Discussion 14 | CRJ 697 Capstone: Evaluation & Program Analysis in Criminal Justice | Ashford University

Define the Concept and Create Measures

In this assignment you will design, describe, and justify the method you will use in your Final Paper to generate and collect data in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy or program you intend to evaluate. For guidance on the selection of the most logical, effective, and robust methodology, first look to the Rossi, Lipsey, and Freeman (2004) text or the Lipsey, Petrie, Weisburd, and Gottfredson (2006) article for the fundamental explanations and uses of various methodologies. Then, utilize your research skills to locate additional appropriate scholarly sources that focus on criminal justice or related topics to develop a workable, logical methodology. The methodology should be suitable for inclusion in presentation designed for a criminal justice professional setting. To streamline the process, you can simply peruse the articles posted in the Required Resources and Recommended Resources sections throughout the course in order to obtain a more pragmatic, or practical, approach to the uses of scientific methodologies in the world of evaluation. This assignment can later serve as the methodology section in your Final Paper if you so choose, so make certain to include any term that will be included in the evaluation. For additional guidance on determining evaluability, look to your Rossi, Lipsey, and Freeman (2004) text.

In your paper,

• Define the terms that will be used in your Final Paper. (For example, if you plan to evaluate whether a given police department policy reduces crime, you must define what you mean by the term crime.)
• Operationalize your concepts and terms that will ultimately be used in your Final Paper.
• Describe what you will evaluate in your Final Paper.
• Describe how you will determine the evaluability and measure the effectiveness of the policy or program you are evaluating.
• Address the impact of any political or ethical issues that might be associated with your measures.

The “Define the Concept and Create Measure” assignment

• Must be 750 to 1250 words in length (not including title and reference pages), double-spaced, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center Links to an external site..
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.
• Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.

Required Resources

Text

Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2004). Evaluation: A systemic approach (7th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.uagc.edu

• Chapter 5: Expressing and Assessing Program Theory
• Chapter 6: Assessing and Monitoring Program Process

Article

Lipsey, M., Petrie, C., Weisburd, D., & Gottfredson, D. (2006). Improving evaluation of anti-crime programs: Summary of a National Research Council report Links to an external site.. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2(3), 271-307. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11292-006-9009-6

• The full-text version of this article can be accessed through the ProQuest database in the University of Arizona Global Campus Library. This article, a summary of a National Research Council workshop, presents the findings of participant discussion of projects that represented the challenges and methods associated with evaluation research. The article, in conjunction with your text, should provide concrete examples of various research methods and practices to assist in the development of your Final Paperl. This article will assist you in the completion of this week’s assignment and discussion response.