Write a 2 page (double-spaced) paper addressing the following questions. Be sure to use information presented in the article to support your answers.

Each week we will cover a range of topics, readings and videos. In order to be successful, you will need to review all of the required materials.

To access all materials you can use the "Table of Contents" area in the upper right corner of this screen or the "Previous" and "Next" prompts in the top and bottom corners of this section.

Readings

Reading Instructions

Before you read, know that some of the terminology might be new to you and somewhat confusing.  We will begin to discuss this terminology in future weeks, but as you read, write down some of the technical/evaluation terms and concepts that you may not be familiar with.  Once you have read the whole case and completed your list, try to define each term briefly based on what you already know or understand.  It’s OK not to know.  It’s also OK to be ‘wrong’ as no one is going to know anyway!

What this exercise might help you to figure out is just how much (or how little) you already know and understand about program evaluation.  It will also hopefully give you a sense of how large and complex and complicated some evaluations are (others are not so).  This is a case of a particular way of understanding and practicing evaluation and is grounded in a particular method of evaluation roughly defined as impact evaluation. We will cover impact evaluation, briefly, in future weeks because most impact evaluations use quantitative methods and statistics.

Once you have read this case study, written down your list of terms and concepts, and briefly defined them for yourself, please answer the questions listed in the assignment.  Where possible, use the information presented in the case study to support your answers and arguments.  Your answers should be succinct but detailed enough to thoughtfully and completely answer the questions.

Assignment Preparation

Case Study 1：Women as Policymakers （See PDF）

Course Introduction

· You will also need the course text, Fundamental Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Tokunga, 2016).  More on the text is posted below.

· All other course content will be available through Moodle.  

· Each week will have a Moodle lecture with required links to videos and/or external readings

· After reading the weekly "lectures" (all the content in the Materials section), I recommend you do the assigned readings

Textbook

The text for this course is Fundamental Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences by Howard T. Tokunaga, published in 2016.  Copies are available through most major online book retailers (e.g., Amazon.com).  You will be expected to have a copy of the text by the second week of the semester.

Activities

In addition to the weekly "lectures" and readings, you’ll also do an assignment, a quiz, and participate in either a discussion forum or write a brief reflection paper.

The assignment format will vary from week to week, but each assignment will be worth the same number of points. Assignment examples include reading a case study, critiquing a journal article, or doing a problem set.

You will be required to take a quiz most weeks.  Each quiz has 15 questions and is worth 15 points.  Quizzes are open book and open notes, but they are timed and you cannot discuss them with anyone in the class (before or after taking them).

For half of the weeks there will be a discussion question that is posted and meant to inspire class discussion.  Active participation in each forum is expected.  For the other half of the weeks you will be required to write a brief reflection paper.  Prompts for these papers will be shared with you.

Goals

You will:

· perform common quantitative methods and statistical techniques that are relevant to conducting an evaluation,

· differentiate between the concepts of evaluation and research, and

· apply their learning to the development of a quantitative evaluation project.

Research and evaluation (or Program Monitoring and Evaluation, M&E) spans a wide range of conceptualizations and definitions.  Evaluators utilize a wide range of research methods and ways of thinking about and applying research, as they design and conduct evaluations. 

Research methods can be either quantitative, qualitative, or a mix of both (i.e. mixed-methods).  Similarly, evaluation can be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed, and evaluations draw on these very same research methods and methodologies but they are often used by evaluators somewhat differently than researchers.  More about that in future weeks!

What is important is that the methods and design that evaluators choose to use need to be relevant and appropriate to the specific program that is being evaluated and these methods need to be understood and used with the same level of insight, understanding, and rigor that formal academic researchers might do when conducting their own academic research.

These first week and week 8 are designed to help explain and clarify some of the basic concepts and terminology associated with both quantitative research and evaluation.

A Word About Evaluation

This is not a course on evaluation, but a course on quantitative methods and statistics for use by evaluators.

The course will provide a brief overview of evaluation and research. However, the main focus of the course is on the quantitative methods and statistics commonly used by evaluators.

This course has been developed with the assumption that you will take additional courses focusing on

1. qualitative research methods

2. program evaluation design and methods. 

You will need these things in order to become a competent evaluator!

The point of departure for this course is therefore a basic understanding of evaluation (and particularly impact evaluation).  You also need a basic understanding of, and skill in, math.

A Word about Math

Calculators are encouraged. You don’t need to be the hero who does hand calculations!

If you know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, you’re in good shape.

You’ll need to know some basic Algebra. In algebra, numbers are often represented as symbols called variables (e.g., x, n, y, or z). You will need to solve for variables like you do in the equation below.

x + 50 = 150 (x = 100)

You’ll also need to know these...

1. Powers

2. Coefficients 

3. Groupings

4. Operators

5. Constants

Need to brush up on your Algebra? （Link）