CONTENTS

Table of Contents
Introduction

1. Descriptive Statistics in Evaluation
2. Subgroup Analysis
3. Variable - Are They Related?
4. Correlation
5. The t-Test of Difference Between Means

Supplements
Resources
Glossary

Wading Through the Data Swamp:
Program Evaluation 201

Jack's Research Design

In Jack's case, ideally all subjects (both experimental and comparison) would be randomly assigned to participate in either the program or the comparison group. However, in programs like Jack's, the goal is to do the best for everyone who wants to participate. It's a prevention program, not a lab experiment.

The children and their parents decide whether they want to participate in the program. They will not be told that they can't participate because they've been randomly assigned to a control condition.

So Jack did the next best thing. He chose his comparison group based on how closely they resembled the children in his experimental group. These children attended a similar school, were of the same socioeconomic status, and lived in similar neighborhoods nearby.