Evaluation: It's All in the Language

Recently I attended a one-day conference, during which time I literally heard 14 different terms to denote evaluation. Let me briefly share them with you, along with a simple explanation of each one.

1. Evaluation: Judging the merit or worth of something, such as a program, process, product, etc. Yes, it was only a few times, but I did hear this word...like a sweet melody ringing in my ears.
2. Analysis: An investigation of data pertaining to a situation, or the situation itself.
3. Assessment: This term is usually used within the context of educational testing, but is generally considered a subset of evaluation.
4. Find Out: Although simple, what logically follows from this phrase is the question of how and why are you going to find out...for what purpose and by what means.
5. Observation Checklist: This is one of many tools used with data collection to make sense of what is being observed, such as a class, a performance, a group interacting somehow, etc.
6. Tracking: This term denotes the monitoring side of evaluation, which is an ongoing collection of data on a given topic, usually to determine compliance.
7. Review: To make an appraisal of data or of a situation, such as a review of an existing program, etc.
8. Key Indicators: This phrase is synonymous with criteria and standards (i.e., what should the program be doing, and to what standard should it occur).
9. Measuring Success/Measurement: This term is also considered a subset of evaluation, and often pertains to quantitative data, although measurement itself can be in quantitative or qualitative terms.
10. Performance Improvement: This term is often used in the human resource or healthcare fields to denote such things as employee productivity and wellness.
11. Feedback: Reflective of customer service, feedback can be opinions or other information about your programs. Feedback can come from both internal and external sources.
12. Rate: This term denotes a judgment of quality, and is often seen in surveys (e.g., "On a scale of 1-5, rate the effectiveness of the following...").
13. Accountability: Evaluations help to establish accountability for organizational performance. Evaluations link performance criteria to results to show funders or other stakeholders the efficiency, effectiveness, and return on investment of a program, product, or process.
14. Harvesting: This term denotes the data collection and analysis phase of an evaluation, and can be by various means (e.g., web analytics, documentation review, surveys, interviews, data mining, ethnography).

Let us know how you feel! Tell us what term you affiliate with, and how you use it (or want to use it) in your organization!

No matter what term you use, The Evaluation Baron, LLC can help you increase the effectiveness and efficiency of your programs, products, or business processes by aligning results with your organizational goals.

Contact us for a free initial consultation!