Running Head: PROGRAM EVALUATION 1
HLTH 645 Program Evaluation
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
PROGRAM EVALUATION 2
Types of Scales
There are different steps that evaluators follow when developing a survey. These steps
are, the first step is reviewing the objectives by the evaluators. The second step is ensuring that
the question aligns with the objectives and goals. The third step proposed is to ensure that the
organization of questions is such in a way that the first questions will be the easier ones, and the
last arranged questions are the hard ones. Organization is important for the next few steps as it is
important when developing an evaluation tool. During evaluation questions asking about similar
topics should be put in one group. Finally, the last steps involving making sure that the designed
evaluation tool is understandable by various literacy levels, pilot testing, colleague reviews and
proofreading (Perrin, 2014).
Semantic Differential Scale, Likert scale, and Thurststone are the different forms of scale
used in the evaluation process. The evaluators decide which scale is more appropriate by the
kind of information required for the evaluation. Semantic Differential scale measure the feelings
of the respondents about the topic in two different directions. Likert scale measures participant
level to like or dislike and agree or disagree. Lastly, Thurstone scale questions are aimed at
matching the respondent's attitude to one of the given options of the evaluation (Perrin, 2014).
The benefits of using the Likert scale are, the people are familiar and commonly use this
type of scale. Drawbacks of the Likert scale are that the respondents are given only two options
to choose from, so the scale cannot determine their true feelings. The benefits of Semantic
Differential scale are that they can be easily used in diverse populations, and they are cost-
efficient. Likert scale can be used when determining an attitude rating. The drawbacks of this
type of scale are that the respondents may not be well-informed about the topic in the two
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different directions; decisions may be false. The incidence when using a semantic scale is
appropriate is when trying to figure out a belief or an attitude about a particular subject (Perrin,
2014). The benefits of using the Thurstone scale are that the respondents are asked about their
attitudes on particular topics, and option statements are given for the participants to choose the
appropriate one concerning their attitude. The drawbacks of Thurstone are, evaluating and
developing them consumes a lot of time due to the aim of capturing respondents' sincere attitude.
Thurstone can appropriately be used in attitude ranking by the evaluators.
Cultural competency and inclusivity are essential in developing scales because all the
respondents feel like they participated and are encompassed in data collection. Collecting
information form people of different gender and ethnicity is important (Perrin, 2014). Evaluators
can involve inclusivity by providing more than one option for the respondents to select from to
capture their true feelings and attitude.
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References
Perrin, K. M. (2014). Essentials of Planning and Evaluation for Public Health. Sudbury: Jones
& Bartlett Learning, LLC.
