Evaluation describes a “systematic collection of
information about the activities, characteristics, and
outcomes of program, services, policy, or processes, in
order to make judgments about the program/process,
improve effectiveness, and/or inform decisions about
future development” (Patton, 1997, p. 23). In Sport and
Exercise Psychology, such programs/processes are often
applied to related interventions (e.g., by counseling and
coaching programs of sport psychologists in top level
sports, or for the health and exercise promotion).
Evaluation techniques are used to meet expectations
and demands associated with evidence-based practice.
Nutbeam and Bauman (2006) provide a comprehensive
overview on the different types of evaluation and
how they are applied in several domains. They suggest
that the main types of evaluation include formative,
summative, process, outcome, and impact evaluation,
each of which may be used for a different purpose.
In ‘formative evaluation,’ a program is evaluated during
development in order to make early improvements
or refinements to that program. ‘Summative evaluation’
provides information on program effectiveness and help
determine whether a particular program should be
expanded to other locations or target groups. If
researchers want to investigate inefficiencies in program
delivery or why a program has changed over
time, they may apply ‘process or implementation evaluation’
to determine whether particular program strategies
were implemented as planned. In ‘outcome or
effectiveness evaluation,’ researchers focus on changes
in outcomes, (such as behavior, attitudes, cognitions, or
practices) that the program is to address. ‘Outcome
evaluation’ is used to portray whether the program is
effective in meetings it’s objectives. Finally, ‘impact
evaluation’ is used to measure the longer-term, sustained
changes as a result of the program and is aligned
with the programs objectives. ‘Impact evaluation’ measures
both positive and negative as well as intended and
unintended changes. Evaluation techniques can use
both quantitative or qualitative data or a mixed-methods
approach.
