How do you plan to evaluate either the public health program you planned or the example of the public health program in the Learning Resources for Week 1?
Survey instruments, including questionnaires, observations, interviews, and focus groups, are a few instruments, or tools, that can be used to collect data. Selecting a particular instrument must take careful consideration.
An instrument must be appropriate for the age, reading level, language, and culture of the program participants. If the instrument is quantitative (characterized by numbers), it must be reliable (measure what it is intended to measure) and valid (measure the same way each time it is used).
If the instrument is qualitative (characterized by words), it must elicit important and detailed information about the participants' experience with the program.
For this Discussion, you examine surveys as data collection instruments and select the most appropriate type of survey for your program evaluation plan.
In addition, you identify appropriate sample populations for your public health program.
Preparation for the Discussion:
• Review the CDC's Framework for Program Evaluation. Reflect on the steps and standards related to gathering evidence.
• Identify a sample population that would accurately represent the target population of your public health program.
• Refer back to the objectives and goals you selected last week and consider the type of survey instrument you would need in order to collect the appropriate data from your sample population. Think about survey details such as the following: reading level, language, cultural appropriateness, type of data it measures, and psychometric qualities of the survey instrument (refer to the McKenzie et al. text, as well as the article "Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Questionnaires").
• Research surveys using the Learning Resources (Rand Health, Public Health Foundation, California Department of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization websites) or another reputable Internet source. Select a survey instrument for measuring your selected objectives based on the necessary details that you identified.
• Review the Course Project Guidelines and work on Week 3 of your Course Project.