Response two Colleagues

group research design and data collection method from those outlined in the Resources you selected as appropriate for the “Social Work Research: Planning a Program Evaluation” case study and why.

The group research design and data collection method that was used by the social worker, Joan, for the foster care training program was documentation review, observation and questionnaires (McNamara, 2006; Plummer, Makris & Brocksen, 2014).  The reasons why are that Joan mentions how she has done significant literature research on foster care training.  Secondly, the observation involved Joan’s observing the new group of foster care parents and their training on how they reacted to the new training program.  The last is the questionnaires and surveys.  The questionnaires/surveys were when she states that she will do a Likert-type measurement program to find out if the new training program is successful (McNamara, 2006; Plummer, Makris & Brocksen, 2014). 

Then, generate criteria to be measured using the research design by identifying a specific outcome and a method for measuring that outcome.

According to the case study, the specific outcome for the foster care training program study is to  “reduce foster placement disruptions, improving the quality of services delivered, and increasing child well-being through better trained and skilled foster families” (Plummer, 2014, p. 66).  The method for measuring that outcome is through the Likert scale. The Likert scale can measure the success of the training program on the participants.  Also, the observations of the success of the program will help to analyze the new training program.  Finally, the review of the literature provided from the training sessions such as the workbooks and quizzes if they are being done for the group. 

Specify who will collect the data and how the data will be collected. 

The data will be collected by the agency administering the intervention which allows flexibility in the methods of data collection and analysis (Dudley, 2016).  This data collection procedure is called the formative evaluation and a formative evaluation can identify any glitches the foster care training program.  The formative evaluation can also recognize a breakdown in the delivery of service which means that the training program may not be successful if there are lower scores on the Likert scales (Dudley, 2016).   Another benefit to the formative evaluation is that the training material may go off course and not stick to its original design.  The evaluation can help to fix any inconsistences for achieving the goals of the training program. 

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