The purpose of this assignment is to prepare a proposal for a process or outcome evaluation thatcould be implemented at your placement or place of employment (if you work in a social worksetting). It is the culmination of much of the thinking and work already completed in the course. Guidelines and Logistics: ? Please structure your paper as outlined below and include the headers in your paper. Each section contains questions for you to consider as you develop your proposal. Please use these questions as guidelines to ensure that you cover all aspects of an effective evaluation plan. ? There are example proposals on the course site. ? You are required to substantially apply and integrate content from the agency website, course text, and at least six additional credible sources from the empirical literature. ? Please make sure all the required elements for this assignment are compiled into ONE file. ? The main text of the paper should be no fewer than 9 pages and absolutely no more than 11 pages. ? Include a cover page and logic model. (Note: The cover page, logic model, and other appendices do not count toward the page-length requirement.) ? Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, double spaced, and APA format. Required Proposal Elements A. Introduction and Background (approximate length: 1 page) 1. Agency Context: Briefly describe the organizational context and setting of your agency. Be sure to identify major vested interest groups and individuals, including pertinent factors related to presence or absence of diversity (e.g., racial, ethnic, economic, gender, sexuality). 2. Program Context: Include a description of the program you are proposing to evaluate and how the program works or is supposed to work (i.e., program theory). Attach a logic model (as an appendix) that clearly outlines the program’s inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. B. Evaluation Purpose and Significance (approximate length: ~3 pages) Describe the identified evaluation need, overall purpose and significance, and key literature that will inform the evaluation design. This section requires substantial integration of at least six credible sources from the empirical and gray literature. You can write sections B3–B5 in whatever order you want, as long as you cover all three. 3. Practice-Based Importance: What is happening within the agency and/or program that has created the need for an evaluation, and does it concern how the program is being offered (process evaluation) or the impact the program has on client outcomes (outcome evaluation)? Does the identified problem or situation pertain to all clients or is it more relevant for a particular client population? If the latter, why is that the case? 4. Agency Link. What impact do the issues of focus have on the agency’s and worker’s ability to effectively serve clients? Alternatively, what impact does this issue have on the client’s ability (or interest) in attending, participating, or engaging in services? Make sure that there is an explicit link between the issue that you have identified and the agency mission. 5. Evidence-Based Importance: Provide a summary of what the research says about the process or outcome-related factors that your evaluation will focus on, with specific attention to studies conducted with a similar population and/or setting as yours. Discuss whether the studies on this topic consider racism and other forms of oppression. Describe how the studies you reviewed justify the focus and methods of your proposed evaluation. 6. Evaluation Question: End with a clear, precise evaluation question(s) that aligns with the proposed design and methods. C. Evaluation Design and Methods (3–4 pages; be sure to cite the textbook throughout) 7. Evaluation Approach: Discuss your approach. This includes the type of evaluation, (i.e., process or outcome evaluation), research design (e.g., experimental, quasi-experimental, pre-experimental, qualitative), and type of information needs (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, mixed). 8. Sampling: ? Describe your sampling strategy (i.e., probability/nonprobability and type of sampling). If relevant, in what ways does the sampling strategy address issues of race, ethnicity, class, or other oppressed groups present in your client population? If you are not drawing a sample because you plan to recruit the entire population, please include rationale. ? Describe your intended sample or population. This includes the target, inclusion criteria that determine eligibility (e.g., age, type of care, length of program involvement, caregiver), anticipated sample size with rationale, and relation to population of interest. ? Describe how you will recruit participants and/or select documents to review. 9. Measurement: Discuss your measurement (i.e., content areas that you are collecting, major concepts). For quantitative information, include the operationalization of these major concepts. Ensure the discussion of major concepts flows from your evaluation question and the literature. 10. Measurement Instruments: ? If you are designing your own data-collection instrument (or altering an existing one), list the questions and response options as an appendix. Remember to describe the format and your rationale for those questions in the text. ? If you plan to use standardized instruments or questionnaires “as is,” attach them and briefly describe the instrument, the psychometric properties, and why it is appropriate to use it “as is” with your population. 11. Data Collection: Describe your data-collection methods (e.g., focus groups, face-to-face interviews, mailed questionnaire), and describe your proposed procedures in detail. 12. Data-Collection Feasibility: Discuss the feasibility of your proposed methods, including the strategies you favor and your rationale. Briefly discuss the benefits and trade-offs of the proposed methods. 13. Data Analysis Plan: Describe how you will analyze the quantitative and/or qualitative data you collect and how your analysis connects to the evaluation questions. D. Ethics and Cultural Responsiveness: (1–1.5 pages; be sure to cite the textbook throughout) 14. Ethical Considerations: ? Identify and discuss the ethical issues that you have considered in the design and implementation of the evaluation. Include risks and benefits for participants at each stage of the evaluation (e.g., sampling, data collection, analysis) and discuss planned protections against potential risks (e.g., voluntary participation, confidentiality, informed consent). ? Describe how you will be securing informed consent (or assent). (Note: This process is different for anonymous questionnaires and other forms of collecting information.) 15. Cultural Responsiveness: ? Identify and discuss the ways in which your proposed evaluation focus and methods reflect attention to cultural responsiveness. ? Be sure to address things you need to consider related to participants’ race, ethnicity, social class, gender, or other identity. E. Feasibility and Translation (1.5 pages; be sure to cite the textbook throughout) 16. Feasibility: Discuss feasibility considerations regarding organizational facilitators and obstacles. These include, but are not limited to, existing policies at the program and agency level; extent of organizational buy-in; and potential risks, challenges, and benefits to staff and the organization. 17. Translation of Findings to Practice: Discuss how and to whom will findings be presented. Who may gain or lose as a consequence of the findings? How will conducting the evaluation facilitate the development of research and practices within the organization? How might it inform (and be informed by) policies at all levels, specifically for oppressed groups? Make sure to consider what your findings can actually inform given the limitations of your design and methods.
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