FREE Methods for Evaluation [ With Samples ]

When we say evaluation, what comes to mind first? For students, evaluations would mean quizzes, oral and written exams, return demonstrations, and all those projects that are required in school in order for one to pass. If you are a probationary employee, the first thing that would come to your mind would be your performance for the month, or whether you get regularized in the company or not. For regular employees, it would mean their chance to show off to get promoted, get an increase or a chance to get the incentives. A lot of different things come to mind when we think of evaluation, and every individual’s thoughts and understanding differ based on their roles and jobs.

Evaluation means making judgment or assessments about a particular thing, person, or process using a given set of standards. The set of standards used depend largely on the nature of the thing, person, job, or program being evaluated. Evaluations are used to asses and determine one’s performance, improvements, significance, and worth in a given situation. Evaluations vary from one institution to the other.

It is important that every institution conduct scheduled evaluations to monitor any improvements or any fallback that their company may be experiencing, and at the the same time be able to address them in a timely manner. In this article we will be discussing about the different methods used for evaluations, their importance and uses, and the advantages and disadvantages of each method. You may also check out some of the sample evaluations on our website.

Why Do We Conduct Evaluations?

Evaluations help a lot of institutions in determining and identifying the direction as to where they are going, what they need to do to improve, and what they need to do to appropriately address problems. Specific evaluations are done or conducted in every company or institution based on the nature of the things or job being evaluated. Below we have enumerated the the importance of conducting evaluations and some of its many different uses.

• Evaluations are done by managers and other department heads to asses and make sure that the standard operating procedures are followed by all of the employees involved in the said project.
• In quality assurance, evaluating the quality of products or services produced helps them evaluate if the given standards are followed and allows them to identify any problem or flaws in the process that needs to be changed or removed.
• Conducting an employee performance evaluation helps determine which employee is striving within an organization and which employee needs further help. The company or organization is able to determine the strengths and weaknesses of their employees and provide them with the help that they need to make improvements or do better, and contribute to the company or organization.
• Evaluations that are conducted regularly can tremendously help any company or organization improve their management and effectiveness, as well as excel in their field of business.
• Through evaluations, feedback to both the employee and the manager or the organization is provided. It means that there is a two-way communication where the employee receives feedback from the company through their managers and the company receives feedback from their employees about company- or management-related stuff.

 

What Are the Different Types of Evaluations?

There are two main types of evaluations and they are formative evaluation and summative evaluation. They may also be referred to as the types of assessments. These types of evaluations are used depending on the purpose of the evaluation being done. Each of these types and their subtypes are explained below, as well as when it is appropriate to use them.

• Formative Assessments – The aim of formative evaluations is to improve the individual, thing, or process being evaluated in order to help them reach attainable goals and provide the required results or performances. There are five types of formative evaluations and they are needs assessment, evaluability assessment, structured conceptualization, implementation evaluation, and process evaluation.
• Summative Assessments – This type of assessment makes use of standard benchmarks or a specific set of standards that is appropriate to the individual or program being evaluated. A summative assessment takes place at the end of a learning session or where the students are being evaluated based on what they have learned about the topic or topics discussed. Midterm exams, research papers and oral recitations are some of the examples of a summative assessment. It has five subdivisions, namely outcome evaluations, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis, impact evaluation, meta-analysis, and secondary analysis.

 

What Are the Different Methods for Evaluation?

There are basically two types of methods for evaluation. One of them is the is the quantitative method and the other one is the qualitative method. Each method is used depending on what needs to be evaluated. They are both discussed in detail below.

The quantitative method of evaluation answers questions such as how many, how far, how big, how much does it cost, etc. The data being assessed and collected in a quantitative method of evaluation are those that can be counted, those that provide rates, frequencies, percentages, currencies, and many more. This method of evaluation makes use of a specific set of standards and they are usually objective.

An advantage of a quantitative method of evaluation is that it can easily be done and conducted with a large number of samples. The data collected in this method can also be easily summarized, that is why it is the main choice when doing surveys. On the other hand, because this method focuses on the quantity of the data collected, the data provided may not be as detailed as those produced using the qualitative method of evaluation. In addition, all of the information that is needed to analyze or interpret the findings may not always be complete or not all of it is provided.

To collect data for a quantitative method of evaluation, the following data collection methods are used:

• Pre-test and post-test
• Close-ended questions
• Surveys
• Tests that measure performance
• Research that provide statistical data

 

Interviews, observations, and written documents about case studies are just some of the examples of the qualitative method of evaluation. In this method, questions about when something happened and who were involved in the said situation or event are asked. The data that can be collected using this method are narratives about people’s thoughts, opinions, experiences, and beliefs.

The advantage of this method of evaluation is that the data collected are detailed and easier to understand. But because the data collected in a qualitative method of evaluation is subjective, it is difficult to summarize and is also time-consuming.

The following are examples of the methods used for collecting data in a quantitative method of evaluation:

• Survey questionnaires
• Open-ended questions
• Narrative
• Case studies
• Essays, diaries, and journals
• Interviews
• Focused groups

 

Having knowledge about evaluations and the methods used to conduct evaluations will help you make your task easy and convenient. With that, you will definitely have an advantage when it comes to evaluations.