Order Description

1. Levels of Measurement and Creating Survey Questions
After reading about levels of measurement in Chapter 4, search the Internet or the Capella University Library for examples of questions that measure each type of variable.
Complete the following in your discussion post:
? Use the construct of yearly income to write a survey question, along with the possible answers, for each type of variable level of measurement?nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.
? Clearly label which survey question is nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio.
(Chapter 4 will be emailed)

2. Reliable and Valid Program Evaluation
For this discussion, refer to your readings of Chapters 3 and 4 in Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement. Pay close attention to question 5 on page 137.
Answer the following questions in your discussion post:
a. What are the hallmarks of a reliable and valid evaluation that shows change over time?
o For example, how do you measure program effectiveness?

Question 5:
A nonprofit organization in a western state has operated a 40-hour motorcycle safety program for the past 10 years. The program permits unlicensed, novice motorcycle riders to learn skills that are believed necessary to reduce accidents involving motorcyclists. On completing the 1-week course, trainees are given a standard state driver?s test for motorcycle riders. If they pass, they are licensed to ride a motorcycle in the state. The program operates in one city and the training program graduates about 400 motorcyclists per year. The objective of the program is to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents involving motorcyclists. Because the program has been targeted in one city, the effects would tend to be focused on that community. The key question is whether this course does reduce motorcycle accidents for those who are trained. Your task is to design an evaluation that will tell us whether the training program is effective in reducing motorcycle accidents. In designing your evaluation, pay attention to the internal and construct validities of the design. What comparisons would you want to build into your design? What would you want to measure to see whether the program was effective? How would you know if the program was successful?

3. Stakeholders and Creating Buy-In for Implementation
For this discussion, refer to Chapter 9 in Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement. Using the example found in question 1 on page 366, address the following in your post:
a. Who are the stakeholders and how do you engage stakeholder buy-in?
b. What are the key challenges, in your role as a consultant, to implementation of a successful performance measurement system?

Question 1:
Assume that you are a consultant to the head of a government agency (1,000 employees) that delivers social service programs to families. The families have incomes below the poverty line, and most of them have one parent (often the mother) who is either working for relatively low wages or is on social assistance. The agency is under some pressure to develop performance measures as part of a broad government initiative to make service organizations more efficient and effective. In your role, you are expected to give advice to the department head that will guide the organization into the process of developing and implementing a performance measurement system. What advice would you give about getting the process started? What things should the department head do to increase the likelihood of success in implementing performance measures? How should he or she work with managers and staff to get them onside with this process? Try to be realistic in your advice?assume that there will not be significant new resources to develop and implement the performance measurement system.