Chapter 11 - Policy Analysis and Evaluation Research

Question 1

What is policy analysis?

Answer 1

study of “whatever governments choose to do or not to do”, “the description and explanation of the causes and consequences of government behavior
“

Question 2

what is the policy analysis process?

Answer 2

a) identifying problems- demands are expressed for the government action
b) formulating policy proposals- public discussion of societal problems
c) legitimating policies- support of enacting laws
d) implementing policies- organizing bureaucracies, providing for payments and taxes
e) evaluating policies- studying the government programs outputs and impacts

Question 3

What is the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Research Program?

Answer 3

-uses the largest, most ambitious policy-oriented program of its type
-research branch for US DoJ
-mission: develop knowledge about the causes and control of crimes

Question 4

What are some priorities of the NIJ?

Answer 4

-violence and other criminal behavior
-sex offenders/offenses
-crime and delinquency prevention
-child abuse and neglect
-juvenile delinquency

Question 5

what questions are in evaluation research?

Answer 5

-do the programs work?
-do they produce the desired result?
-do they provide enough benefits to justify their costs?
-are there better ways to attack these problems?
-should the programs be maintained, improved, or eliminated?

Question 6

what is evaluation research?

Answer 6

applied branch of social science that is intended to supply scientifically valid info with which to guide public policy

Question 7

what are policy experiments?

Answer 7

applied field experiments are addressed to immediate practical policy questions

Question 8

what is a systems model of evaluation research?

Answer 8

-assumes all parts of an organism, organization, or program are interrelated project components
-five parts: inputs, activities, results, outcomes, feedback

Question 9

What is the inputs component of a systems model of evaluation research?

Answer 9

resources, guidelines, rules, operating procedures

Question 10

What is the activities component of systems model of evaluation research?

Answer 10

what is done with the project with the inputs

Question 11

What is the results component of systems model of evaluation research?

Answer 11

specific consequences of project activities

Question 12

What is the outcomes component of the specific results of the program?

Answer 12

general consequences of the specific results of the program

Question 13

What is the feedback component of the specific results of the programs?

Answer 13

recycling of the results/outcomes into project operation and design

Question 14

What is the example given for the components in a system model in the textbook?

Answer 14

-input: grant of $100,000 for a foot patrol program
-process: two officers assigned to foot patrol in Precinct A for one year
-results: fifty percent increase in arrests in Precinct A
-outcome: crime rate declines 10 percent and fear of crime declines 40%
-feedback: allocate $1,000,000 and twenty officers to expanded foot patrol program

Question 15

what are the two general types of evaluation research?

Answer 15

process evaluation and impact evaluation

Question 16

what is process evaluation?

Answer 16

established causal relationships between project results (ex: increase in arrests) and inputs and actitivies

Question 17

what is impact evaluation?

Answer 17

establishes causal relationships between project outcomes (ex: crime reduction) and inputs, activities, and results

Question 18

What are information gathering activities often confused with evaluation research?

Answer 18

assessment and monitoring

Question 19

What is assessment?

Answer 19

-the enumeration of the need for an activity or resource
-who needs what where?

Question 20

What is monitoring?

Answer 20

an assessment of project accountability

Question 21

what three crucial questions are asked before evaluation research?

Answer 21

1. will the findings be used?
2. is the project evaluable? may need evaluability assessment to see if the project is evaluable
3. who can do this work “in house” or external evaluation?

Question 22

What are the three stages of Rabow’s research model?

Answer 22

1. selection of offenders from a population for treatment and control groups
2. treatment process and the need to understand what’s involved in tit
3. involves comparisons of groups subsequent to treatment

Question 23

What are the steps in evaluation research?

Answer 23

-problem formulation
-design of instruments
-research design
-data collection
-data analysis
-findings and conclusions
-utilization

Question 24

What is the problem formulation step in evaluation research?

Answer 24

what is the problem? what is being studied – specific details

Question 25

What is the design of instruments step in evaluation research?

Answer 25

identification and operationalization of key program components

Question 26

What is the research design step in evaluation research?

Answer 26

specific design used

Question 27

What is the data collection step in evaluation research?

Answer 27

the means of data gathering

Question 28

What is the data analysis step in evaluation research?

Answer 28

use of appropriate analysis procedure

Question 29

What is the findings and conclusion step in evaluation research?

Answer 29

what was found from the study

Question 30

What is the utilization step in evaluation research?

Answer 30

use the finding and conclusions to make things better

Question 31

What works when preventing crime?

Answer 31

-frequent home visits -family therapy -extra police patrol -community treatment programs

Question 32

What doesn't work when preventing crime?

Answer 32

-gun buyback program -drug abuse resistance -summer jobs or subsidized work programs for at-risk youth

Question 33

What's promising?

Answer 33

-proactive drunk driving arrests with breath testing -community policing with meetings -two clerks in already robbed convenience stores -metal detectors

Question 34

What is the Campbell Collaboration?

Answer 34

organization founded dedicated to preparing maintaining, and publicizing systematic reviews of research on the effects of social and educational programs and interventions

Question 35

What is the Blueprints Initiative?

Answer 35

identifies and replicates research-based programs to prevent violence and related issues like substance abuse and delinquency

Question 36

What are the obstacles of evaluation research?

Answer 36

-poorly done design/methodology -bad data analysis -ethical issues -bad data or sampling