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POLICY EVALUATION TECHNIQUES - PUBLIC POLICY

POLICY EVALUATION TECHNIQUES - PUBLIC POLICY

Whatever approach adopted to confront policy evaluation, must focus on two challenges of validity. in this respect, two types of validity are examined, as identified by Robert B. Denhardt, (1999: 275), international validity and external validity.

The concern of internal validity is to find out if evaluative approach has measured the intended objectives of a given policy. It focuses on finding, if the design is consistent with the goals of the program and the needs of the sponsor.

The external validity, ask to what extent the findings nay be applicable to more general circumstances. What does the study say about similar stated policies? Can the study be replicated and expected to produce similar result? To determine these, two approaches are adopted, namely, qualitative techniques and quantitative techniques

Qualitative Techniques
This evaluative style depends on qualitative information derived from reading about the policies, interviewing the policy community, both state and non-state actors, and by getting involved in the....

 Implementation of the policy or programme. In this technique, the policy evaluator reads every thing concerning such policy, such as, the subject matter, background to such policy, agency documents, and the procedure of operations internal memoranda, news papers and magazine articles and reports of various interest groups.
In evaluating a policy, the researcher or evaluator does not need to study everywhere such policy affects, the analyst settles on a limited number of areas as the focus of the evaluation. By selecting an area, qualitative becomes exploratory as the analyst selects an area of study and applying hypothesis- guided formular.
Besides, the use of hypothesis and intensive interviews is applied in qualitative evaluation. The stills of interviewing include; detailed information gathering sessions that must reflect interviewers credentials, setting proper climate, arranging questions effectively, asking reasonable but challenging questions and keeping a good record of all that is said. The next step is the review of the interview granted, so as to conform the records and improve the notes taken.
Another alternative means of gathering qualitative information is the use of a participant observers. The participant observers are those who are actively involved in the policy process and at the same time very keen in watching actions in the organization. Such people use first-hand information to draw conclusions. Study Questions Let us note that both internal validity and external validity can be questioned using qualitative technique indispensable aspect of policy process?
Quantitative Techniques
This policy evaluation technique uses the scientific evaluation? methods characteristic of the physical sciences in red for successful appraising public policies. It adopts an experimental design which involves examination of two or more groups under a carefully controlled conditions to determine positive or negative impact. The challenge defined in this techniques is difficulty in applying it, and in evaluation of social policies. Where as it could be imagined that this technique might be used to measure policies ranging from education, immunizations to welfare policies, the difficulties can readily be observed, given the human nature and dynamics of public policies. Since this technique poses difficulty in subjecting social policies to experimental conditions, quasi-experimental design is considered as an alternative. The quasi-experimental approaches are more adoptable to social situations because they fit the situation in which policy evaluators find themselves assigned to evaluate a policy that has been long after it begun. 
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