Course
Overview Why We
Evaluate Types of
Evaluation Evaluation
Designs Research
Quality Three
Stages Hiring an
External Evaluator Managing an
Evaluation Evaluation
Reporting Summary

In all situations, you should strive to implement the most rigorous design possible. The more rigorous your evaluation—particularly if you are able to use an experimental or quasi-experimental design—the better it will be received by the scientific community and the more weight your findings will carry.

If your ultimate plan is to have your program included in a registry of evidence-based programs, such as NREPP, consider the reviewing body's applicable research requirements. For example, to meet NREPP's minimum requirements for a review, you must be able to submit at least one quasi-experimental or experimental study of the program that shows statistically significant outcomes (additional requirements may apply; for more information on the current minimum requirements, visit the NREPP Web site).

Remember that if you are limited to a less ambitious design for an initial study, you may be able to build on the success of that first study to generate support for a more rigorous evaluation down the road.

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