Eval Academy's Top 10 Posts and Resources of 2024
To celebrate the end of the year, we’ve highlighted Eval Academy’s top ten posts and resources from 2024.
What posts or resources would you like to see in 2025? Comment below, tweet us @EvalAcademy or connect with us on LinkedIn!
Top posts of 2024
10. How to link surveys in Qualtrics with a participant ID
This is a step-by-step guide for linking your surveys in Qualtrics with a participant ID to assess change over time. Linking surveys together means that you’re connecting the data from all your surveys in a way that lets you track an individual respondent.
9. How to write good evaluation questions
The article outlines essential considerations for writing effective evaluation questions, emphasizing the need for questions to align with the evaluation's purpose and involve stakeholder collaboration. The article provides guidance on the optimal number of questions, suggests the use of thematic clusters, and underscores the importance of language precision in crafting questions, concluding with indicators of well-crafted questions and next steps in the evaluation process.
8. What you need to know about member checking
While member checking is commonly used in qualitative research, it’s less commonly used in evaluation and we think that should change! In this article, we review what member checking is and why, when, and how you should use it.
7. Evaluation question examples by type of evaluation
This article takes a look at how using different evaluation strategies or frameworks can help you to craft perfect evaluation questions.
You might have noticed how there seem to be quite a few evaluation tools doing very similar things. It’s no surprise that these tools can sometimes be confused, and the lines can be blurred around when and how to use them. To help you on your way to deciding which tool is best suited to our evaluation, this article compare and contrasts few of our favourites.
5. Creating a qualitative codebook
A codebook for qualitative research is a stand-alone document that contains a list of themes, codes, and definitions that you are using in your qualitative analysis. This article outlines the structure of a qualitative codebook as well as steps to follow to create your own.
4. Finding the right sample size (the hard way)
For those interested in calculating sample sizes by hand, or getting a better understanding of the math behind many sample size calculators, this article outlines the formulae used to calculate sample sizes.
3. How to complete an environmental scan: avoiding the rabbit holes
This article is aimed at those who are new to environmental scanning and are looking for new ways to support program planning and improvement.
2. Everything you need to know about Likert scales
The Likert scale is one of the more commonly used rating scales in surveys. As evaluators, we should know a thing or two about it, and how to navigate some of the decisions involved in using a Likert scale. This article introduces Likert scales and how to use them.
1. Interpreting themes from qualitative data: thematic analysis
This article supports evaluators who are new to qualitative data analysis. We start by defining thematic analysis, then give you a 5-step process to complete your own analysis. We end the article by highlighting some common challenges with thematic analysis.
Top resources of 2024
Discover the Complete Reporting Bundle from Eval Academy, your all-in-one resource for reporting on your evaluation. This bundle equips you with the tools to excel in reporting including templates and tools for styling and structuring your next report. Download now and elevate your reporting to new heights!
9. Evaluation status update template
A status template to keep stakeholders informed on how the evaluation is progressing (Project Management tool).
This tip sheet lists the key elements you need to include in your outcome statement.
7. Survey questions infographic
This infographic outlines 8 types of survey questions you should avoid and explains why you should avoid them.
6. Stakeholder matrix tipsheet
This tip sheet provides basic tips for creating a stakeholder matrix to better understand who your stakeholders are and how they should be involved.
Tips on how to create a theory of change.
This Outcome Harvesting Substantiation Form streamlines the documentation of a program’s impact by capturing outcome statements and assessing observed changes. It enables you to evaluate significance, determine program contribution, and classify outcome types, facilitating informed decision-making and demonstrating program effectiveness.
3. Evaluation kick-off meeting agenda template
This customizable resource provides an agenda template for an "Evaluation Kick-off Meeting" for a program or project. The meeting aims to initiate the evaluation process and includes various activities such as introductions, identification of team members and their roles, clarification of program goals, evaluation planning, and communication strategies. The template downloads as a Word document.
2. A beginner’s guide to evaluation
This infographic is for people who are new to the field of evaluation and want to learn more about it. The purpose of the infographic is to provide newcomers with valuable resources that answer three important questions about evaluation. The infographic includes a one-page PDF with clickable links to relevant resources, making it easy for beginners to explore and learn more about evaluation.
1. Evaluation question checklist
This checklist acts as a tool to score your evaluation questions. This resource downloads as a Word document.