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9781604563979

Congress and Program Evaluation : An Overview of Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) and Related Issues

by ; ;
  • ISBN13:

    9781604563979

  • ISBN10:

    1604563974

  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2009-01-30
  • Publisher: Nova Science Pub Inc
  • Purchase Benefits
List Price: $57.00

Summary

Program evaluations can play an important role in public policy debates and in oversight of government programs, potentially affecting decisions about program design, operation, and funding. One technique that has received significant recent attention is the randomised controlled trial (RCT). There are also many other types of evaluation, including the observational and qualitative designs.

Table of Contents

Introductionp. 1
Congress, Program Evaluation, and Policy Makingp. 5
Program Evaluation and Informed Policy Makingp. 7
Types of Program Evaluationp. 9
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)p. 11
Many Other Methodsp. 13
Possible Congressional Roles Concerning Program Evaluationp. 15
Making Program Evaluation Policyp. 17
Scrutinizing and Learning from Program Evaluationsp. 19
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)p. 21
Internal Validityp. 23
External Validityp. 25
Construct Validityp. 27
Evaluation Qualityp. 29
Practical Capabilities and Limitations of RCTsp. 31
RCT Capabilitiesp. 33
RCT Limitationsp. 35
RCTs in Context: Program Evaluation and Systematic Reviewp. 37
Study Quality: A Hierarchy of Evidence?p. 39
Systematic Review in Health Carep. 41
Systematic Review in Social Science-Related Areasp. 43
Recent Attention to Using RCTs in Program Evaluationp. 45
Controversy in Education Policy: A Priority for RCTs?p. 47
Authority Cited for the ED Priority: NCLB and "Scientifically Based Research"p. 49
Reactions to the Priorityp. 51
Implications and Related Developmentsp. 53
Assessing Programs in the Budget Process: The PARTp. 57
Use of the PARTp. 59
RCTs and the PARTp. 61
Judging "Success"p. 65
Potential Issues for Congressp. 69
Issues When Directing or Scrutinizing RCTsp. 71
Considering Study Parametersp. 73
Scrutinizing, or Prospectively Assessing, Studies' Internal and External Validityp. 77
Issues When Directing or Scrutinizing Program Evaluationsp. 81
What Types of Evaluations Are Necessary?p. 83
What Definitions and Assumptions Are Being Used?p. 85
How Should Congress Use Evaluation Informationp. 87
How Much Confidence Should One Have in a Study in Order to Inform One's Thinking and Decisionsp. 89
Do Agencies Have Capacity and Independence to Properly Conduct, Interpret, and Objectively Present Program Evaluations?p. 91
Glossary of Selected Terms and Conceptsp. 93
Referencesp. 101
Indexp. 123
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

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