Evaluation

Evaluation of Case study is among the series of papers that the program evaluation and methodology division issue.  Its main purpose is to evaluators with a guideline on various aspects of audit and methods of evaluation. It also helps in indicating where detailed information is available as well as illustrating applications.

When trying to analyze the content of evaluation, we can summarize the paper by answering three main questions.

The first question is, ‘What are case studies?’

Case studies are a mode of learning with a basis on a complete understanding of an instance acquired by a detailed description and analysis taken from the whole context. It means learning almost everything about the situation in question.  It also includes a demonstration of how the program operates in relation to contextual events.

The second question is, when are they used in evaluation in the most appropriate manner?

There has to be a given number of case studies that have a considerable difference in their needs and requirements. They may differ in the site and data selection, contextual analysis among others. When we place all these aspects into consideration, they cover a wider range of program evaluation although we do not cover all evaluation questions.

The last question is what differentiates a legitimate question from an illegitimate one?

The team approaches the quality in two ways one intended and prospective to the evaluation planners in order to know the least number of features required in each case. The other way is retrospective and intends to help the reviewers of each case study report so that they can assess the quality of the completed case study.

The purpose of these case study questions is to evaluate and understand the question to ask, the correct test to apply, and test a hypothesis rather than confirming them. It results in an in-depth examination of an instance. The other reason is that they emphasize in a greater detail the unique values in some complex situations.