Realist methodologies have been increasingly advocated for the investigation of complex social issues. Public health programs, such as those designed to prevent adolescent risk behavior, are typically considered complex. In conducting a realist review of the empirical literature relating to such programs, we encountered several challenges,…

Using clickers to gauge student understanding in large classrooms is well documented. Less well known is the effectiveness of using clickers with youth for test taking in large-scale Extension programs. This article describes the benefits and challenges of collecting evaluation data using clickers with a third-grade population participating in a…

In the domain of school-based tobacco control, there is a large gap between the research being performed and the type of research needed to inform school-based prevention activities. The tobacco module of the school health action planning and evaluation system is a data collection and feedback system designed to support school-based tobacco…

The authors reviewed the acculturation literature with the goal of identifying measures used to assess acculturation in Hispanic populations in the context of studies of health knowledge, attitudes, and behavior change. Twenty-six acculturation measures were identified and summarized. As the Hispanic population continues to grow in the United…

Assessments of studies meant to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, programs, and policies can serve an important role in the interpretation of research results. However, evidence suggests that available quality assessment tools have poor measurement characteristics and can lead to opposing conclusions when applied to the same body of…

How can indigenous evaluators implement culturally competent models in First Nations communities while ensuring that government grant evaluation requirements are met? Through describing the challenges in one tribal community in the United States, this article will discuss how American Indian/Alaska Native substance abuse prevention programs are…

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has the potential to significantly advance the quality of psychological and educational services provided by psychologists working in schools. Training psychologists in EBP has challenged the profession and caused faculty in graduate programs to reevaluate and retool professional training curricula and…

The general objective of the study was to provide useful information regarding the effectiveness of various components of the HCHT program. GRC field teams spent two weeks (a full training cycle) at each of the two centers, observing the training processes. Pre-training and post-training questionnaires were administered to trainees at each center.…

Despite a growing literature on evaluation methods suitable for applied settings, few investigators address the separation of service and research. This article recognizes obstacles to field studies. The authors specify practical strategies for entering service environments and for designing, implementing, and measuring an experimental…

Outcomes evaluation of community partnerships to prevent substance abuse poses many methodological challenges. The nine articles of this special section illustrate the variety of approaches evaluators have taken to studies that are often complicated because of small sample size. (SLD)

Notes inconsistencies in drug abuse prevention research findings related to such issues as study design and methodology. Presents consensus recommendations made by drug abuse prevention researchers and practitioners who met at National Institute on Drug Abuse in 1989. Includes specific recommendations directed to modifying prevention approaches;…

This article briefly reviews key issues in adolescent suicide risk assessment and proposes that assessing risk and protective factors in combination has the best probability of informing the field's understanding of this complex problem. Several newer measures are described along with summaries of their psychometric properties. A recommended…

This theme issue discusses the misuse of evaluation. The eight articles all discuss instances in which the evaluation process or evaluation findings were misused. Misuse is usually not the result of methodological issues but rather is an issue of human relations and sometimes of political pressure. (SLD)

This article details the research methods and measurements used in conducting a population-based, case-control study of nearly lethal suicide attempts among persons aged 13-34 years. This study was designed to extend understanding of suicidal behavior and prevention activities beyond identification of mental illnesses. Overall strengths and…

Documenting treatment integrity is an important issue in research and practice in any discipline concerned with prevention and intervention. However, consensus concerning the dimensions of treatment integrity and how they should be measured has yet to emerge. Advances from three areas in which significant treatment integrity work has taken…