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

Module Content Objectives Introduction Reported Use of Marijuana Missing Data Analysis of Marijuana Use Subgroup Analysis Standard Deviation What Did Jack Learn From This Analysis? Lessons Learned: What Jack Should Have Asked His Evaluator How Can Jack Use This Statistical Information To Improve His Program? How Can Jack Use This Statistical Information To Promote the Results of His Program? Module 2 Quiz

How Can Jack Use This Statistical Information To Improve His Program?

Girls can, of course, be very different from boys, especially at this age. Thinking about it, Jack realized a lot of time was spent playing sports and various games during the program. Jack designed the program with fun in mind. He did not want to bore the kids with things they do in school. He wanted the kids to enjoy themselves and learn important life skills at the same time.

Jack's approach seemed to work for the boys, but why not the girls? Maybe the sports and competitive games might not be that interesting to girls approaching or in their teen years. Girls in general, especially in this age group, have very different interests than boys.

After this discovery, Jack had a lot of questions, and I raised some more with him. These questions cannot always be answered from the data collected for the evaluation. However, asking them and trying to answer them can play an important role in improving his future programs.

• Jack thought, "How could there be such a large difference in marijuana use merely based on gender?"
• "Why is the program successful at keeping boys from using marijuana, but girls have increased their marijuana use during the program?"

Jack then started thinking about the structure of his program.

• "Could there be a major oversight in the program design? Perhaps not enough drug prevention education and too much sports and recreation?"
• "Is the program lacking gender sensitivity? Not enought female mentors?"
• "Are the girls lacking the opportunity to express their feelings?"
• "Are girls experiencing biological/social changes faster or differently than boys their age?"
• "Do the boys attend the program more often than the girls do?"
• "Is the program increasing the marijuana use among girls or is this increase merely a timing issue related to their age?"
• "Are the girls older than the boys are, on average?"

Jack has a lot to investigate.