| In a 90 minute Roundtable session, the first
rotation uses the first 45 minutes and the second rotation uses the last 45 minutes.
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| Roundtable Rotation I:
County Level Benchmarking: Helping Local Groups to Make the Most of Public Data |
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Roundtable Presentation 644 to be held in Suwannee 18 on Friday, Nov 13, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
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Sponsored by the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG
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| Presenter(s):
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| Virginia Dick, University of Georgia, vdick@cviog.uga.edu
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| Melinda Moore, University of Georgia, moore@cviog.uga.edu
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| Abstract:
More local groups are becoming interested in utilizing public data for determining community issues and establishing and tracking community benchmarks. Public data (i.e. census data, educational data, public health data, etc.) can provide an important resource for community assessments and benchmarking. As groups address particular issues in individual counties, they often become interested in learning how to track progress. Many times these efforts do not include additional dollars to support the hiring of evaluation support and the community members are interested in learning how to utilize public data and track information on their own. With the increasing availability of data, open source software, and other resources, community groups can manage these tasks on their own with support and guidance. This roundtable will explore various sources of public data that can be accessed, methods for accessing and utilizing data, and some real life examples from communities.
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| Roundtable Rotation II:
Dealing With Existing Data: The Benefits and Pitfalls |
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Roundtable Presentation 644 to be held in Suwannee 18 on Friday, Nov 13, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
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Sponsored by the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG
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| Presenter(s):
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| Katie Daniels, Western Michigan University, knelsondaniels@gmail.com
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| Kristin Everett, Western Michigan University, kristin.everett@wmich.edu
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| Nakia James, Western Michigan University, nakia.s.james@wmich.edu
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| Abstract:
Evaluators are often faced with questioning the extent to which it is appropriate to use existing data in the context of an evaluation. This Round Table discussion will address both the advantages and disadvantages of dealing with existing data, highlighting experiences from working with actual clients. This session will address how to make choices about existing data given the following broad considerations; 1) the alignment between the purpose, objectives, and intended use for the evaluation, 2) the structure of the storage and analysis of the existing data, and 3) the ramifications and implications of instrumentation modification. A preliminary checklist evaluators can use with their clients will be shared. The check list will enable evaluators to ask the right questions in order to make good decisions that ensure valid and reliable findings and lead to the appropriate use of resources in the context of evaluation.
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