PADM 9050 Program Evaluation
Case Study/Research Project Concept & Methods
Fall 2010
Overview of the Case Study or Research Project, Research Paper, Proposal, Presentations, etc.
The focus of this course is program evaluation. There are many ways we could approach this topic, but I have in mind using the course and related assignments to facilitate the planning and preparation of our second-year DPA students for their "dissertation-quality research projects." We expect students to use applied projects in the organizations in which they work, volunteer, or have other connections. There will generally be ways to apply the program evaluation methods to doing research in these organizations, so hopefully the project will serve as a "pilot study" for the major research project required for the DPA. As mentioned in the course "Assignments" page, the project can be a simple change activity and will include evaluation of the outcome.
Project Proposal and Research Paper Format
As stated in the Policies page "Style Guidelines" section, we will use the APSA style for our papers. There is an excellent chapter in The Political Science Writer's Manual on Policy Analysis Papers. This reading is included in the BlazeVIEW section of our class. Dr. Argyle suggested that we follow this approach to doing our proposals and papers for this course.
General Process
  1. Search for a topic, project, etc. > Everyone should begin as early as possible working to identify a project or topic that will fit the concept of this course. Ideally the project will involve evaluation of a project already planned in the organization.
  2. Research Proposal > The first "formal" requirement will be developing and submitting a research proposal or project proposal. The proposal should outline the project and describe the methods planned for the project. Each student will also do a presentation to the group outlining the methods and expected outcomes.
  3. Proposal Presentation > Students will do a presentation on their plans for the project. This will allow others to provide feedback, make suggestions for possible improvements or alternative approaches, and in some cases point out flaws in the plans.
  4. Revise Proposal (as needed) > Based on the feedback from the group it is likely that revisions in the proposal might be needed.
  5. Conduct Research Project > Once the proposal is completed and approved the project will be implemented. In some cases adjustments will be needed along the way. We do not always anticipate all the possible ways our projects might go, so it is inevitable that some situations might require a different approach than originally expected.
  6. Interim Reports on Progress > Students should maintain contacts and provide updates on the progress of each project.
  7. Develop Presentation Reporting on Project > When the project is completed, the first report will be a presentation on the outcomes. It is possible that feedback from this presentation will be useful in the development of the final research report.
  8. Write Research Paper > A final written report will be submitted to summarize the project and all outcomes. Students will include recommendations for future research on this topic and possible changes that might be useful in improving the "next steps" for this topic or issue. If the plan is to continue with this topic for the "dissertation-quality research projects" the student will be able to use this information in the planning.and implementation of the major project.
Teams for the Case Study Project
Those of us who engage in research often do so with support from colleagues. For the purposes of our course we will form teams or groups to facilitate the planning and development of the projects. Team members will provide feedback, suggestions, ideas for alternative methods, etc. We will discuss the operation of the teams during our meeting during the DPA weekend and team assignments will be made. Teams will work out times for online meetings that will be convenient for everyone in the group.

Online Meetings, Discussions, Presentations, etc.
During the DPA weekend we will have training on using the Wimba Live Classroom provided by the VSU eLearning (aka Distance Learning) staff members. Regular meetings will be scheduled to provide everyone with experience in using the Wimba Live Classroom.

Read up on Wimba Collaboration Suite at: http://www.wimba.com/products/wimbaclassroom/.

The Wimba Live Classroom will allow us to approximate the traditional meeting environment that would be typical of a course with discussions and presentations by students.

Using this online collaboration tool will allow the team members to:
  • review each other's work
  • practice presentations
  • create an archive of the presentation ahead of time for later discussion
Equipment Requirements for Presentations with Wimba Live Classroom
All students will need a headset or microphone with speakers to use the Wimba Live Classroom in BlazeVIEW. A very inexpensive headset is adequate for this purpose.
Reference http://www.valdosta.edu/~gamerwin/pa/classes/padm9050/casestudy.html
Updated 08/01/2010, contact Jerry Merwin