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MODEL ACADEMIC CURRICULUM

MODULE 13

Assessing and Evaluating Responses

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Module 13 Components

• Assessment and Evaluation

• Conducting Community Surveys

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Introduction

1. Did the problem decline?

2. If so, did the response cause the decline?

The purpose of assessing a problem-solving effort is to help you make better decisions by answering two specific questions:

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Assessment and Evaluation

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Reviewing the SARA Model

•SCANNING

•ANALYSIS

•RESPONSE

•ASSESSMENT

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The Role of Evaluation in Problem-Solving

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Types of Evaluations

• Process Evaluations

• Impact Evaluations

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Interpretation of Process and Impact

Evaluations

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Conducting Process Evaluations

• Observe response implementation

• Interview relevant parties

• Conduct focus groups

• Conduct surveys

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Conducting Process Evaluations

• Record decisions and progress in meeting minutes

• Develop a timeline of important achievements

• Document everything!!

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Process Evaluation Timeline

Process Evaluation Timeline

Jan

-03

Feb

-03

Mar

-03

Ap

r-03

May

-03

Jun

-03

Jul-

03

Au

g-0

3

Sep

-03

Oct

-03

No

v-03

Dec

-03

Project meetings

Analysis of problem

Training development

Training of first 50 tellers

Training of next 100 tellers

Training of final 50 tellers

Response fully implemented

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Problem Solving Project - Process Evaluation

California Highway Patrol

Problem - Traffic Collisions

Environmental surveys - Personal inspection of 20 miles of roadway.

Key recommendation - 24-hour headlights-on policy.

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Conducting Impact Evaluations

Measures– Quantitative Measures

– Qualitative Measures

– Measurement Validity

– Selecting Valid Measures

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Criteria for Claiming Causality

– There Is a Plausible Explanation of How the Response Reduces the Problem

– The Response and the Level of the Problem Are Related

– The Response Occurs Before the Problem Declines

– There Are No Plausible Alternative Explanations

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Types of Evaluation Designs

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Pre-Post Designs

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Pre-Post Design with a Control Group

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Interrupted Time Series Designs

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Multiple Time Series Design

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Practical Limitations to Interrupted Time Series Designs • Measurement is expensive or difficult.

• Data are unavailable for many periods before the response.

• Decision-makers cannot wait for sufficient time to elapse after the response.

• Data recording practices have changed, making inter-period comparisons invalid.

• Problem events are rare for short time intervals, forcing you to use fewer, longer intervals.

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Combining and Selecting Designs

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Spatial Displacement of Crime or Disorder, and

Spatial Diffusion of Crime Prevention Benefits

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Problem-Solving Evaluation Checklist

I. Early Considerations

II. Process Evaluation

III. Impact Evaluation

IV. Evaluation Conclusions

V. Overall Impact Evaluation Conclusions

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I. Early Considerations

A. What will the evaluation help you decide?

B. Do you know the problem?

C. Do you know how the response works?

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II. Process Evaluation

A. Did you implement the response?

B. Did you implement enough of the response?

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III. Impact Evaluation

A. Do you need a control group?

B. How often can you measure the problem?

C. What type of evaluation design should you use?

D. What type of control group do you need?

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IV. Evaluation Conclusions

A. What are your findings from the process evaluation?

B. What are your findings from the impact evaluation?

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V. Overall Impact Evaluation Conclusions

1. Did the problem decline after the response?

2. If the problem did decline, did it do so at a faster rate after the response than before the response?

3. If the problem did decline, can you rule out all other plausible explanations for the decline, other than the response? Use your list of differences between the response and control groups to help answer this question.

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Conducting Community Surveys

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General Use of SurveysGeneral Use of Surveys

CJ Researchers – to better understand crime and public fear of crime

Social Scientists and Political Pollsters– to learn about social relations and predict future events

Government Agencies– to predict economic trends and how people react to policy

Police– to measure public opinion and operational effectiveness

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Specific Uses for Community-based Surveys

• Gather information about public attitudes regarding police or crime

• Detect and analyze problems in neighborhoods

• Evaluate problem solving efforts and other interventions by taking baseline measures

• Control crime and fear of crime

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Basic Sampling Designs

Simple random sampling – ensures that everyone in the population has a chance to be included in the sampling bias

Nonrandom sampling – sometimes is the best option available given the time and other limits

How many will be sampled?

- Sample size, sampling error

Survey Process

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– Mail surveys

– Telephone surveys

– In-person interviews

– Internet-based surveys

– Officer/Deputy or volunteer delivery

– Surveys are filled out at a designated location

Methods for Contacting Respondents

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– General considerations

– How to ask questions

– Open ended vs. close ended questions

– Designing the questionnaire

Asking Questions

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– Characteristics of the sample

– Does the sample represent the population?

– Making inferences about the population

– Estimating relationships

– Significance testing

Analysis of the Data

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94.188.7

87.892.1

92.989.9

76.796.9

10085.7

81.8100

91.2100

93.3

Percentage Positive

MenWomen

Crime VictimNot a Victim

RenterHomeowner

Live in Mobile HomeLive in Condo

Less than 1 year in Reno10-15 years in Reno

American IndianBlackWhiteAsian

Hispanic

70 80 90 100

By Demographic CharacteristicsIS RENO SAFE?

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8278

49

82

76

51

74 74

32

9188

81

SurveyPerformance Lawbreakers Image Safety

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

This Survey Last Survey First Survey

Percentage of Positive Responses

Key Survey Questions

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1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000

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40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Performance Lawbreakers

Image Safety

Percentage of Positive Responses

Citizen Survey Results