Evidence-based Evaluation

This course aims to:

• Emphasise the importance of conducting evidence-based evaluations for improving quality and value, as well as spreading innovation and good practice across health and social care.
• Guide you through the steps required to conduct or manage a successful evaluation (from initial design, planning and stakeholder engagement, through to implementation, analysis and reporting), and how to address common challenges and barriers.
• Introduce you to the main types of evaluation (outcome, process and economic).
• Provide you with a thorough grounding in the main approaches and methodologies used in the evaluation of interventions (qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods) and their limitations.
• Provide you with a thorough grounding in evidence appraisal and synthesis skills.
• Help you achieve maximum impact in disseminating evaluation findings for the benefit of service users, organisations and wider society, and in supporting others to make effective use of them.

Who is it for?

This course is designed for those working in the health or social care sector who wish to understand more about evaluation, be able to understand and interpret evaluation evidence or want to plan and lead an evaluation.

Timetable

This course starts on 22^nd January 2021 and runs for 11 weeks. Teaching is scheduled for Fridays 10-1pm and 2-3pm. Synchronous sessions will take place within these hours.

Benefits

The course provides an overview of evidence-based evaluation and guides learners though the process of planning and conducting evaluations.

Credits

This course is worth 30 credits toward eligible programmes.

On successful completion of this course, you will be expected to be able to:

Knowledge and understanding:

• Explain evidence-based practice and the importance of conducting robust evaluation and monitoring of interventions within health and social care.
• Evaluate critically the steps required to conduct and manage a successful evaluation, from initial planning and stakeholder engagement through to implementation, analysis and reporting of results.
• Explore and synthesise the core principles of evaluation, common types of evaluation and the main qualitative and quantitative approaches and methodologies used.
• Critically discuss and apply approaches to the effective dissemination of evaluation findings, and of the barriers hindering wider uptake and diffusion of evaluation research.

Skills:

• Carry out a successful and robust evaluation of health and social care interventions.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify, critically appraise and synthesise evidence and data from a range of sources, and to use it to inform evaluation design and planning.
• Identify and critically apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation methods.
• Disseminate the results of research and evaluation activities clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences, and actively contribute to building the evidence base for improvement and innovation in health and social care.

Teaching

Teaching for this course will take place online with a mix of synchronous and asynchronous sessions.

Teaching will take a variety forms, including lectures, discussion forums, group tasks and seminars. There are 40 scheduled hours of contact time for this course.

Assessment

• A 2-hour online test comprising short answers and/or multiple-choice questions to assess your knowledge across the range of topics covered in the course (40%).
• A 3,500-word evaluation plan that sets out the details of a proposed evaluation of an intervention, chosen by you. This could be an intervention with which you have been personally involved, or one which you would like to see implemented. The evaluation plan should include information about what the evaluation is trying to do and how it will be carried out (60%).

Both elements of the assessment must be passed at 50%.

Credits

This course is worth 30 credits toward eligible programmes.

Prospective students are required to have an undergraduate degree in a related discipline.

English requirements

You will need a good level of spoken and written English to enrol on this course.

The tutor will suggest material during the class.