (SAMPI) at Western Michigan University currently has a number of evaluation projects, seven projects out for review, and six in the early stages of development with potential clients.Members of the SAMPI evaluation team will address challenges that can arise 1) during the pre-submission proposal/project development phase; 2) while trying to coordinate evaluation and project activities with another organization; and 3) when the clients’ expectations change mid-course in ways that exceed the evaluation budget, the evaluator’s time and energy, and cost-overruns threaten to shut down the evaluation before it can be completed.

This event was not video tapped.

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March 20, 2012

Lee Balcom—Interdisciplinary Evaluation Doctoral Student, WMU

Framing the evaluation question precedes all other design elements in an evaluation. It is also a key factor distinguishing the inquiry process of evaluation from that of research. However, the literature gives little mention to the particulars of choosing an evaluation question. This presentation identifies theoretical perspectives and technical implications involved in framing the evaluation question as well as a tool for selecting questions deliberately.

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March 13, 2012

Dr. Willis H. Thomas, Ph.D., CPT, PMP—Alumnus, Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation, WMU

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and Projects in Controlled Environment (PRINCE2) are two well-recognized global standards for project management. Millions of practitioners are utilizing these standards to support project evaluations. Evaluators are engaged in all types of projects and have to choose from a multitude of models, methods and approaches. This presentation discusses managing evaluation projects using both of these standards.

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February 28, 2012

Dr. Brooks Applegate—Professor, Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology and Director, Evaluation, Measurement, and Research, WMU

Abstract coming soon..

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February 22, 2012

Dr. Karen Vocke—Associate Professor, Department of English, WMU; and
Dr. Brooks Applegate—Professor, Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology and Director, Evaluation, Measurement, and Research, WMU

This presentation focuses on issues related to evaluating marginalized populations. For example, known challenges include access and the complicated issues of ethical representation necessary for authentic evaluation. However, critical examination shows when the evaluation process includes members of marginalized populations, results are more tangible, valid, and generalizable, with increased participation of the sample under study. Because the needs of marginalized populations are nuanced and diverse, evaluators must carefully consider the procedures and analyses involving the evaluation participants, especially the need for authentic, and not token, participation. This demonstration offers a protocol for access, collaboration, and evaluation for working with marginalized subpopulations in the K-12 setting, namely children and families of migrant farm workers and students with disabilities. Strategies will be presented for planning evaluations, accessing populations, developing survey instruments, developing a collaborative team, data collection strategies, and data analysis.

Video will be posted soon…

February 14, 2012

Dr. Paul Clements—Professor,  Political Science and Director, MIDA Program, WMU

My forthcoming book, Rawlsian Political Analysis: Rethinking the Microfoundations of Social Science, offers a new approach to social analysis as an improvement on neoclassical economics and rational choice theory. While these approaches are based on the assumption of rational utility maximization, I follow Rawls and Kant and assume that choice is based on independent reasonable and rational capacities. I will begin this presentation by laying out the book’s principal arguments. Then I will discuss two of the book’s applications of the proposed approach that directly involve evaluation: analyses of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and of the ethics and politics of climate change.