The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume X, Number 3, Fall 2004
Issue Topic: Harnessing Technology for Evaluation
New & Noteworthy
This section features an annotated list of papers, organizations, initiatives, and other resources related to the issue's theme.
Barnard, R., Campbell, D. A., & Smith, S. (with Embuldeniya, D.). (2003). Citizen re:generation: Understanding active citizen engagement among Canada's information age generations. Toronto, Canada: D-Code. This study explores the interconnectedness of the ways young people engage with civil society and offers suggestions for those seeking to communicate with and involve young people in civic participation. www.d-code.com/pdfs/Citizencasestudies.pdf
Computerized Neighborhood Environment Tracking (ComNET) introduces handheld computers to community organizations to facilitate trained observer ratings. This methodology is being used in numerous cities across the United States. www.fcny.org/cmgp/comnet.htm
Education Week. (2004). Technology counts 2004: Global links: Lessons from the world. Bethesda, MD: Editorial Projects in Education. Education Week's seventh annual report on school technology presents an overview of technology in schools around the world. It also includes a review of national trends in the use of educational technology and state-by-state snapshots of the steps states have taken to use educational technology more effectively.
Ess, C., & Association of Internet Researchers. (2002). Ethical decision-making and Internet research: Recommendations from the AOIR ethics working committee. Association of Internet Researchers. This document offers a series of recommendations designed to support and inform those responsible for making decisions about the ethics of Internet research. aoir.org/reports/ethics.pdf
Haythornthwaite, C. (2004). Introduction: The Internet in everyday life. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(3), 363–382. This special issue of American Behavioral Scientist focuses on the impact of the Internet on access to resources, social interaction, and commitment to local community. The issue's introduction summarizes the results of studies and other data to examine and define the various ways the Internet affects everyday life.
Hoffman, J., & Clark, K. (2003). After school physical activity program evaluation report. Solana Beach, CA: Hoffman, Clark & Associates. This report summarizes the results of a comprehensive evaluation of the development of a website to provide after school staff with resources and training to increase the quality and quantity of physical activity in after school.
The Internet and Higher Education is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal devoted to addressing developments related to learning, teaching, and administration on the Internet in postsecondary settings. www.elsevier.com/locate/iheduc
Johns, M. D., Chen, S. -L. S., & Hall, G. J. (Eds.). (2004). Online social research: Methods, issues, and ethics. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. This collection of essays by online researchers provides illustrations of how traditional research methods can be modified for effective online research. Authors also identify and discuss critical issues and dilemmas encountered in online research.
The Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation is a new, free online journal that aims to communicate current developments in evaluation to a diverse readership of evaluators, evaluation users, and would-be evaluators. evaluation.wmich.edu/jmde
Kosma, R., McGhee, R., Quellmalz, E., & Zalles, D. (2004). Closing the digital divide: Evaluation of the World Links program. International Journal of Educational Development, 24, 361–381. This article presents evaluation findings on the World Links program, an effort to provide schools in developing countries with networked computers and training to support the integration of technology into teaching.
Love, A. J. (2001). The future of evaluation: Catching rocks with cauldrons. American Journal of Evaluation, 22(3), 437–444. This article provides an overview of the profound ways in which developments in technology will affect the evaluation field.
Luckey, A. (2003). From improving IT infrastructures to achieving social good: Outcomes of nonprofit technology assistance providers (NTAPs). Seattle, WA: Blueprint Research and Design. This paper draws from the work Blueprint has done over the past 3 years with NTAPs and their funders to raise key issues regarding evaluation of IT assistance to nonprofits. www.blueprintrd.com/pubs.htm
McDonald, H., & Adam, S. (2003). A comparison of online and postal data collection methods in marketing research. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 21(2), 85–96. This paper reports on a study which directly compares online and postal data collection methods using the same survey instrument on two samples drawn from the same population of football club subscribers.
MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership's After-School Program Clearinghouse offers after school program coordinators a wide array of online resources to help them connect young people with existing mentoring opportunities, as well as develop new ones. www.mentoring.org/afterschool
Montgomery, K., Gottlieb-Robles, B., & Larson, G. O. (2004). Youth as e-citizens: Engaging the digital generation. Washington, DC: Center for Social Media. This report argues that an online youth civic culture has taken root on the Internet and is fostering participation in U.S. politics and community among those in “Generation Y”—those born after 1979. www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/youthreport.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). The status of public and private school library media centers in the United States: 1999–2000. Washington, DC: Author. This report summarizes findings from the public and private School Library Media Center Questionnaires, a component of the 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey. Topics addressed include library media center characteristics, staff characteristics, library expenditures, collection holdings, and library policies. nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004313
The National Science Foundation's Online Evaluation Resource Library was developed for professionals seeking to design, conduct, document, or review project evaluations. oerl.sri.com
Plant, R. (2004). Online communities. Technology in Society, 26(1). This article examines the concept and practice of online communities, first establishing their historical and technological roots, then developing a three-dimensional taxonomy through which they can be examined.
Rouse, C. E., & Kreuger, A. B. (2004). Putting computerized instruction to the test: A randomized evaluation of a “scientifically based” reading program. Economics of Education Review, 23, 323–338. This article presents results from an evaluation of Fast ForWord, an instructional computer program designed to improve language and reading skills. The randomized study assessed the program's impact on students having difficulty learning to read. www.sciencedirect.com
The School Information Partnership hosts a website, School results.org, which displays data for schools, districts, and states required to be publicly reported under the No Child Left Behind Act. The goal is to empower parents, educators, and policymakers to use the Act to make meaningful improvements in schools. www.schoolresults.org
Segone, M., Patel, M., Rouge, J. C., & Russon, C. (2003). Facilitating sustainable monitoring and evaluation capacity development. Brasilia: Brazilian Evaluation Network. This paper aims to examine the rapid, multinational process of strengthening monitoring and evaluation capacities that has been occurring over the last several years. A large part of the analysis is based on the experiences of the African Evaluation Association, and the National Associations and Networks in Africa. www.avaliabrasil.org.br/FirstpageRebramaEnglish.html
Strack, R. W., Magill, C., & McDonagh, K. (2004). Engaging youth through photovoice. Health Promotion Practice, 5(1). This article describes the use of the photovoice method in an after school program. The photovoice method is a process that uses photos taken by people with little money, power, or status, to enhance community-needs assessments, empower participants, and induce change.
Strickland, O. L., Moloney, M. F., Dietrich, A. S., Myerburg, S., Cotsonis, G. A., & Johnson, R. V. (2003). Measurement issues related to data collection on the World Wide Web. Advances in Nursing Science, 26(4), 246–256. Using examples from the nursing field, this article identifies measurement issues related to Internet data collection that are relevant to qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
TechSoup, a one-stop resource for technology needs, provides free information, resources, and support. www.techsoup.org
University of Pittsburg, Office of Child Development. (2004). Internet-based solution to measuring outcomes is catching on. Developments, 18(1), 9–10. This article explores the use of Evaluation Station, an Internet-based tool developed for family service providers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to measure the impact of services on the lives of troubled children and their families. www.education.pitt.edu/ocd/publications/dev2004-03.pdf
Using new technologies, the Carnegie Foundation's Knowledge Media Laboratory develops tools and resources to exchange information and produce innovations that can transform teaching and learning at many levels. www.carnegiefoundation.org/kml
The William T. Grant Foundation's Consultation on Design of Group-Randomized Studies is a newly established consulting service created to assist in the design and analysis of group-randomized trials. sitemaker.umich.edu/group-based/consultation_service
An expanded version of New & Noteworthy is also available.
New Resources From HFRPWe have recently published three new research briefs in our Issues and Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Evaluation series:
We have also published a new Snapshot in our Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshots series. Detangling Data Collection: Methods for Gathering Data describes the common data collection methods used by current OST programs to evaluate their implementation and outcomes. Both of these series of publications will be continued through 2006. To be notified when new briefs and Snapshots are available, sign up for our out-of-school time updates email. The Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE) has added two new research digests and a new bibliography to the FINE website:
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Erin Harris, Research Assistant, HFRP