This document first outlines considerations relative to a systems approach to evaluation, and then argues for such an approach to the evaluation of information retrieval systems (ISR). The criterion of such evaluations should be the utility of the information retrieved to the user, and the ISR ought to be regarded as one of three interrelated…

This project was an experimental effort to study, analyze, and understand interlibrary networks. The immediate purpose of the project was to develop methodologies for evaluating or analyzing networks; the ultimate purpose was to provide planning assistance to network funders, designers or operators. The project was conducted in four simultaneous…

This paper briefly explains the model used by the Eastern Regional Institute for Education in the selection and augmentation of process-promoting curricula. A schematic representation of the model provides a general view of the procedures involved and their sequence within the model. The model is then analyzed by examining each particular stage…

An air quality control scheme employing meteorological diffusion, time averaging and frequency, and cost-benefit models is discussed. The methods outlined provide a constant feedback system for air quality control. Flow charts and maps are included. (BL)

The two-phase effort at Clemson University to design a comprehensive library automation program is reported. Phase one was based on a version of IBM's business system planning methodology, and the second was based on a linear model designed to compare existing program systems to the phase one design. (MLW)

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of problem-solving groups, a study developed a model of group problem-solving behavior, and applied the resulting conceptual framework to 16 actual evaluations of quality circle programs (defined as a group of 3-15 persons from the same work area who meet for problem-solving). The model divides each of the…

TO ELIMINATE THE PROBLEMS ARISING FROM THE ACQUISITION OF INAPPROPRIATE MEDIA MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT, AN INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEMS UNIT WAS DESIGNED, TESTED AND EVALUATED AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION. THE SYSTEM, DEVISED WITH THE AID OF A REVIEW OF THE APPROPRIATE LITERATURE, CONSISTS OF FIVE PHASES--(1) IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM AND…

Institutional research is a practicing art, whose merits lie in its relevance to and influence on decision and policy making. A more positive attitude toward theory-related research would enhance its future development. (Author/MLW)

This report brings together ideas and information about evaluation that until recently were available only to academic theorists. The four substantive chapters that follow the introduction contain (1) a general review of the "state of the art" of evaluation theory and methodology, (2) an examination of an approach to evaluation that focuses on…

Needs assessment is a young and growing field. Needs assessments contribute to effective educational planning and help educators improve services to students. Needs assessment can be used to identify goals and objectives, but probably has the most utility as a problem-focusing strategy that includes the following sequence: (1) identification of…

Arranged like an encyclopedia, this book, addressed to directors and sponsors of education/training programs, as well as evaluators and those studying to become evaluators, unifies and systematizes the field of evaluation by organizing its main concepts and techniques into one volume. Researched and documented articles, contributed by recognized…

This report begins with a summary of the implications of the Systemic Evaluation project as a whole, and then provides a framework for the commonplaces of schooling, along with an extensive sampler of the ways they can be used for building an information system. The first chapter presents some common conceptions of schooling that have typically…

Discussed are the complex problems faced in the implementation of the project on research and human needs, and how systems analysis would make it possible to provide United Nations member states with information which would give them a better basis on which to decide the priorities in scientific research. (BT)