Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) are an essential component of structured interviews. Use of BARS to evaluate interviewees' performance is associated with greater predictive validity and reliability and less bias. BARS are time-consuming and expensive to construct, however. This report explores the feasibility of gathering participants'…

Since the 1950s, the critical incident technique (CIT) has aided researchers in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of qualitative data. In the student affairs literature only a very small number of CIT studies exist. Using the two most recent publications as examples, this article provides a detailed overview of the CIT, highlights its…

In this paper, the author argues that evaluation theory and practice interact insufficiently today, even though early evaluation theorists expected them to be closely intertwined. She views this limited connection as the result of differing interests on the part of theorists and practitioners, differing frequencies of dissemination, and differing…

The purpose of this study was to assess staff and client perspectives on the Internet-based Journey Mapping program evaluation tool. A drug court program was chosen for a case study research design. Six staff and 10 clients participated in interviews and observations, and also responded to a questionnaire. A staff survey provided additional data.…

The critical incident technique is an exploratory qualitative method of research which generates a comprehensive and detailed description of a content domain. It consists of asking eyewitness observers for factual accounts of behaviors (incidents) which signficantly contribute to a specified outcome (are critical). This paper illustrates how to do…

Critical Incident Technique (CIT) involves the collection of real-world examples of behavior that characterize either very effective or very ineffective performance of some activity. The principal advantage of the CIT is that it generates data based on actual behavior rather than on a particular researcher's subjectivity. The CIT has much to offer…

Describes the human patient simulator and discusses the value of this technology for undergraduate and graduate nursing education, research, and evaluation. Highlights include an example of the use of the simulator; critical incident nursing management as a framework for instruction using the simulator; and administrative considerations. (LRW)

This document contains four papers from a symposium on evaluating the impact of human resource development (HRD). "The Politics of Program Evaluation and the Misuse of Evaluation Findings" (Hallie Preskill, Robin Lackey) discusses the status of evaluation theory, evaluation as a political activity, and the findings from a survey on the…