Project:

"What does a successful evaluation project need?"

GOALS OF THE STUDY:
Goal of this study, which is a part of my PhD-work, is to identify conditions of successful evaluation projects, to have a look how the current evaluation practice looks like and to integrate everything into a theoretical evaluation approach.

From an empirical point of view three main problems have to be addressed:

• Conditions of successful evaluation projetcs should be examined within different disciplines, topics and fields.

• During an evaluation project many different people (evaluators, clients, participants, people who have to live with the results, etc.) with very different needs and expectations are involved, but all of them are important to get a successful evaluation. To know more about these differences should be very interesting.

• Furthermore, it is one goal to learn something about how the current evaluation practice looks like for these conditions.

It is the main goal of the theoretical evaluation approach to integrate the empirical knowledge as well as the different  - already known - evaluation-modells into a new one.

METHOD:
To reach the empirical goals two questionnaire studies have been carried out. At the first study (only in German language) evaluation experts in various fields have identified important conditions anonymously. At the second study (English and German) these conditions have been judged in the view of importance and current evaluation practice.

EMPIRICAL RESULTS:
The participants of the study have regularly received feedback about all important results during the study. These results, together with the questionnaires, can be downloaded below from this page (just see downloads and publications)

THEORETICAL RESULTS:
The integrative theoretical evaluation approach is one main result of my thesis (in German; just see publications).

2003 - 2005

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Material (downloads in second column)

Results of the first, German-language study (downloads in second column)

Results of the second, German-language study (downloads in second column)

Results of the second, English-language study (downloads in second column)

• Evaluation Portal with useful information I have learned about during this study

Sometimes with pdf-download () and further information ()

Balzer, L. (2006). "Wie werden Evaluationsprojekte erfolgreich?" - Ergebnisse einer Delphistudie. In W. Böttcher, H. G. Holtappels & M. Brohm (Hrsg.), Evaluation im Bildungswesen - Eine Einführung in Grundlagen und Praxisbeispiele (S.123-135). Weinheim: Juventa.
Balzer, L. (2006). Bedingungen erfolgreicher Evaluationen im Gesundheitswesen - Ergebnisse einer Delphi-Befragung. In R. Loidl-Keil & W. Laskowski (Hrsg.), Evaluationen im Gesundheitswesen: Konzepte, Beispiele, Erfahrungen (S.25-47). München: Rainer Hampp Verlag.
Dissertationsschrift: Balzer, L. (2005). Wie werden Evaluationsprojekte erfolgreich? - Ein integrierender theoretischer Ansatz und eine empirische Studie zum Evaluationsprozess. Landau: Verlag Empirische Pädagogik.
Balzer, L. (2004). What does a successful evaluation project need?. Paper presented at the 6th conference of the European Evaluation Society (EES), 30.09.2004, Berlin/Germany.
Balzer, L. (2004). "Wie werden Evaluationsprojekte erfolgreich?" - Erste Ergebnisse einer Delphi-Studie. In M. Wosnitza, A. Frey & R. S. Jäger (Hrsg.), Lernprozess, Lernumgebung und Lerndiagnostik - Wissenschaftliche Beiträge zum Lernen im 21. Jahrhundert (S.392-412). Landau: Verlag Empirische Pädagogik.