Evaluation Research & Impact Assessment Flashcards

In regression discontinuity design, program impact is estimated by:

Answer: Examining outcome differences at the cutoff point of an assignment variable

Regression discontinuity exploits the arbitrary cutoff of an eligibility criterion to estimate causal effects.

Stake's responsive evaluation model prioritizes:

Answer: Stakeholder concerns and program issues as they emerge during evaluation

Responsive evaluation (Stake) adapts to the concerns and issues that stakeholders raise throughout the evaluation process.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) differs from traditional cost-benefit analysis primarily by:

Answer: Assigning monetary values to social and environmental outcomes

SROI monetizes broader social and environmental value, including outcomes for communities and society.

In most-similar systems design (comparative evaluation), researchers:

Answer: Choose cases that are similar on key background factors but differ on outcomes

Most-similar design controls for background variables by choosing comparable contexts, then explains why outcomes differ.

An evaluator discovers a program is producing significant unintended positive effects not in its logic model. The most appropriate action is to:

Answer: Document and report them as emergent outcomes alongside intended outcomes

Professional evaluation standards require reporting significant unintended outcomes, both positive and negative.

The primary purpose of a formative evaluation is to:

Answer: Provide ongoing feedback to improve the program during implementation

Formative evaluation generates real-time information to guide program improvement while it is still running.

Instrumental use of evaluation findings refers to:

Answer: Direct application of findings to make specific program decisions

Instrumental use occurs when evaluation findings directly inform concrete decisions, such as program modifications or budget allocations.