Have you ever heard the saying "too much of a good thing can be a bad thing"?
Often, evaluators make the mistake of accepting information from anyone willing to participate in a survey.
Not only is too much data difficult to manage, but when you are willing to accept any data, the quality of the data comes into question. It is important to find a balance between the quantity and quality of data.
You need enough data to complete the evaluation, but you want to be selective enough so that the data you collect is representative of your sample population and is reliable.
Consider the following scenario:
As part of your job at a local health clinic, you have been asked to help evaluate a college physical activity program over a 3-year period.
Students enrolled in an activity class will participate in 3 weeks each of running, swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, and weight lifting. Students are limited to one fitness course per semester, but they can enroll in a class each semester if they wish.
You must select an appropriate quantitative survey that can be used for data collection before, during, and after activity classes. The college administrators have asked you to review a survey that is very short and easy to complete. (See the "Fitness Program Pre/Post Questionnaire" listed under the Week 3 Learning Resources.)
You must also help determine how a sample of students will be selected to represent the more than 500 students that take a physical activity class each semester. You need to consider how to balance the quality and quantity of the data in the data sampling.
To prepare for this Assignment:
• Review the video Program Evaluation and Evaluation Instruments. Think about the data collection instruments that were used in the programs featured. Consider whether any survey instruments provided useful data for program evaluation.
• Review the fitness program scenario presented above.
• Review the provided "Data Collection Instrument: Fitness Program Pre/Post Questionnaire" in the Learning Resources and assess the strengths and limitations of the instrument as it relates to the scenario above.
• Think about whether you could gather a sufficient quantity of quality data using the instrument.
• Describe the strengths and limitations of the provided data collection instrument for gathering data you need to evaluate the fitness course in the scenario provided.
• Explain whether the instrument is an appropriate fit for the sample population and why.
• Explain whether the survey instrument generates a sufficient quantity of quality data for conducting a program evaluation for the fitness program and why.
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McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray, R. (2017). Planning, implementing, and evaluating health promotion programs: A primer (7th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson.