Research Plan
Old Dominion University
Brianna Clark
Research Plan
Stakeholders
The stakeholders that are included in my evaluation are the members/clients, board members, employees, and volunteers. All of these people are considered the stakeholders because they are all benefiting from this agency. When going to the agency I will be interacting with all of these people and using them in my evaluation. I believe that this is extremely important because I have so many people to get the most accurate interpretation of the agency in its natural habitat.
Type of Evaluation
I believe that the evaluation I would use is the pretest-posttest method. It would be the best for my evaluation because it focuses on determining if the clients have benefited from the program. Also allows evaluators to measure the improvements and any changes. This evaluation is better for my study because it will address the research questions of mine that are to see if the foods being distributed are healthy and satisfying to the population. This relates to my study because studying how the clients were before the agency and after. Then also getting information on what can be improved throughout the programs. This will give me a good idea if the program is working or isn’t working as well. The pretest-posttest method is very useful in determining if a program is doing what it is intended to do.
Evaluation Questions
My first evaluation question is “How effectively is SERVE Inc. advertising the assistance programs offered to those who would benefit from these services the community?” My logic behind this question is to see how they are getting individuals to come to the food bank or how accurate is the selection process. Also, if they expanded their advertising services would they receive more donations, would they have a higher need of clients. I believe that answering this evaluation question can help out the agency a lot in expanding and getting the name out there. My next evaluation question is “How effectively does SERVE Inc. ensure that the food that is being distributed to families is healthy and meets health food regulations?” In this question I am looking to see how healthy the food is that is being distributed. Healthier foods are usually perishable items, which also means that they are more expensive. But in the long run healthier eating habits can lead to a healthier lifestyle and could tremendously benefit families. The less healthy the food the more health concerns families could experience down the road.
How It Aligns
The type of evaluation method of pretest-posttest aligns with my questions because I am going to be conducting interviews and surveys of before and after. This will help me to determine what benefits the clients the most and also the needs of them as well. This method of evaluation a great way to see if the program is actually successful. I believe the evaluation works best hand in hand with my questions in assuring that I am getting the most accurate answers for the evaluation.
When at my agency I will get conducting surveys and interviewing individuals. I will be able to talk to people who have not received assistance yet from the program and people who already have been getting assistance. This is one way the pretest-posttest aligns with my questions.
Data Collection Methods
The sources that I will be using in my evaluation is primary data collection. This is because at the food bank I will be conducting interviews and surveys. Which is collecting data first hand. Also, that this data collection will be taken in person it will make my research more
meaningful and hopefully get a better understanding. I believe that the more information we have
the better my evaluation will go. With getting a great amount of information will hopefully help the stakeholders in getting a better idea of things to improve on and know what is working and what is not working. I also believe that this will not only benefit the stakeholders but the clients as well. When conducting interview, I will be trying interviewing to see how the clients feel the food they are receiving is healthy and up to par with health food regulations. Using this method of data collection is the most accurate and will be the best for my evaluation because I am conducting the interviews and surveys.
Research Method
For my evaluation I believe that the using mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research will be the most beneficial. Qualitative research is a method of observation to collect non-numerical data. An example would be like paperwork, interviews, and observations. In quantitative research is a method of using numerical data such as statistical data, measurements, polls, and surveys. So, using both methods together would give me even more data that I could use to benefit my evaluation. I also feel as if using them together they would complement each other. I will be specifically using the qualitative research method to conduct interviews to the clients and employees of the agency. I will also be using it to do an observation of the environment and collecting paperwork from the agency. When using the quantitative research method, I will be specifically using it for conducting surveys from the clients.
Why It Works the Best
Using both of these research methods will work best in addressing my evaluation questions by getting the most precise amount of information I can. In my first evaluation question I am trying to see how well SERVE Inc. is effectively advertising their services to the public. Using both research methods I will be able to conduct surveys how the clients heard about the agency or who referred them. Also, I will be able to ask for the documentation on who they have partnerships with or advertise through. For my second evaluation question I am trying to obtain information on how SERVE Inc. regulates their food being distributed to families and that it is healthy and that it meets health food regulations. For this I will be able to interview clients and ask them how they feel about the food they are receiving and see if they believe it is healthy. Also, I will be able to observe the food in the pantry and ask the employees if they have any regulations or guidelines when handing out their food.