NDLI: Some validity concerns in nonexperimental program evaluation: a case study

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Inam, A. Caso, R.
Copyright Year	2002
Description	Author affiliation: Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX, USA (Inam, A.)
Abstract	It is acknowledged that educational research and evaluation is fraught with credibility and validity concerns, yet available research methodology literature has focused on "experimentally" designed programs although the greatest evaluation challenges are presented by non- "experimentally" designed programs that are already in place and which have been institutionalized. Acknowledging the fact that the nature of educational research is applied, heterogeneous, and multidimensional, the primary purpose of this paper is to provide a case-study insight into evaluating the longitudinal impact of a non-"experimentally" designed student cohorting strategy, which has been institutionalized in the Texas A&M University freshman-engineering program. Originally introduced as a pilot project by the Foundation Coalition Program, this strategy has grouped freshman-engineering students by enrolling them together in clusters of common, required, classes. This paper analyzes and discusses the challenges of this evaluation task: i.e., applying appropriate ex post facto strategies; controlling for non-"experimental" treatment of groups; and identifying valid success indicators. Its objective is to discuss the validity concerns encountered from an applied methodological perspective. A full presentation of the evaluated program's outcomes is not within the scope of this paper; however the evaluation study is ongoing and a number of papers addressing program outcomes are in preparation.
Sponsorship	IEEE Educ. Soc. IEEE Comput. Soc. American Soc. Eng. Educ. (Educ. Res. & Methods Div.)
File Size	490834
File Format	PDF
ISBN	0780374444
ISSN	01905848
DOI	10.1109/FIE.2002.1157991
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2002-11-06
Publisher Place	USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Computer aided software engineering Educational institutions US Department of Transportation Multidimensional systems Technological innovation Education Performance evaluation Design for experiments
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Education Computer Science Applications Software

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
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