DESIGNING 

EVALUATIONS

2012 Revision

Applied Research and Methods

January 2012

GAO-12-208G

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO
Page i GAO-12-208G 

Preface 1 

Chapter 1 The Importance of Evaluation Design 3

What Is a Program Evaluation? 3

Why Conduct an Evaluation? 4

Who Conducts Evaluations? 5

Why Spend Time on Design? 6

Five Key Steps to an Evaluation Design 7

For More Information 8

Chapter 2 Defining the Evaluation’s Scope 10

Clarify the Program’s Goals and Strategy 10

Develop Relevant and Useful Evaluation Questions 12

For More Information 16

Chapter 3 The Process of Selecting an Evaluation Design 18

Key Components of an Evaluation Design 18

An Iterative Process 20

Criteria for a Good Design 28

For More Information 29

Chapter 4 Designs for Assessing Program Implementation and Effectiveness 31

Typical Designs for Implementation Evaluations 31

Typical Designs for Outcome Evaluations 34

Typical Designs for Drawing Causal Inferences about Program 

Impacts 39

Designs for Different Types of Programs 46

For More Information 48

Chapter 5 Approaches to Selected Methodological Challenges 50

Outcomes That Are Difficult to Measure 50

Complex Federal Programs and Initiatives 55

For More Information 61

Appendix I Evaluation Standards 64

“Yellow Book” of Government Auditing Standards 64

GAO’s Evaluation Synthesis 64

American Evaluation Association Guiding Principles for Evaluators 65

Contents
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Program Evaluation Standards, Joint Committee on Standards for

Educational Evaluation 65

Appendix II GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 66

Other Papers in This Series 67

Tables

Table 1: Common Evaluation Questions Asked at Different Stages 

of Program Development 15

Table 2: Common Designs for Implementation (or Process) 

Evaluations 32

Table 3: Common Designs for Outcome Evaluations 36

Table 4: Common Designs for Drawing Causal Inferences about 

Program Impacts 40

Table 5: Designs for Assessing Effectiveness of Different Types of 

Programs 47

Figures

Figure 1: Sample Program Logic Model 11

Figure 2: Questions Guiding the Selection of Design Components 20
Page iii GAO-12-208G 

Abbreviations

AEA American Evaluation Association

GAGAS generally accepted government auditing standards

GPRA Government Performance and Results Act of 1993

NSF National Science Foundation

OMB Office of Management and Budget

SAMHSA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

 Administration

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Preface

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GAO assists congressional decision makers in their deliberations by 

furnishing them with analytical information on issues and options. Many 

diverse methodologies are needed to develop sound and timely answers 

to the questions the Congress asks. To provide GAO evaluators with 

basic information about the more commonly used methodologies, GAO’s 

policy guidance includes documents such as methodology transfer 

papers and technical guides.

This methodology transfer paper addresses the logic of program 

evaluation designs. It introduces key issues in planning evaluation studies 

of federal programs to best meet decision makers’ needs while 

accounting for the constraints evaluators face. It describes different types 

of evaluations for answering varied questions about program 

performance, the process of designing evaluation studies, and key issues 

to consider toward ensuring overall study quality.

To improve federal program effectiveness, accountability and service 

delivery, the Congress enacted the Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), establishing a statutory framework for 

performance management and accountability, including the requirement 

that federal agencies set goals and report annually on progress towards 

those goals and program evaluation findings. In response to this and 

related management reforms, federal agencies have increased their 

attention to conducting program evaluations. The GPRA Modernization 

Act of 2010 raised the visibility of performance information by requiring 

quarterly reviews of progress towards agency and governmentwide 

priority goals. Designing Evaluations is a guide to successfully completing 

evaluation design tasks. It should help GAO evaluators—and others 

interested in assessing federal programs and policies—plan useful 

evaluations and become educated consumers of evaluations.

Designing Evaluations is one of a series of papers whose purpose is to 

provide guides to various aspects of audit and evaluation methodology 

and indicate where more detailed information is available. It is based on 

GAO studies and policy documents and program evaluation literature. To 

ensure the guide’s competence and usefulness, drafts were reviewed by 

selected GAO, federal and state agency evaluators, and evaluation 

authors and practitioners from professional consulting firms. This paper 

updates a 1991 version issued by GAO’s prior Program Evaluation and 

Methodology Division. It supersedes that earlier version and incorporates 

changes in federal program evaluation and performance measurement 

since GPRA was implemented.

Preface

Designing Evaluations
Preface

Page 2 GAO-12-208G

We welcome your comments on this paper. Please address them to me 

at kingsburyn@gao.gov. 

Nancy R. Kingsbury, Ph.D. 

Managing Director

Applied Research and Methods
Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

Page 3 GAO-12-208G 

A program evaluation is a systematic study using research methods to 

collect and analyze data to assess how well a program is working and 

why. Evaluations answer specific questions about program performance 

and may focus on assessing program operations or results. Evaluation 

results may be used to assess a program’s effectiveness, identify how to 

improve performance, or guide resource allocation.

There is no standard government definition of “program.” A program can 

be defined in various ways for budgeting and policy-making purposes. 

Whether a program is defined as an activity, project, function, or policy, it 

must have an identifiable purpose or set of objectives if an evaluator is to 

assess how well the purpose or objectives are met. Evaluations may also 

assess whether a program had unintended (perhaps undesirable) 

outcomes. An evaluation can assess an entire program or focus on an 

initiative within a program. Although evaluation of a federal program 

typically examines a broader range of activities than a single project, 

agencies may evaluate individual projects to seek to identify effective 

practices or interventions. 

Program evaluation is closely related to performance measurement and 

reporting. Performance measurement is the systematic ongoing 

monitoring and reporting of program accomplishments, particularly 

progress toward preestablished goals or standards. Performance 

measures or indicators may address program staffing and resources (or 

inputs), the type or level of program activities conducted (or process), the 

direct products or services delivered by a program (or outputs), or the 

results of those products and services (or outcomes) (GAO 2011).

A program evaluation analyzes performance measures to assess the 

achievement of performance objectives but typically examines those 

achievements in the context of other aspects of program performance or 

in the context in which the program operates. Program evaluations may 

analyze relationships between program settings and services to learn 

how to improve program performance or to ascertain whether program 

activities have resulted in the desired benefits for program participants or 

the general public. Some evaluations attempt to isolate the causal 

impacts of programs from other influences on outcomes, whereas 

performance measurement typically does not. Evaluations have been 

used to supplement performance reporting by measuring results that are 

too difficult or expensive to assess annually or by exploring why 

performance goals were not met. (For examples, see GAO 2000.)

Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

What Is a Program 

Evaluation? 
Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

Page 4 GAO-12-208G 

Federal program evaluation studies are typically requested or initiated to 

provide external accountability for the use of public resources (for 

example, to determine the “value added” by the expenditure of those 

resources) or to learn how to improve performance—or both. Evaluation 

can play a key role in strategic planning and in program management, 

providing feedback on both program design and execution.

Evaluations can be designed to answer a range of questions about 

programs to assist decision-making by program managers and 

policymakers. GAO evaluations are typically requested by congressional 

committees to support their oversight of executive branch activities. A 

committee might want to know whether agency managers are targeting 

program funds to areas of greatest need or whether the program as 

designed is, indeed, effective in resolving a problem or filling a need. The 

Congress might use this information to reallocate resources for a more 

effective use of funds or to revise the program’s design.

The Congress also directly requests agencies to report on program 

activities and results. For example, legislative changes to a program 

might be accompanied by a mandate that the agency report by a specific 

date in the future on the effectiveness of those changes. Agencies may

choose to design an evaluation to collect new data if they are unable to 

satisfy the request from available administrative data or performance 

reporting systems. They may also evaluate pilot or demonstration projects 

to inform the design of a new program.

GPRA performance reporting requirements were designed to provide 

both congressional and executive decision makers with more objective 

information on the relative effectiveness and efficiency of federal 

programs and spending. However, due to the influence of other factors, 

measures of program outcomes alone may provide limited information on 

a program’s effectiveness. GPRA encourages federal agencies to 

conduct evaluations by requiring agencies to (1) include a schedule of 

future program evaluations in their strategic plans, (2) summarize their 

evaluations’ findings when reporting annually on the achievement of their 

performance goals, and (3) explain why a goal was not met. Federal 

agencies have initiated evaluation studies to complement performance 

measures by (1) assessing outcomes that are not available on a routine 

or timely basis, (2) explaining the reasons for observed performance, or 

(3) isolating the program’s impact or contribution to its outcome goals 

(GAO 2000).

Why Conduct an 

Evaluation? 
Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

Page 5 GAO-12-208G 

Since 2002, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 

administrations of both Presidents Bush and Obama has set the 

expectation that agencies should conduct program evaluations. Initial 

OMB efforts to use agency performance reporting in decision making 

were frustrated by the limited quantity and quality of information on results

(GAO 2005). Although federal program performance reporting improved, 

in 2009 OMB initiated a plan to strengthen federal program evaluation, 

noting that many important programs lacked evaluations and some 

evaluations had not informed decision making (OMB 2009).

A federal program office or an agency research, policy or evaluation office 

may conduct studies internally, or they may be conducted externally by 

an independent consulting firm, research institute, or independent 

oversight agency such as GAO or an agency’s Inspector General. The 

choice may be based on where expertise and resources are available or 

on how important the evaluator’s independence from program 

management is to the credibility of the report. The choice may also 

depend on how important the evaluator’s understanding of the program is 

to the agency’s willingness to accept and act on the evaluation’s findings.

For example, evaluations aimed at identifying program improvement may 

be conducted by a program office or an agency unit that specializes in 

program analysis and evaluation. Professional evaluators typically have 

advanced training in a variety of social science research methods. 

Depending on the nature of the program and the evaluation questions, 

the evaluation team might also require members with specialized subject 

area expertise, such as labor economics. If agency staff do not have 

specialized expertise or if the evaluation requires labor-intensive data 

collection, the agency might contract with an independent consultant or 

firm to obtain the required resources. (For more information, see U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services 2010.)

In contrast, evaluations conducted to provide an independent assessment 

of a program’s strengths and weaknesses should be conducted by a team 

independent of program management. Evaluations purchased by 

agencies from professional evaluation firms can often be considered 

independent. Conditions for establishing an evaluator’s independence

include having control over the scope, methods, and criteria of the review;

full access to agency data; and control over the findings, conclusions, and 

recommendations.

Who Conducts 

Evaluations? 
Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

Page 6 GAO-12-208G 

Evaluators have two basic reasons for taking the time to systematically 

plan an evaluation: (1) to enhance its quality, credibility, and usefulness 

and (2) to use their time and resources effectively.

A systematic approach to designing evaluations takes into account the 

questions guiding the study, the constraints evaluators face in studying 

the program, and the information needs of the intended users. After 

exploring program and data issues, the initial evaluation question may 

need to be revised to ensure it is both appropriate and feasible. Since the 

rise in agency performance reporting, an enormous amount of program 

information is available and there are myriad ways to analyze it. By 

selecting the most appropriate measures carefully and giving attention to 

the most accurate and reliable ways to collect data on them, evaluators 

ensure the relevance of the analysis and blunt potential criticisms in 

advance. Choosing well-regarded criteria against which to make 

comparisons can lead to strong, defensible conclusions. Carefully 

thinking through data and analysis choices in advance can enhance the 

quality, credibility, and usefulness of an evaluation by increasing the 

strength and specificity of the findings and recommendations. Focusing 

the evaluation design on answering the questions being asked also will 

likely improve the usefulness of the product to the intended users. 

Giving careful attention to evaluation design choices also saves time and 

resources. Collecting data through interviews, observation, or analysis of 

records, and ensuring the quality of those data, can be costly and time 

consuming for the evaluator as well as those subject to the evaluation. 

Evaluators should aim to select the least burdensome way to obtain the 

information necessary to address the evaluation question. When initiated 

to inform decisions, an evaluation’s timeliness is especially important to 

its usefulness. Evaluation design also involves considering whether a 

credible evaluation can be conducted in the time and resources available 

and, if not, what alternative information could be provided. 

Developing a written evaluation design helps evaluators agree on and 

communicate a clear plan of action to the project team and its advisers, 

requestors, and other stakeholders, and it guides and coordinates the 

project team’s activities as the evaluation proceeds. In addition, a written 

plan justifying design decisions facilitates documentation of decisions and 

procedures in the final report.

Why Spend Time on 

Design? 
Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

Page 7 GAO-12-208G 

Evaluations are studies tailored to answer specific questions about how 

well (or whether) a program is working. To ensure that the resulting 

information and analyses meet decision maker’s needs, it is particularly 

useful to isolate the tasks and choices involved in putting together a good 

evaluation design. We propose that the following five steps be completed 

before significant data are collected. These steps give structure to the 

rest of this publication:

1. Clarify understanding of the program’s goals and strategy.

2. Develop relevant and useful evaluation questions.

3. Select an appropriate evaluation approach or design for each 

evaluation question.

4. Identify data sources and collection procedures to obtain relevant, 

credible information.

5. Develop plans to analyze the data in ways that allow valid conclusions 

to be drawn from the evaluation questions.

The chapters in this paper discuss the iterative process of identifying 

questions important to program stakeholders and exploring data options

(chapters 2 and 3) and the variety of research designs and approaches 

that the evaluator can choose to yield credible, timely answers within 

resource constraints (chapters 4 and 5). Completing an evaluation will, of 

course, entail careful data collection and analysis, drawing conclusions 

against the evaluation criteria selected, and reporting the findings, 

conclusions, and recommendations, if any. Numerous textbooks on 

research methods are adequate guides to ensuring valid and reliable data 

collection and analysis (for example, Rossi et al. 2004, Wholey et al. 

2010). GAO analysts are also urged to consult their design and 

methodology specialists as well as the technical guides available on 

GAO’s Intranet.

How evaluation results are communicated can dramatically affect how 

they are used. Generally, evaluators should discuss preferred reporting 

options with the evaluation’s requesters to ensure that their expectations 

are met and prepare a variety of reporting formats (for example, 

publications and briefings) to meet the needs of the varied audiences that 

are expected to be interested in the evaluation’s results.

Five Key Steps to an 

Evaluation Design
Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

Page 8 GAO-12-208G 

GAO. 2011. Performance Measurement and Evaluation: Definitions and 

Relationships, GAO-11-646SP. Washington, D.C. May. 

GAO. 1998. Program Evaluation: Agencies Challenged by New Demand 

for Information on Program Results, GAO/GGD-98-53. Washington, D.C.

Apr. 24. 

GAO. 2005. Program Evaluation: OMB’s PART Reviews Increased 

Agencies’ Attention to Improving Evidence of Program Results,

GAO-06-67. Washington, D.C. Oct. 28. 

GAO. 2000. Program Evaluation: Studies Helped Agencies Measure or 

Explain Program Performance, GAO/GGD-00-204. Washington, D.C.

Sept. 29. 

American Evaluation Association. 2010. An Evaluation Roadmap for a 

More Effective Government. www.eval.org/EPTF.asp 

Bernholz, Eric, and others. 2006. Evaluation Dialogue Between OMB 

Staff and Federal Evaluators: Digging a Bit Deeper into Evaluation 

Science. Washington, D.C. July. 

http://www.fedeval.net/docs/omb2006briefing.pdf

OMB (U. S. Office of Management and Budget). 2009. Increased 

Emphasis on Program Evaluations, M-10-01, Memorandum for the Heads 

of Executive Departments and Agencies. Washington, D.C.The White 

House, Oct. 7.

Rossi, Peter H., Mark W. Lipsey, and Howard E. Freeman. 2004. 

Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, 7th ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for 

Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. 

2010. The Program Manager’s Guide to Evaluation, 2nd ed. Washington, 

D.C. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/other_resrch/pm_guide_eval/

For More Information

GAO documents

Other resources
Chapter 1: The Importance of Evaluation 

Design

Page 9 GAO-12-208G 

Wholey, Joseph S., Harry P. Hatry, and Kathryn E. Newcomer. 2010. 

Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, 3rd ed. San Francisco, Calif.: 

Jossey-Bass. 
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 10 GAO-12-208G 

Because an evaluation can take any number of directions, the first steps 

in its design aim to define its purpose and scope—to establish what 

questions it will and will not address. The evaluation’s scope is tied to its 

research questions and defines the subject matter it will assess, such as 

a program or aspect of a program, and the time periods and locations that 

will be included. To ensure the evaluation’s credibility and relevance to its 

intended users, the evaluator must develop a clear understanding of the 

program’s purpose and goals and develop researchable evaluation 

questions that are feasible, appropriate to the program and that address 

the intended users’ needs.

For some but not all federal programs, the authorizing legislation and 

implementing regulations outline the program’s purpose, scope, and 

objectives; the need it was intended to address; and who it is intended to 

benefit. The evaluator should review the policy literature and consult 

agency officials and other stakeholders to learn how they perceive the 

program’s purpose and goals, the activities and organizations involved, 

and the changes in scope or goals that may have occurred.1

Evaluators use program logic models—flow diagrams that describe a 

program’s components and desired results—to explain the strategy—or 

logic—by which the program is expected to achieve its goals. By 

specifying a theory of program expectations at each step, a logic model or 

other representation can help evaluators articulate the assumptions and 

expectations of program managers and stakeholders. In turn, by 

specifying expectations, a model can help evaluators define measures of 

the program’s performance and progress toward its ultimate goals. (For 

examples, see GAO 2002.)

It is also 

important to identify the program’s stage of maturity. Is the program still 

under development, adapting to conditions on the ground, or is it a 

complete system of activities purposefully directed at achieving agreed-on 

goals and objectives? A program’s maturity affects the evaluator’s ability 

to describe its strategy and anticipate likely evaluation questions.

At a minimum, a program logic model should outline the program’s inputs, 

activities or processes, outputs, and both short-term and long-term 

 

1

Program stakeholders are those individuals or groups with a significant interest in how 

well the program functions, for example, decision makers, funders, administrators and 

staff, and clients or intended beneficiaries. 

Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Clarify the Program’s 

Goals and Strategy
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 11 GAO-12-208G 

outcomes—that is, the ultimate social, environmental, or other benefits

envisioned. Including short-term and intermediate outcomes helps identify 

precursors that may be more readily measured than ultimate benefits, 

which may take years to achieve. It is also important to include any 

external factors believed to have an important influence on—either to 

hinder or facilitate—program inputs, operations, or achievement of 

intended results. External factors can include the job market or other 

federal or nonfederal activities aimed at the same outcomes. (Figure 1 is 

a generic logic model developed for agricultural extension programs; 

more complex models may describe multiple paths or perspectives.)

Figure 1: Sample Program Logic Model

A variety of formats can usefully assist in defining the evaluation’s scope; 

the key is to develop a clear understanding of the nature of the program, 

the context in which it operates, and the policy issues involved. A logic 

model can be helpful as a: 
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 12 GAO-12-208G 

• program planning tool: (reading from right to left) depicting the 

implications for program design of previous research on the key 

factors influencing achievement of the desired benefits;

• communication tool: encouraging shared understanding and 

expectations among policy makers and program managers and 

obtaining the support and cooperation of program partners;

• program implementation tool: mapping what activities should occur at 

various times and which groups should be involved; and

• evaluation tool: helping to define performance measures and 

formulate evaluation questions.

In describing a program’s goals and strategies, it is important to consult a 

variety of sources—legislative history, program staff and materials, prior 

research on the program, public media, congressional staff—to uncover 

(if not resolve) any differences in expectations and concerns program 

stakeholders have. It is also important to understand the program’s policy 

context, why it was initiated, whether circumstances have changed 

importantly since its inception, and what the current policy concerns are. 

In the absence of clearly established definitions of the intervention or its 

desired outcomes, the evaluator will need to discuss these issues with the 

requestor and may need to explore, as part of the evaluation, how the 

program and its goals have been operationally defined (see the 

discussion of flexible grant programs in chapter 5).

Evaluation questions are constructed so that the issues and concerns of a 

program’s stakeholders about program performance can be articulated 

and to focus the evaluation to help ensure that its findings are useful 

(GAO 2004). It is important to work with the evaluation requester to 

formulate the right question to ensure that the completed evaluation will 

meet his or her information needs. Care should be taken at this step 

because evaluation questions frame the scope of the assessment and 

drive the evaluation design—the selection of data to collect and 

comparisons to make. 

Program managers and policy makers may request information about 

program performance to help them make diverse program management, 

design, and budgeting decisions. Depending on the program’s history and 

current policy context, the purpose for conducting an evaluation may be 

Develop Relevant and 

Useful Evaluation 

Questions 
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 13 GAO-12-208G 

to assist program improvement or to provide accountability, or both. More 

specifically, evaluations may be conducted to

• ascertain the program’s progress in implementing key provisions,

• assess the extent of the program’s effectiveness in achieving desired 

outcomes,

• identify effective practices for achieving desired results,

• identify opportunities to improve program performance,

• ascertain the success of corrective actions,

• guide resource allocation within a program, or

• support program budget requests.

These purposes imply different focuses—on the program as a whole or 

just a component—as well as different evaluation questions and, thus, 

designs. For example, if the purpose of the evaluation is to guide program 

resource allocation, then the evaluation question might be tailored to 

identify which program participants are in greatest need of services, or 

which program activities are most effective in achieving the desired 

results. To draw valid conclusions on which practices are most effective in 

achieving the desired results, the evaluation might examine a few 

carefully chosen sites in order to directly compare the effects of 

alternative practices on the same outcomes, under highly comparable 

conditions. (For further discussion see chapter 4 and GAO 2000.)

To be researchable, evaluation questions should be clear and specific 

and use terms that can be readily defined and measured, and meet the 

requester’s needs, so that the study’s scope and purpose are readily 

understood and feasible. Evaluation questions should also be objective, 

fair, and politically neutral; the phrasing of a question should not presume 

to know the answer in advance.

Congressional requests for evaluations often begin with a very broad 

concern, so discussion may be necessary to determine the requester’s 

priorities and develop clearly defined researchable questions. Moreover, 

while potentially hundreds of questions could be asked about a program, 

limitations on evaluation resources and time require focusing the study on 

Clarify the Issue
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 14 GAO-12-208G 

the most important questions that can be feasibly addressed. The 

evaluator can use the program’s logic model to organize the discussion 

systematically to learn whether the requester’s concerns focus on how 

the program is operating or whether it is achieving its intended results or 

producing unintended effects (either positive or negative). It is also 

important to ensure that the evaluation question is well-matched to the 

program’s purpose and strategies. For example, if a program is targeted 

to meet the housing needs of low-income residents, then it would be 

inappropriate to judge its effectiveness by whether the housing needs of 

all residents were met.

It is important to learn whether the requester has a specific set of criteria 

or expectations in mind to judge the program against and whether 

questions pertain to the entire program or just certain components. A 

general request to “assess a program’s effectiveness” should be clarified 

and rephrased as a more specific question that ensures a common 

understanding of the program’s desired outcomes, such as, “Has the 

program led to increased access to health care for low-income 

residents?” or “Has it led to lower incidence of health problems for those 

residents?” It is also important to distinguish questions about the overall 

effectiveness of a nationwide program from those limited to a few sites

that warrant study because they are especially promising or problematic. 

The difference is extremely important for evaluation scope and design, 

and attention to the difference allows the evaluator to help make the study 

useful to the requester.

Although the feasibility of the evaluation questions will continue to be 

assessed during the design phase, an evaluator should gain agreement 

on these questions before completing the design of the evaluation. If 

program stakeholders perceive the questions as objective and reflecting 

their key concerns, they will be more likely to find the evaluation results 

credible and persuasive and act on them.

Different questions tend to be asked at different stages of program 

maturity and often reflect whether the purpose of the study is to assist 

program improvement or provide accountability. Three types of evaluation 

are defined by whether the focus is on the program’s operations or 

outcomes, or on the program’s causal link to the observed results. Of 

course, a single study may use different approaches to address multiple 

questions. (See table 1.)

Ensure That Questions Are 

Appropriate to the 

Program’s Stage of 

Maturity 
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 15 GAO-12-208G 

Table 1: Common Evaluation Questions Asked at Different Stages of Program Development

Program stage Common evaluation questions Type of evaluation

Early stage of program or 

new initiative within a 

program

• Is the program being delivered as intended to the targeted 

recipients?

• Have any feasibility or management problems emerged?

• What progress has been made in implementing changes or new 

provisions?

Process monitoring or 

process evaluation 

Mature, stable program with 

well-defined program model

• Are desired program outcomes obtained?

• What, if any, unintended side effects did the program produce?

• Do outcomes differ across program approaches, components, 

providers, or client subgroups?

Outcome monitoring or 

outcome evaluation

• Are program resources being used efficiently?

• Why is a program no longer obtaining the desired level of 

outcomes?

Process evaluation

• Did the program cause the desired impact?

• Is one approach more effective than another in obtaining the desired 

outcomes?

Net impact evaluation

Source Adapted from Bernholz et al 2006.

In the early stages of a new program or initiative within a program, 

evaluation questions tend to focus on program process—on how well 

authorized activities are carried out and reach intended recipients. Staff 

need to be hired and trained, regulations written, buildings leased, 

materials designed or purchased, participants identified and enrolled. 

Program managers generally look for quick feedback on whether action is 

needed to help get the program up and running as intended. Evaluation 

studies designed to address the quality or efficiency of program 

operations or their fidelity to program design are frequently called process 

or implementation evaluations. Over time, some of the measures used to 

evaluate program implementation may be institutionalized into an ongoing 

program performance monitoring and reporting system. A process 

evaluation can be an important companion to an outcome or impact 

evaluation by describing the program as actually experienced. 

Once assured that the program is operating as planned, one may ask 

whether it is yielding the desired benefits or improvement in outcomes. 

Outcome evaluations assess the extent to which a program achieves its 

outcome-oriented objectives or other important outcomes. Naturally, if the 

program has not had sufficient time to get its operations in place, then it is 

unlikely to have produced the desired benefits. Depending on the nature 

of the program, this shake-out period might take a few months, a year, or 

perhaps even longer. In agreeing on an evaluation question, it is also 

important to consider whether sufficient time will have passed to observe 

Process Evaluations

Outcome Evaluations
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 16 GAO-12-208G 

longer-term outcomes. For example, it might take a study 3 or more years 

to observe whether a program for high school students led to greater 

success in college.

Where a program’s desired outcomes are known to also be influenced 

appreciably by factors outside the program, such as the labor market, the 

outcomes that are actually observed represent a combination of program 

effects and the effects of those external factors. In this case, questions 

about program effectiveness become more sophisticated and the 

evaluation design should attempt to identify the extent to which the 

program caused or contributed to those observed changes. Impact 

evaluation is a form of outcome evaluation that assesses the net effect of 

a program (or its true effectiveness) by comparing the observed 

outcomes to an estimate of what would have happened in the absence of 

the program. While outcome measures can be incorporated into ongoing 

performance monitoring systems, evaluation studies are usually required 

to assess program net impacts.

GAO. 2004. GAO’s Congressional Protocols, GAO-04-310G. 

Washington, D.C.: July 16. 

GAO. 2000. Managing for Results: Views on Ensuring the Usefulness of 

Agency Performance Information to Congress, GAO/GGD-00-35. 

Washington, D.C.: Jan. 26. 

GAO. 2002. Program Evaluation: Strategies for Assessing How 

Information Dissemination Contributes to Agency Goals, GAO-02-923. 

Washington, D.C. Sept. 30. 

Bernholz, Eric, and others. 2006. Evaluation Dialogue Between OMB 

Staff and Federal Evaluators: Digging a Bit Deeper into Evaluation 

Science. Washington, D.C.: July. 

http://www.fedeval.net/docs/omb2006briefing.pdf

Rossi, Peter H., Mark W. Lipsey, and Howard E. Freeman. 2004. 

Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, 7th ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

Net Impact Evaluations

For More Information

GAO documents

Other resources
Chapter 2: Defining the Evaluation’s Scope

Page 17 GAO-12-208G 

University of Wisconsin–Extension, Program Development and 

Evaluation. www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for 

Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. 

2010. The Program Manager’s Guide to Evaluation, 2nd

www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/other_resrch/pm_guide_eval/

ed. Washington, 

D.C. 

Wholey, Joseph S., Harry P. Hatry, and Kathryn E. Newcomer. 2010. 

Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, 3rd ed. San Francisco: 

Jossey-Bass. 
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 18 GAO-12-208G 

Once evaluation questions have been formulated, the next step is to 

develop an evaluation design—to select appropriate measures and 

comparisons that will permit drawing valid conclusions on those 

questions. In the design process, the evaluator explores the variety of 

options available for collecting and analyzing information and chooses 

alternatives that will best address the evaluation objectives within 

available resources. Selecting an appropriate and feasible design, 

however, is an iterative process and may result in the need to revise the 

evaluation questions.

An evaluation design documents the activities best able to provide 

credible evidence on the evaluation questions within the time and 

resources available and the logical basis for drawing strong conclusions 

on those questions. The basic components of an evaluation design 

include the following:

• the evaluation questions, objectives, and scope;

• information sources and measures, or what information is needed;

• data collection methods, including any sampling procedures, or how 

information or evidence will be obtained;

• an analysis plan, including evaluative criteria or comparisons, or how 

or on what basis program performance will be judged or evaluated;

• an assessment of study limitations.

Clearly articulating the evaluation design and its rationale in advance aids 

in discussing these choices with the requester and other stakeholders. 

Documenting the study’s decisions and assumptions helps manage the 

study and assists report writing and interpreting results.

GAO evaluators outline the components of the evaluation design, as well 

as the limitations of those choices, in a standard tool called a design 

matrix. GAO evaluators are expected to complete a design matrix for 

each significant project to document their decisions and summarize the 

key issues in the evaluation design. All staff having significant 

involvement in or oversight of the work meet to discuss this plan and 

reach agreement on whether it can credibly answer the evaluation 

questions.

Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design 

Key Components of 

an Evaluation Design

GAO’s Design Matrix
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 19 GAO-12-208G 

As a government oversight agency that conducts both audits and 

evaluations, GAO also uses the design matrix to document and ensure 

compliance with the government auditing fieldwork standards for 

conducting performance audits (including program evaluations). The 

fieldwork standards relate to planning, conducting, and documenting the 

study. Government auditors are also expected to document in their plans 

the implications of the agency’s internal controls, the results of previous 

studies, and the reliability of agency databases for the evaluation’s scope 

and objectives (GAO 2011).

The guidance for GAO’s design matrix is shown in figure 2 to 

demonstrate the issues, design choices, and trade-offs that an evaluator 

is expected to consider. Because GAO addresses a wide variety of 

information requests in addition to program evaluations, the guidance is 

fairly general but focuses on asking the evaluator to justify the design 

components for each researchable question. Finally, the tool can help 

stakeholders understand the logic of the evaluation.
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 20 GAO-12-208G 

Figure 2: Questions Guiding the Selection of Design Components

Researchable 

Question(s)

Information Required 

and Source(s)

Scope and 

Methodology Limitations

What This Analysis Will 

Likely Allow GAO to 

Say 

What questions is the 

team trying to answer?

Identify specific 

questions that the team 

must ask to address the 

objectives in the 

commitment letter and 

job commitment report.

Ensure each major 

evaluation question is 

specific, objective, 

neutral, measurable, and 

doable. Ensure key terms 

are defined.

Each major evaluation 

question should be 

addressed in a separate 

row.

What information does 

the team need to 

address each

evaluation question? 

Where will they get it?

Identify documents or 

types of information that 

the team must have.

Identify plans to address 

internal controls and 

compliance.

Identify plans to collect 

documents that establish 

the “criteria” to be used.

Identify plans to follow up 

on known significant 

findings and open 

recommendations that 

team found in obtaining 

background information.

Identify sources of the 

required information, 

such as databases, 

studies, subject area 

experts, program 

officials, models, etc. 

How will the team 

answer each evaluation 

question?

Describe strategies for 

collecting the required 

information or data, such 

as random sampling, 

case studies, focus 

groups, questionnaires, 

benchmarking to best 

practices, use of existing 

data bases, etc.

Describe the planned 

scope of each strategy, 

including the timeframe, 

locations to visit, and 

sample sizes.

Describe the analytical 

techniques to be used, 

such as regression 

analysis, cost benefit 

analysis, sensitivity 

analysis, modeling, 

descriptive analysis, 

content analysis, case 

study summaries, etc.

What are the design’s 

limitations and how will 

it affect the product?

Cite any limitations as a 

result of the information 

required or the scope 

and methodology, such 

as:

—Questionable data 

quality and/or reliability.

—Inability to access 

certain types of data or 

obtain data covering a 

certain time frame.

—Security classification 

or confidentiality 

restrictions.

—Inability to generalize 

or extrapolate findings to 

the universe.

Be sure to address how 

these limitations will 

affect the product.

What are the expected 

results of the work?

Describe what GAO can 

likely say. Draw on 

preliminary results for 

illustrative purposes, if 

helpful.

Ensure that the proposed 

answer addresses the 

evaluation question in 

column one.

Source: GAO.

Designing an evaluation plan is iterative: evaluation objectives, scope, 

and methodology are defined together because what determines them 

often overlaps. Data limitations or new information about the program 

may arise as work is conducted and have implications for the adequacy of 

the original plans or the feasibility of answering the original questions. For 

example, a review of existing studies of alternative program approaches 

may uncover too few credible evaluations to support conclusions about 

which approach is most effective. Thus, evaluators should consider the 

need to make adjustments to the evaluation objectives, scope, and 

methodology throughout the project.

An Iterative Process
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 21 GAO-12-208G 

Nevertheless, the design phase of an evaluation is a period for examining 

options for answering the evaluation questions and for considering which 

options offer the strongest approach, given the time and resources 

available. After reviewing materials about the program, evaluators should 

develop and compare alternative designs and assess their strengths and 

weaknesses. For example, in choosing between using program 

administrative data or conducting a new survey of program officials, the 

evaluator might consider whether 1) the new information collected 

through a survey would justify the extra effort required, or 2) a high quality 

survey can be conducted in the time available.

A key first step in designing an evaluation is to conduct a literature review 

in order to understand the program’s history, related policies, and 

knowledge base. A review of the relevant policy literature can help focus 

evaluation questions on knowledge gaps, identify design and data 

collection options used in the past, and provide important context for the 

requester’s questions. An agency’s strategic plan and annual 

performance reports can also provide useful information on available data 

sources and measures and the efforts made to verify and validate those 

data (GAO 1998).

Discussing evaluation plans with agency as well as congressional 

stakeholders is important throughout the design process, since they have 

a direct interest in and ability to act on the study’s findings. A principle of 

good planning that helps ensure the transparency of our work is to notify 

agency stakeholders of the evaluation’s scope and objectives at its outset 

and discuss the expected terms of the work (GAO 2004). GAO evaluators 

also coordinate their work with the Inspector General of the agency 

whose program is being evaluated, and our sister congressional 

agencies—the Congressional Budget Office and Congressional Research 

Service—to avoid duplication, to leverage our resources, and to build a 

mutual knowledge base. These meetings give evaluators opportunity to 

learn about previous or ongoing studies and unfolding events that could 

influence the design and use of the evaluation or necessitate modifying 

the original evaluation question.

When a literature review reveals that several previous studies have 

addressed the evaluation question, then the evaluator should consider 

conducting a synthesis of their results before collecting new data. An 

evaluation synthesis can answer questions about overall program 

effectiveness or whether specific features of the program are working 

Collect Background 

Information 

Consider Conducting an 

Evaluation Synthesis
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 22 GAO-12-208G 

especially well or especially poorly. Findings supported by a number of 

soundly designed and executed studies add strength to the knowledge 

base exceeding that of any single study, especially when the findings are 

consistent across studies that used different methods. If, however, the 

studies produced inconsistent findings, systematic analysis of the 

circumstances and methods used across a number of soundly designed 

and executed studies may provide clues to explain variations in program 

performance (GAO 1992b). For example, differences between 

communities in how they staff or execute a program or in their client 

populations may explain differences in their effectiveness.

A variety of statistical approaches have been proposed for statistically 

cumulating the results of several studies. A widely used procedure for 

answering questions about program impacts is “meta-analysis,” which is a 

way of analyzing “effect sizes” across several studies. Effect size is a 

measure of the difference in outcome between a treatment group and a 

comparison group. (For more information, see Lipsey and Wilson 2000.)

Depending on the program and study question, potential sources for 

evidence on the evaluation question include program administrative 

records, grantee reports, performance monitoring data, surveys of 

program participants, and existing surveys of the national population or 

private or public facilities. In addition, the evaluator may choose to 

conduct independent observations or interviews with public officials, 

program participants, or persons or organizations doing business with 

public agencies.

In selecting sources of evidence to answer the evaluation question, the 

evaluator must assess whether these sources will provide evidence that 

is both sufficient and appropriate to support findings and conclusions on 

the evaluation question. Sufficiency refers to the quantity of evidence—

whether it is enough to persuade a knowledgeable person that the 

findings are reasonable. Appropriateness refers to the relevance, validity, 

and reliability of the evidence in supporting the evaluation objectives. The 

level of effort required to ensure that computer-processed data (such as 

agency records) are sufficiently reliable for use will depend on the extent 

to which the data will be used to support findings and conclusions and the 

level of risk or sensitivity associated with the study. (See GAO 2009 for 

more detailed guidance on testing the reliability of computer-processed 

data.)

Assess the Relevance and 

Quality of Available Data 

Sources 
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 23 GAO-12-208G 

Measures are the concrete, observable events or conditions (or units of 

evidence) that represent the aspects of program performance of interest. 

Some evaluation questions may specify objective, quantifiable measures, 

such as the number of families receiving program benefits, or qualitative 

measures, such as the reasons for noncompliance. But often the 

evaluator will need to select measures to represent a broader 

characteristic, such as “service quality.” It is important to select measures 

that clearly represent or are related to the performance they are trying to 

assess. For example, a measure of the average processing time for tax 

returns does not represent, and is not clearly related to, the goal of 

increasing the accuracy of tax return processing. Measures are most 

usefully selected in concert with the criteria that program performance will 

be assessed against, so that agreement can be reached on the 

sufficiency and appropriateness of the evidence for drawing conclusions 

on those criteria.

Additional considerations for assessing the appropriateness of existing 

databases include: whether certain subgroups of the population are wellrepresented; whether converting data from its original format will require 

excessive time or effort; and when examining multiple sites, whether 

variation in data across sites precludes making reliable comparisons. No 

data source is perfectly accurate and reliable; thus, evaluators often 

consider using multiple measures or sources of data to triangulate toward 

the truth. Concerns about biases in one data source—for example, 

possible exaggerations in self reports of employment history— might be 

countered by complementing that information with similar measures from 

another source—for example, length of employment recorded in 

administrative records.

No matter how data are collected, care should be taken to ensure that 

data are sufficient and appropriate to support findings on the evaluation 

question. Trained observers may inspect physical conditions, actions or 

records to ascertain whether these met requirements or other kinds of 

criteria, When collecting testimonial evidence through interviews or 

surveys, the evaluator should consider whether the people serving as 

data sources are sufficiently knowledgeable and whether their reports of 

events or their opinions are likely to be candid and accurate. In addition, 

careful attention to developing and pretesting questionnaire surveys and 

other data collection instruments will help ensure that the data obtained 

are sufficiently accurate for the purposes of the study. Where the 

evaluator aims to aggregate and generalize from the results of a sample 

survey, great importance is attached to collecting uniform data from every 

Plan Original Data 

Collection 
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 24 GAO-12-208G 

unit in the sample. Consequently, sample survey information is usually 

acquired through structured interviews or self-administered 

questionnaires. Most of the information is collected in close-ended form, 

which means that the respondent chooses from responses offered in the 

questionnaire or by the interviewer. Designing a consistent set of 

responses into the data collection process helps establish the uniformity 

of data across units in the sample. (For more on designing and 

conducting surveys, see GAO 1991, Dillman 2007, Fowler 2009, or Willis 

2005.)

A qualified survey specialist should be involved in designing and 

executing questionnaire surveys that will be relied on for evidence on the 

evaluation questions, whether the surveys are administered in person, by 

telephone or mail, or over the Internet. Survey specialists can help ensure 

that surveys are clearly understood, are quick and easy to complete, and 

obtain the desired information. Subject matter experts should review the 

survey to assess whether technical terms are used properly, respondents 

are likely to have the desired information and will be motivated to 

respond, and the questionnaire will provide a comprehensive, unbiased 

assessment of the issues.

Federal executive agencies must adhere to guidance that OMB’s Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs issues on policies and practices for 

planning, implementing, and maintaining statistical activities, including 

surveys used in program evaluations (OMB 2006). In addition, executive 

branch agencies must submit certain proposals to collect information from 

the public for OMB’s review and approval to ensure that they meet the 

requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act. GAO, as a legislative

branch agency, is not subject to these policies.

A potentially less costly alternative to conducting an original survey 

(especially one with a large national sample) is to pay for additional 

questions to be added to an ongoing national survey. This “piggy-back” 

strategy is only useful, of course, if that survey samples the same 

population needed for the evaluation. Another useful alternative data 

collection approach is to link data from sample surveys to administrative 

data systems, enabling the evaluator to obtain new information on, for 

example, individuals, their neighborhoods, or their program participation. 

(For more on record linkage and privacy protection procedures, see GAO 

2001.) 
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 25 GAO-12-208G 

Evaluative criteria are the standards, measures, or expectations about 

what should exist against which measures of actual performance are 

compared and evaluated. Evaluators should select evaluative criteria that 

are relevant, appropriate and sufficient to address the evaluation’s 

objectives. Unlike financial or performance audits, the objectives of 

program evaluations generally are not to assess a program’s or agency’s 

compliance with legal requirements but to assess whether program 

expectations have been met. The sources of those expectations can be 

quite diverse. However, if the intended audience for the report—both the 

study requesters and program managers—believes that the chosen 

criteria and measures are appropriate, then the study’s findings are more 

likely to be credible. 

Depending on the circumstances of the program and the evaluation 

questions, examples of possible criteria include

• purpose or goals prescribed by law or regulation,

• policies or procedures established by agency officials,

• professional standards or norms,

• expert opinions,

• prior period’s performance,

• performance of other entities or sectors used to benchmark 

performance.

Some criteria designate a particular level as distinguishing acceptable 

from unacceptable performance, such as in determinations of legal 

compliance. Related evaluation questions ask whether a program’s 

performance is “acceptable” or “meets expectations.” Other criteria have 

no preestablished level designated as representing acceptable 

performance but permit assessment of the extent to which expectations 

are met. Thus, while the evaluation cannot typically ascertain whether a 

program was “effective” per se, it can compare the performance of a 

program across time and to the performance of other programs or 

organizations to ascertain whether it is more or less effective than other 

efforts to achieve a given objective.

To support objective assessment, criteria must be observable and 

measurable events, actions, or characteristics that provide evidence that 

Select Evaluative Criteria
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 26 GAO-12-208G 

performance objectives have been met. Some legislation, evaluation 

requests, or program designs provide broad concepts for performance 

objectives, such as “a thorough process” or “family well-being,” that lack 

clear assessment criteria. In such cases, the evaluator may need to gain 

the agreement of study requesters and program managers to base 

assessment criteria on measures and standards in the subject matter 

literature.

In some cases, it makes sense to include all members of a population in a 

study, especially where the population is small enough that it is feasible 

within available resources and time periods to collect and analyze data on 

the entire population (such as the 50 states)—called a certainty sample or 

census. Many federal programs, however, cannot be studied by means of 

a census and the evaluator must decide whether to collect data on a 

probability or nonprobability sample.

In a probability sample (sometimes referred to as a statistical or random 

sample), each unit in the population has a known, nonzero chance of 

being selected. The results of a probability sample can usually be 

generalized to the population from which the sample was taken. If the 

objective is to report characteristics about a population, such as the 

percentage of an agency’s officials who received certain training, or the 

total dollar value of transactions in error in an agency’s system, then a 

probability sample may be appropriate. A sampling specialist can help 

identify how large a sample is needed to obtain precise estimates or 

detect expected effects of a given size. 

In a nonprobability sample, some units in the population have no chance, 

or an unknown chance, of being selected. In nonprobability sampling, a 

sample is selected from knowledge of the population’s characteristics or 

from a subset of a population. Selecting locations to visit and identifying 

officials to interview are part of many GAO studies, and these choices are 

usually made using a nonprobability sampling approach. However, if it is 

important to avoid the appearance of selection bias, locations or 

interviewees can be selected using random sampling. 

Deciding whether to use probability sampling is a key element of the 

study design that flows from the scope of the researchable question. If the 

question is, What progress has been made in implementing new program 

provisions? then the implied study scope is program-wide and a 

probability sample would be required to generalize conclusions drawn 

from the locations observed to the program as a whole. In contrast, a 

Select a Sample of 

Observations
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 27 GAO-12-208G 

question about why a program is no longer obtaining the desired level of 

outcomes might be addressed by following up program locations that 

have already been identified as not meeting the expected level of 

outcomes—a purposive, nonprobability sample. A sampling specialist 

should help select and design a sampling approach. (For more on 

sampling, see GAO 1992a, Henry 1990, Lohr 2010, or Scheaffer et al. 

2006.)

When engaging in primary (or original) data collection, it is important to 

conduct a pretest or pilot study before beginning full-scale data collection. 

The pilot study gives the evaluator an opportunity to refine the design and 

test the availability, reliability, and appropriateness of proposed data. 

Evaluators new to the program or proposing new data collection may find 

that a limited exploration of the proposed design in a few sites can 

provide a useful “reality check” on whether one’s assumptions hold true. 

The pilot phase allows for a check on whether program operations, such 

as client recruitment, and delivery of services occur as expected. Finding 

that they do not may suggest a need to refocus the evaluation question to 

ask why the program has been implemented so differently from what was 

proposed. Testing the work at one or more sites allows the evaluator to 

confirm that data are available, the form they take, and the means for 

gathering them, including interview procedures. It also provides an 

opportunity to assess whether the analysis methodology will be 

appropriate.

Existing data sources should be closely examined for their suitability for 

the planned analyses. For example, to support sophisticated statistical 

analyses, data may be needed as actual dollars, days, or hours rather 

than aggregated into a few wide ranges. To ensure the ability to reliably 

assess change over time, the evaluator should check whether there have 

been changes in data recording, coding, or storage procedures over the 

period of interest.

Evaluators need to work with the stakeholders and acknowledge what the 

study can and cannot address when making the project’s scope and 

design final. The end of the design phase is an important milestone. It is 

here that the evaluator must have a clear understanding of what has been 

chosen, what has been omitted, what strengths and weaknesses have 

been embedded in the design, what the customer’s needs are, how 

usefully the design is likely to meet those needs, and whether the 

constraints of time, cost, staff, location, and facilities have been

Pilot Test Data Collection 

and Analysis Procedures

Assess Study Limitations
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 28 GAO-12-208G 

adequately addressed. Evaluators must be explicit about the limitations of 

the study. They should ask, How conclusive is the study likely to be, given 

the design? How detailed are the data collection and data analysis plans? 

What trade-offs were made in developing these plans?

GAO and other organizations have developed guidelines or standards to 

help ensure the quality, credibility, and usefulness of evaluations. (See 

appendix I and the guidance in GAO’s design matrix, figure 2, as an 

example.) Some standards pertain specifically to the evaluator’s 

organization (for example, whether a government auditor is independent), 

the planning process (for example, whether stakeholders were 

consulted), or reporting (for example, documenting assumptions and 

procedures). While the underlying principles substantially overlap, the 

evaluator will need to determine the relevance of each guideline to the 

evaluator’s organizational affiliation and their specific evaluation’s scope 

and purpose.

Strong evaluations employ methods of analysis that are appropriate to the 

question; support the answer with sufficient and appropriate evidence; 

document the assumptions, procedures, and modes of analysis; and rule 

out competing explanations. Strong studies present questions clearly, 

address them appropriately, and draw inferences commensurate with the 

power of the design and the availability, validity, and reliability of the data.

Thus, a good evaluation design should

• be appropriate for the evaluation questions and context. The design 

should address all key questions, clearly state any limitations in 

scope, and be appropriate to the nature and significance of the 

program or issue. For example, evaluations should not attempt to 

measure outcomes before a program has been in place long enough 

to be able to produce them.

• adequately address the evaluation question. The strength of the 

design should match the precision, completeness, and 

conclusiveness of the information needed to answer the questions 

and meet the client’s needs. Criteria and measures should be 

narrowly tailored, and comparisons should be selected to support 

valid conclusions and rule out alternative explanations.

• fit available time and resources. Time and cost are constraints that 

shape the scope of the evaluation questions and the range of 

Criteria for a Good 

Design 
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 29 GAO-12-208G 

activities that can help answer them. Producing information with an 

understanding of the user’s timetable enhances its usefulness.

• rely on sufficient, credible data. No data collection and maintenance 

process is free of error, but the data should be sufficiently free of bias 

or other significant errors that could lead to inaccurate conclusions. 

Measures should reflect the persons, activities, or conditions that the 

program is expected to affect and should not be unduly influenced by 

factors outside the program’s control.

GAO. 1992a. Using Statistical Sampling, revised, GAO/PEMD-10.1.6. 

Washington, D.C. May. 

Henry, Gary T. 1990. Practical Sampling. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

Lohr, Sharon L. 2010. Sampling: Design and Analysis, 2nd

Scheaffer, Richard L., William Mendenhall III, and R. Lyman Ott. 2006. 

Elementary Survey Sampling, 6th ed. Cengage Learning.

ed.

Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. 

Dillman, Don A. 2007. Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design 

Method, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley.

Fowler, Floyd J., Jr. 2009. Survey Research Methods, 4th

GAO. 1991. Using Structured Interviewing Techniques.

ed. Thousand 

Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

GAO/PEMD-10.1.5. Washington, D.C. June. 

Willis, Gordon B. 2005. Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving 

Questionnaire Design. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

American Evaluation Association. 2004. Guiding Principles for Evaluators.

July. www.eval.org/Publications/GuidingPrinciples.asp. 

For More Information

On sampling approaches

On developing surveys and 

questionnaires 

On standards
Chapter 3: The Process of Selecting an 

Evaluation Design

Page 30 GAO-12-208G 

GAO. 2011. Government Auditing Standards: 2011 Internet Version.

Washington, D.C. August. http://www.gao.gov/govaud/iv2011gagas.pdf

GAO. 1992b. The Evaluation Synthesis, revised, GAO/PEMD-10.1.2. 

Washington, D.C. March. 

Yarbrough, Donald B., Lynn M. Shulha, Rodney K. Hopson, and Flora A. 

Caruthers. 2011. The Program Evaluation Standards: A Guide for 

Evaluators and Evaluation Users, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage. 

GAO. 2009. Assessing the Reliability of Computer-Processed Data, 

external version 1. GAO-09-680G. Washington, D.C. July. 

GAO. 2004. GAO’s Agency Protocols, GAO-05-35G. Washington, D.C.

October. 

GAO. 2001. Record Linkage and Privacy: Issues in Creating New Federal 

Research and Statistical Information. GAO-01-126SP. Washington, D.C. 

April. 

GAO. 1998. The Results Act: An Evaluator’s Guide to Assessing Agency 

Annual Performance Plans, version 1. GAO/GGD-10.1.20. Washington, 

D.C. April. 

Lipsey, Mark W., and David R. Wilson. 2000. Practical Meta-Analysis. 

Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

OMB (U.S. Office of Management and Budget), Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs. 2006. Standards and Guidelines for Statistical 

Surveys. Washington, D.C. September. 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg_statpolicy#pr

Other resources
Chapter 4: Designs for Assessing Program 

Implementation and Effectiveness

Page 31 GAO-12-208G 

Program evaluation designs are tailored to the nature of the program and 

the questions being asked. Thus, they can have an infinite variety of 

forms as evaluators choose performance goals and measures and select 

procedures for data collection and analysis. Nevertheless, individual 

designs tend to be adaptations of a set of familiar evaluation 

approaches—that is, evaluation questions and research methods for 

answering them (Rossi et al. 2004). This chapter provides examples of 

some typical evaluation approaches for implementation and effectiveness 

questions and examples of designs specifically matched to program 

structure. Chapter 5 provides examples of approaches to evaluating 

programs where either the intervention or desired outcomes are not 

clearly defined.

Implementation (or process) evaluations address questions about how 

and to what extent activities have been implemented as intended and 

whether they are targeted to appropriate populations or problems.

Implementation evaluations are very similar to performance monitoring in 

assessing the quality and efficiency of program operations, service 

delivery, and service use, except that they are conducted as separate 

projects, not integrated into the program’s daily routine. Implementation 

evaluations may be conducted to provide feedback to program managers, 

accountability to program sponsors and the public, or insight into variation 

in program outcomes. These evaluations may answer questions such as

• Are mandated or authorized activities being carried out?

• To what extent is the program reaching the intended population?

• Have feasibility or management problems emerged? 

• Why is the program no longer achieving its expected outcomes?

Assessing how well a program is operating requires first identifying a 

criterion against which a program’s performance is compared. 

Alternatively, an assessment may compare performance across locations, 

points in time, or subgroups of the population, to identify important 

variations in performance. In contrast, an exploratory case study of 

program processes and context may focus on exploring reasons why the 

program is operating as it is. Table 2 provides examples of 

implementation questions and designs used to address them.

Chapter 4: Designs for Assessing Program

Implementation and Effectiveness

Typical Designs for 

Implementation 

Evaluations 
Chapter 4: Designs for Assessing Program 

Implementation and Effectiveness

Page 32 GAO-12-208G 

Table 2: Common Designs for Implementation (or Process) Evaluations

Evaluation question Design 

Is the program being implemented as intended? Compare program activities to statute and regulations, program 

logic model, professional standards, or stakeholder expectations

Have any feasibility or management problems emerged? • Compare program performance to quality, cost or efficiency 

expectations

• Assess variation in quality or performance across settings, 

providers, or subgroups of recipients

Why is the program not (or no longer) achieving expected 

outcomes? 

• Analyze program and external factors correlated with 

variation in program outcomes

• Interview key informants about possible explanations

• Conduct indepth analysis of critical cases

Source GAO.

Assessments of program implementation often compare program 

performance—or what is—to a criterion established in advance—or what 

should be. The evaluative criteria may be derived from the law, 

regulations, a program logic model, administrative or professional 

standards, research identifying the best practices of leading 

organizations, or stakeholder expectations. Some criteria identify an 

acceptable level of performance or performance standard by, for 

example, defining authorized activities. In some areas, a program may 

not be considered credible unless it meets well-established professional 

standards. When criteria have no predetermined standard of acceptable 

performance, the evaluator’s task is to measure the extent to which a 

program meets its objectives. Measures of program performance may be 

obtained from program records or may be specially collected for the 

evaluation through interviews, observations, or systems testing. For 

example,

• To assess the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of an agency’s 

statistical program, an evaluator can compare its policies and 

procedures for designing, collecting, processing, analyzing and 

disseminating data with government guidelines for conducting 

statistical surveys (OMB 2006).

• To evaluate the operational quality and efficiency of a program 

providing financial assistance to individuals, an evaluator might 

analyze administrative records that document the applications 

received for program benefits and the actions taken on them.

Efficiency might be assessed by how promptly applications for 

benefits were processed for a given level of staffing; quality might be 

Assessing Quality or the 

Progress of Program 

Implementation 
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assessed by how accurately eligibility and benefits were determined 

(GAO 2010). Standards of acceptable or desired performance might 

be drawn from previous experience or the levels of quality assurance 

achieved in other financial assistance programs.

• To evaluate a program’s success in serving a target population such 

as low-income children, one might analyze program records to 

compare the family incomes of current participants to the national 

poverty level or to family income levels of recipients in previous years. 

However, to address how well the program is reaching the population 

eligible for the program, a better choice might be to compare 

information from local program records with surveys of the income of 

local residents to estimate the proportion of the local low-income 

population that the program reached. To assess improvement in 

program targeting, the evaluator could compare that program 

coverage statistic over time. However, additional analysis would be 

required to ascertain whether observed improvements in coverage 

resulted from program improvements or changes in the neighborhood. 

To identify program management or feasibility issues in federal programs, 

it is often important to examine the nature and sources of variation in 

program quality or performance across settings, providers, or population 

subgroups. For example,

• To evaluate how well a new technical assistance program is 

operating, an evaluator might review program records as well as 

survey local program managers to learn whether any feasibility 

problems had developed. Program records might address whether 

guidance materials were issued and delivered in a timely manner or 

whether workshops were held promptly and drew the attendance 

expected. But an evaluator might also want to survey local managers 

for their judgments on whether the guidance and training materials 

were technically competent and relevant to their needs. Performance 

standards might be drawn from program design and planning 

materials, program technical standards, or previous experience with 

needs for technical assistance.

Because of the cost of collecting and analyzing data on all program 

participants or transactions, evaluators of federal programs frequently 

collect data by surveying a nationally representative probability sample. 

Sample surveys can also address questions about variation in service 

delivery across geographic locations or types of providers.

Assessing Variation in 

Implementation 
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In some circumstances, an evaluator may want to use case studies to 

explore certain issues in more depth than can be done in more than a few 

locations. In single case study evaluations, especially, much attention is 

given to acquiring qualitative information that describes events and 

conditions from several points of view. The structure imposed on the data 

collection may range from the flexibility of ethnography or investigative 

reporting to the highly structured interviews of sample surveys. (For more 

on the evaluation insights to be gained from ethnography, see GAO 

2003.) Case studies are often used to provide in-depth descriptive

information about how the program operates in the field. If the objective of 

the case study is to describe aspects of an issue, provide context, or 

illustrate findings developed from a more broadly applied survey, then 

selecting a nongeneralizable sample of cases may be appropriate.

Case studies can also supplement survey or administrative data to

explore specific questions about program performance, such as 

understanding variation in program performance across locations (for 

example, rural versus urban settings), or to identify factors key to program 

success or failure. The criteria used for selecting cases are critical to 

one’s ability to apply their findings to the larger program. To heighten the 

value of the information they provide, cases should be selected carefully 

to represent particular conditions of interest (for example, sites with low 

versus high levels of performance) and with certain hypotheses in mind. 

However, most often, case studies will generate hypotheses rather than 

answers to questions such as what factors influence program success. 

(For more on case study methodology, see GAO 1990, Stake 1995, or

Yin 2009.) For example,

• To identify the causes of a sudden decline in control of an agricultural 

pest, evaluators might conduct field observations in the localities most 

affected to assess how well key components of the pest eradication

and control program were executed or whether some other factor 

appeared to be responsible.

Outcome evaluations address questions about the extent to which the 

program achieved its results-oriented objectives. This form of evaluation 

focuses on examining outputs (goods and services delivered by a 

program) and outcomes (the results of those products and services) but 

may also assess program processes to understand how those outcomes 

are produced. Outcome evaluations may address questions such as

Case Studies

Typical Designs for 

Outcome Evaluations
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• Is the program achieving its intended purposes or objectives?

• Has it had other important (unintended) side effects on issues of 

stakeholder concern?

• Do outcomes differ across program approaches, components, 

providers, or client subgroups?

• How does the program compare with other strategies for achieving 

the same ends?

To appropriately assess program effectiveness, it is important, first, to 

select outcome measures that clearly represent the nature of the 

expected program benefit, cover key aspects of desired performance, and 

are not unduly influenced by factors outside the program’s control. Next, 

to allow causal inferences about program effects, the data collection and 

analysis plan must establish a correlation between exposure to the 

program and the desired benefit and must set a time-order relationship 

such that program exposure precedes outcomes.

However, if the evaluators suspect that factors outside the program 

appreciably influenced the observed outcomes, then they should not 

present the findings of an outcome evaluation as representing the results 

caused by the program. Instead, they should choose one of the net 

impact designs discussed in the next section to attempt to isolate effects 

attributable to the program. Ongoing monitoring of social conditions such 

as a community’s health or employment status can provide valuable 

feedback to program managers and the public about progress toward 

program goals but may not directly reflect program performance. Table 3 

provides examples of outcome-oriented evaluation questions and designs 

used to address them.
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Table 3: Common Designs for Outcome Evaluations

Evaluation question Design 

Is the program achieving its desired outcomes or having other 

important side effects?

• Compare program performance to law and regulations, 

program logic model, professional standards, or 

stakeholder expectations

• Assess change in outcomes for participants before and 

after exposure to the program

• Assess differences in outcomes between program 

participants and nonparticipants 

Do program outcomes differ across program components, 

providers or recipients?

Assess variation in outcomes (or change in outcomes) across 

approaches, settings, providers, or subgroups of recipients

Source GAO.

Like outcome monitoring, outcome evaluations often assess the benefits 

of the program for participants or the broader public by comparing data on 

program outcomes to a preestablished target value. The criterion could 

be derived from law, regulation, or program design, while the target value 

might be drawn from professional standards, stakeholder expectations, or 

the levels observed previously in this or similar programs. This can help 

ensure that target levels for accomplishments, compliance, or absence of 

error are realistic. For example,

• To assess the immediate outcomes of instructional programs, an 

evaluator could measure whether participants’ experienced short-term 

changes in knowledge, attitudes, or skills at the end of their training 

session. The evaluator might employ post-workshop surveys or 

conduct observations during the workshops to document how well 

participants understood and can use what was taught. Depending on 

the topic, industry standards might provide a criterion of 80 percent or 

90 percent accuracy, or demonstration of a set of critical skills, to 

define program success. Although observational data may be 

considered more accurate indicators of knowledge and skill gains than 

self-report surveys, they can often be more resource-intensive to 

collect and analyze.

In programs where there are quantitative measures of performance but 

no established standard or target value, outcome evaluations at least may

rely on assessing change or differences in desired outputs and outcomes. 

The level of the outcome of interest, such as client behavior or 

environmental conditions, is compared with the level observed in the 

absence of the program or intervention. This can be done by comparing

Assessing the Achievement 

of Intended Outcomes

Assessing Change in 

Outcomes
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• the behavior of individuals before and after their exposure to a 

program,

• environmental conditions before and after an intervention, or

• the outcomes for individuals who did and did not participate in the 

program.

Of course, to conclude that any changes observed reflect program 

effects, the evaluator must feel confident that those changes would not 

have occurred on their own without the program, in response to some 

nonprogram influences. For example,

• The accuracy and timeliness of severe weather forecasts—arguably 

considered program outputs—can be compared to target levels of 

performance through analysis of program records over time. However, 

it is more problematic to attempt to assess the effectiveness of the 

forecasting program through the amount of harm resulting from those 

storms—what might be considered program outcomes. This is 

because building construction and evacuation policies—external 

factors to a weather forecasting program—are also expected to 

greatly influence the amount of harm produced by a storm.

• To assess an industry’s compliance with specific workplace safety 

regulations, an evaluator could conduct work-site observations or 

review agency inspections records and employer injury and illness 

reports. The evaluator might analyze changes in compliance and 

safety levels at work sites after a regulation was enacted or compare 

compliance and safety levels between employers who were or were 

not provided assistance in complying with the regulations. Again, 

however, to draw conclusions about the effectiveness or impact of the 

regulation (or compliance assistance) in improving worker safety, the 

evaluator needs to be able to rule out the influence of other possible 

workplace changes, such as in technology, worker experience, or 

other aspects of working conditions.

As in process evaluations, sample surveys can be used to collect 

outcome data on probability samples in order to provide information about 

the program as a whole. A cross-sectional survey, the simplest form of 

sample survey, takes measurements at a point in time to describe events 

or conditions. By providing information on the incidence of events or 

distribution of conditions in relationship to a preselected standard or 

target value, it can be used to assess program performance in either a 
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process or an outcome evaluation. Through repeated application, a crosssectional survey can measure change over time for the population as a 

whole. A panel survey acquires information from the same sample units 

at two or more points in time. Thus, a panel survey can provide less 

variable measures of change in facts, attitudes, or opinions over time and 

thus can support more directly comparative assessments of outcomes 

than can a cross-sectional survey, although often at greater cost. Adding 

the important element of time helps in drawing inferences with regard to 

cause and effect.

Variation in outcomes across settings, providers or populations can be 

the result of variation in program operations (such as level of 

enforcement) or context (such as characteristics of client populations or 

settings). Variation in outcomes associated with features under program 

control, such as the characteristics of service providers or their activities, 

may identify opportunities for managers to take action to improve 

performance. However, additional information is usually needed to 

understand why some providers are obtaining worse results than others—

for example, whether the staff lack needed skills or are ineffectively 

managed. Variation associated with factors outside the control of the 

program, such as neighborhood characteristics, can help explain program 

results, but may not identify actions to improve program performance. 

Thus, although analysis of surveys or performance reports can identify 

factors correlated with variation in outcomes, follow-up studies or more 

complex designs (see the next section) are needed to draw firm 

conclusions about their likely causes. 

Case studies are not usually used to assess program effectiveness 

because their results cannot be generalized to the program as a whole 

and because of the difficulty of distinguishing many possible causes of a 

unique instance. However, in special circumstances, an outcome 

evaluation may use a case study to examine a critical instance closely to 

understand its cause or consequences. Often such a study is an 

investigation of a specific problem event, such as a fatal accident or forest 

fire. The potential causal factors can be numerous and complex, requiring 

an in-depth examination to assess whether and which safety program 

components were ineffective in preventing or responding to that event. 

Critical incident studies are also discussed in chapter 5.

Assessing Variation in 

Outcomes
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Many desired outcomes of federal programs are influenced by external 

factors, including other federal, state, and local programs and policies, as 

well as economic or environmental conditions. Thus, the outcomes 

observed typically reflect a combination of influences. To isolate the 

program’s unique impacts, or contribution to those outcomes, an impact 

study must be carefully designed to rule out plausible alternative 

explanations for the results. Typical approaches to this problem include

• selection of targeted outcome measures,

• comparison group research designs, 

• statistical analysis, and

• logical argument. 

A well-articulated program logic model is quite valuable in planning an 

impact evaluation. Clearly articulating the program’s strategy and 

performance expectations aids the selection of appropriate performance 

measures and data sources. Identifying the most important external 

influences on desired program outcomes helps in developing research 

designs that convincingly rule out the most plausible alternative 

explanations for the observed results.

Impact evaluation research designs construct comparisons of what 

happened after exposure to the program with an estimate of what would 

have happened in the absence of the program in order to estimate the net 

impact of the program. A number of methodologies are available to 

estimate program impact, including experimental, quasi-experimental, 

and nonexperimental designs. Conducting an impact evaluation of a 

social intervention often requires the expenditure of significant resources 

to collect and analyze data on program results and estimate what would 

have happened in the absence of the program. Thus, impact evaluations 

need not be conducted for all interventions but should be reserved for 

when the effort and cost appear warranted: for an intervention that is 

important, clearly defined, well-implemented, and being considered for 

adoption elsewhere (GAO 2009). Table 4 provides examples of designs 

commonly used to address net impact questions.

Typical Designs for 

Drawing Causal 

Inferences about 

Program Impacts
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Table 4: Common Designs for Drawing Causal Inferences about Program Impacts

Evaluation question Design 

Is the program responsible for (effective in) achieving 

improvements in desired outcomes?

• Compare (change in) outcomes for a randomly assigned 

treatment group and a nonparticipating control group 

(randomized controlled experiment) 

• Compare (change in) outcomes for program participants and 

a comparison group closely matched to them on key 

characteristics (comparison group quasi-experiment) 

• Compare (change in) outcomes for participants before and 

after the intervention, over multiple points in time with 

statistical controls (single group quasi-experiment) 

How does the effectiveness of the program approach compare 

with other strategies for achieving the same outcomes?

• Compare (change in) outcomes for groups randomly 

assigned to different treatments (randomized controlled 

experiment) 

• Compare (change in) outcomes for comparison groups 

closely matched on key characteristics (comparison group 

quasi-experiment) 

Source Adapted from Bernholz et al 2006.

The defining characteristic of an experimental design is that units of study 

are randomly assigned either to a treatment (or intervention) group or to 

one or more nonparticipating control (or comparison) groups. Random 

assignment means that the assignment is made by chance, as in the flip 

of a coin, in order to control for any systematic difference between the 

groups that could account for a difference in their outcomes. A difference 

in these groups’ subsequent outcomes is believed to represent the 

program’s impact because, under random assignment, the factors that 

influence outcomes other than the program itself should be evenly 

distributed between the two groups; their effects tend to cancel one 

another out in a comparison of the two groups’ outcomes. A true 

experiment is seldom, if ever, feasible for GAO because evaluators must 

have control over the process by which participants in a program are 

assigned to it, and this control generally rests with the agency. However, 

GAO does review experiments carried out by others.

Depending on how the program is administered, the unit of study might 

be such entities as a person, classroom, neighborhood, or industrial plant. 

More complex designs may involve two or more comparison groups that 

receive different combinations of services or experience the program at 

different levels of intensity. For example, patients might be randomly 

assigned to drug therapy, dietary, or exercise interventions to treat high 

blood pressure. For example,

Randomized Experiments
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• To evaluate the effect of the provision of housing assistance and 

employment support services on the capacity of low-income families 

to obtain or retain employment, the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development conducted a randomized experiment. In the sites 

chosen for the evaluation, eligible families on the waiting list for 

housing subsidies were randomly assigned either to an experimental 

group, who received a voucher and the employment support services 

bound to it, or to a control group, who did not receive a voucher or 

services. Both groups have been tracked for several years to 

determine the impact of the provision of rental assistance and 

accompanying services on families’ employment, earnings, and 

geographic mobility (Abt Associates and QED Group 2004). 

Randomized experiments are best suited for assessing intervention or 

program effectiveness when it is possible, ethical, and practical to 

conduct and maintain random assignment to minimize the influence of 

external factors on program outcomes. Some kinds of interventions are 

not suitable for randomized assignment because the evaluator needs to 

have control over who will be exposed to it, and that may not be possible. 

Examples include interventions that use such techniques as public 

service announcements broadcast on the radio, television, or Internet. 

Random assignment is well suited for programs that are not universally 

available to the entire eligible population, so that some people will be 

denied access to services in any case, and a lottery is perceived as a fair 

way to form a comparison group.

Thus, no comparison group design is possible to assess full program 

impact where agencies are prohibited from withholding benefits from 

individuals entitled to them (such as veterans’ benefits) or from selectively 

applying a law to some people but not others. Random assignment is 

often not accepted for testing interventions that prevent or mitigate harm 

because it is considered unethical to impose negative events or elevated 

risks of harm to test a remedy’s effectiveness. Instead, the evaluator must 

wait for a hurricane or flood, for example, to learn if efforts to strengthen 

buildings prevented serious damage. (For further discussion, see GAO 

2009, Rossi et al. 2004, or Shadish et al. 2002.)

Field experiments are distinguished from laboratory experiments and 

experimental simulations in that field experiments take place in much less 

contrived, more naturalistic settings such as classrooms, hospitals, or 

workplaces. Conducting an inquiry in the field gives reality to the 

evaluation but often at the expense of some accuracy in the results. This 

is because experiments conducted in field settings allow limited control 

Limited Applicability of 

Randomized Experiments

Difficulties in Conducting Field 

Experiments
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over both program implementation and external factors that may influence 

program results. In fact, enforcing strict adherence to program protocols 

in order to strengthen conclusions about program effects may actually 

limit the ability to generalize those conclusions to less perfect, but more 

typical program operations.

Ideally, randomized experiments in medicine are conducted as doubleblind studies, in which neither the subjects nor the researchers know who 

is receiving the experimental treatment. However, double-blind studies in 

social science are uncommon, making it hard sometimes to distinguish 

the effects of a new program from the effects of introducing any novelty 

into the classroom or workplace. Moreover, program staff may jeopardize 

the random assignment process by exercising their own judgment in 

recruiting and enrolling participants. Because of the critical importance of 

the comparison groups’ equivalence for drawing conclusions about 

program effects, it is important to check the effectiveness of random 

assignment by comparing the groups’ equivalence on key characteristics 

before program exposure.

Because of the difficulties in establishing a random process for assigning 

units of study to a program, as well as the opportunity provided when only 

a portion of the targeted population is exposed to the program, many 

impact evaluations employ a quasi-experimental comparison group

design instead. This design also uses a treatment group and one or more 

comparison groups; however, unlike the groups in the true experiment, 

membership in these groups is not randomly assigned. Because the 

groups were not formed through a random process, they may differ with 

regard to other factors that affect their outcomes. Thus, it is usually not 

possible to infer that the “raw” difference in outcomes between the groups 

has been caused by the treatment. Instead, statistical adjustments such 

as analysis of covariance should be applied to the raw difference to 

compensate for any initial lack of equivalence between the groups. 

Comparison groups may be formed from the pool of applicants who 

exceed the number of program slots in a given locale or from similar 

populations in other places, such as neighborhoods or cities, not served 

by the program. Drawing on the research literature to identify the key 

factors known to influence the desired outcomes will aid in forming 

treatment and comparison groups that are as similar as possible, thus 

strengthening the analyses’ conclusions. When the treatment group is 

made up of volunteers, it is particularly important to address the potential 

for “selection bias”—that is, that volunteers or those chosen to participate 

Comparison Group Quasiexperiments
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will have greater motivation to succeed (for example, in attaining health, 

education, or employment outcomes) than those who were not accepted 

into the program. Statistical procedures, such as propensity score 

analysis, are used to statistically model the variables that influence 

participants’ assignment to the program and are then applied to analysis 

of outcome data to reduce the influence of those variables on the 

program’s estimated net impact. (For more information on propensity 

scores, see Rosenbaum 2002.) However, in the absence of random 

assignment, it is difficult to be sure that unmeasured factors did not 

influence differences in outcomes between the treatment and comparison 

groups. 

A special type of comparison group design, regression discontinuity 

analysis, compares outcomes for a treatment and control group that are 

formed by having scores above or below a cut-point on a quantitative 

selection variable rather than through random assignment. When 

experimental groups are formed strictly on a cut-point and group 

outcomes are analyzed for individuals close to the cut-point, the groups 

can be left otherwise comparable except for the intervention. This 

technique is often used where the persons considered most “deserving” 

are assigned to the treatment, in order to address ethical concerns about 

denying services to persons in need—for example, when additional 

tutoring is provided only to children with the lowest reading scores. The 

technique requires a quantitative assignment variable that users believe 

is a credible selection criterion, careful control over assignment to ensure 

that a strict cut-point is achieved, large sample sizes, and sophisticated 

statistical analysis.

Both experiments and quasi-experiments can be difficult to implement 

well in a variety of public settings. Confidence in conclusions about the 

program’s impacts depends on ensuring that the treatment and 

comparison groups’ experiences remain separate, intact, and distinct 

throughout the life of the study so that any differences in outcomes can 

be confidently attributed to the intervention. It is important to learn 

whether control group participants access comparable treatment in the 

community on their own. Their doing so could blur the distinction between 

the two groups’ experiences. It is also preferred that treatment and control 

group members not communicate, because knowing that they are being 

treated differently might influence their perceptions of their experience 

and, thus, their behavior.

Difficulties in Conducting 

Comparison Group 

Experiments 
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To resolve concerns about the ethics of withholding treatment widely 

considered beneficial, members of the comparison group are usually 

offered an alternative treatment or whatever constitutes common practice.

Thus, experiments are usually conducted to test the efficacy of new 

programs or of new provisions or practices in an existing program. In this 

case, however, the evaluation will no longer be testing whether a new 

approach is effective at all; it will test whether it is more effective than 

standard practice.

In addition, comparison group designs may not be practical for some 

programs if the desired outcomes do not occur often enough to be 

observed within a reasonable sample size or study length. Studies of 

infrequent outcomes may require quite large samples to permit detection 

of a difference between the experimental and control groups. Because of 

the practical difficulties of maintaining intact experimental groups over 

time, experiments are also best suited for assessing outcomes within 1 to 

2 years after the intervention, depending on the circumstances.

Some federal programs and policies are not amenable to comparison 

group designs because they are implemented all at once, all across the 

country, with no one left untreated to serve in a comparison group. In 

such instances, quasi-experimental single group designs compare the 

outcomes for program participants before and after program exposure or 

the outcomes associated with natural variation in program activities, 

intensity or duration. In most instances, the simple version of a beforeand-after design does not allow causal attribution of observed changes to 

exposure to the program because it is possible that other factors may 

have influenced those outcomes during the same time.

Before-and-after designs can be strengthened by adding more 

observations on outcomes. By taking many repeated observations of an 

outcome before and after an intervention or policy is introduced, an 

interrupted time-series analysis can be applied to the before-and-after 

design to help draw causal inferences. Long data series are used to 

smooth out the effects of random fluctuations over time. Statistical 

modeling of simultaneous changes in important external factors helps 

control for their influence on the outcome and, thus, helps isolate the 

impact of the intervention. This approach is used for full-coverage 

programs in which it may not be possible to find or form an untreated 

comparison group. The need for lengthy data series means the technique 

is used where the evaluator has access to long-term, detailed 

government statistical series or institutional records. For example,

Statistical Analysis of 

Observational Data
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• To assess the effectiveness of a product safety regulation in reducing 

injuries from a class of toys, the evaluator could analyze hospital 

records of injuries associated with these toys for a few years both 

before and after introduction of the regulation. To help rule out the 

influence of alternative plausible explanations, the evaluator might 

correlate these injury data with data on the size of the relevant age 

group and sales of these toys over the same time period.

An alternative observational approach is a cross-sectional study that 

measures the target population’s exposure to the intervention (rather than 

controls its exposure) and compares the outcomes of individuals 

receiving different levels of the intervention. Statistical analysis is used to 

control for other plausible influences on the outcomes. Exposure to the 

intervention can be measured by whether a person was enrolled or how 

often a person participated in or was exposed to the program. This 

approach is used with full-coverage programs for which it is impossible to 

directly form treatment and control groups; nonuniform programs, in 

which different individuals are exposed differently; and interventions in 

which outcomes are observed too infrequently to make a prospective 

study practical. For example,

• An individual’s annual risk of being in a car crash is so low that it 

would be impractical to randomly assign (and monitor) thousands of 

individuals to use (or not use) their seat belts in order to assess seat 

belts’ effectiveness in preventing injuries during car crashes. Instead, 

the evaluator can analyze data on seat belt use and injuries in car 

crashes with other surveys on driver and passenger use of seat belts 

to estimate the effectiveness of seat belts in reducing injury.

Although this paper describes process and outcome evaluations as if they 

were mutually exclusive, in practice an evaluation may include multiple 

design components to address separate questions addressing both 

process and outcomes. In addition, comprehensive evaluations are often 

designed to collect both process and outcome information in order to 

understand the reasons for program performance and learn how to 

improve results. For example,

• Evaluators analyze program implementation data to ensure that key 

program activities are in place before collecting data on whether the 

desired benefits of the activities have been achieved.

Comprehensive 

Evaluations Explore Both 

Process and Results
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• Evaluations of program effectiveness also measure key program 

components to help learn why a program is not working as well as 

was expected.

An evaluation may find that a program failed to achieve its intended 

outcomes for a variety of reasons, including: incomplete or poor quality 

implementation of the program; problems in obtaining valid and reliable 

data from the evaluation; environmental influences that blunt the 

program’s effect; or the ineffectiveness of the program or intervention for 

the population and setting in which it was tested. Thus, examination of 

program implementation is very important to interpreting the results on 

outcomes. Moreover, because an impact evaluation may be conducted in 

a restricted range of settings in order to control for other influences on 

outcomes, its findings may not apply to other settings or subgroups of 

recipients. Thus, it is important to test the program or intervention’s 

effects in several settings or under various circumstances before drawing 

firm conclusions about its effectiveness. A formal synthesis of the findings 

of multiple evaluations can provide important information about the 

limitations on—or factors influencing—program impacts, and be 

especially helpful in learning what works for whom and under what 

circumstances. 

As evaluation designs are tailored to the nature of the program and the 

questions asked, it becomes apparent that certain designs are 

necessarily excluded for certain types of programs. This is particularly 

true of impact evaluations because of the stringent conditions placed on 

the evidence needed to draw causal conclusions with confidence. 

Experimental research designs are best adapted to assess discrete 

interventions under carefully controlled conditions in the experimental 

physical and social sciences. The federal government has only relatively 

recently expanded its efforts to assess the effectiveness of all federal 

programs and policies, many of which fail to meet the requirements for 

successful use of experimental research designs.

To assist OMB officials in their efforts to assess agency evaluation efforts, 

an informal network of federal agency evaluators provided guidance on 

the relevance of various evaluation designs for different types of federal 

programs. Table 5 summarizes the features of the designs discussed in 

this chapter as well as the types of programs employing them.

Designs for Different 

Types of Programs
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Table 5: Designs for Assessing Effectiveness of Different Types of Programs 

Typical design

Comparison controlling for

alternative explanations Best suited for 

Process and outcome 

monitoring or evaluation

Performance and preexisting goals or standards, such 

as

• R&D criteria of relevance, quality, and performance

• productivity, cost effectiveness, and efficiency 

standards

• customer expectations or industry benchmarks

Research, enforcement, information and 

statistical programs, business-like enterprises, 

and mature, ongoing programs where

• coverage is national and complete

• few, if any, alternatives explain observed 

outcomes

Quasi-experiments: single 

group

Outcomes for program participants before and after the 

intervention:

• collects outcome data at multiple points in time

• statistical adjustments or modeling control for 

alternative causal explanations 

Regulatory and other programs where

• clearly defined interventions have distinct 

starting times

• coverage is national and complete

• randomly assigning participants is NOT 

feasible, practical, or ethical

Quasi-experiments: 

comparison groups

Outcomes for program participants and a comparison 

group closely matched to them on key characteristics:

• key characteristics are plausible alternative 

explanations for a difference in outcomes

• measures outcomes before and after the 

intervention (pretest, posttest)

Service and other programs where

• clearly defined interventions can be 

standardized and controlled

• coverage is limited

• randomly assigning participants is NOT 

feasible, practical, or ethical 

Randomized experiments: 

control groups

Outcomes for a randomly assigned treatment group and 

a nonparticipating control group:

• measures outcomes preferably before and after the 

intervention (pretest, posttest)

Service and other programs where

• clearly defined interventions can be 

standardized and controlled

• coverage is limited

• randomly assigning participants is 

feasible and ethical 

Source Adapted from Bernholz et al. 2006.

Some types of federal programs, such as those funding basic research 

projects or the development of statistical information, are not expected to 

have readily measurable effects on their environment. Therefore, 

research programs have been evaluated on the quality of their processes 

and products and relevance to their customers’ needs, typically through 

expert peer review of portfolios of completed research projects. For 

example, the Department of Energy adopted criteria used or 

recommended by OMB and the National Academy of Sciences to assess

research and development programs’ relevance, quality, and 

performance (U.S. Department of Energy 2004.)

Regulatory and law enforcement programs can be evaluated according to 

the level of compliance with the pertinent rule or achievement of desired 

health or safety conditions, obtained through ongoing outcome 
Chapter 4: Designs for Assessing Program 

Implementation and Effectiveness

Page 48 GAO-12-208G 

monitoring. The effectiveness of a new law or regulation might be 

evaluated with a time-series design comparing health or safety conditions 

before and after its enactment, while controlling for other possible 

influences. Comparison group designs are not usually applied in this area 

because of unwillingness to selectively enforce the law.

Experimental and quasi-experimental impact studies are better suited for

programs conducted on a small scale at selected locations, where 

program conditions can be carefully controlled, rather than at the national 

level. Such designs are particularly appropriate for demonstration 

programs testing new approaches or initiatives, and are not well suited for 

mature, universally available programs.

The next chapter outlines a number of approaches taken to evaluating 

federal programs that are not well suited to these most common designs, 

either because of the structure of the program or the context in which it 

operates.

GAO. 1990. Case Study Evaluations, GAO/PEMD-10.1.9. Washington, 

D.C. November. 

GAO. 2003. Federal Programs: Ethnographic Studies Can Inform 

Agencies’ Actions, GAO-03-455. Washington, D.C. March. 

GAO. 2009. Program Evaluation: A Variety of Rigorous Methods Can 

Help Identify Effective Interventions, GAO-10-30. Washington, D.C. 

Nov. 23. 

GAO. 2010. Streamlining Government: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen 

OMB’s Approach to Improving Efficiency, GAO-10-394. Washington, D.C.

May 7. 

Abt Associates and QED Group. 2004. Evaluation of the Welfare to Work 

Voucher Program: Report to Congress. U.S. Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. March. 

For More Information

GAO documents

Other resources
Chapter 4: Designs for Assessing Program 

Implementation and Effectiveness

Page 49 GAO-12-208G 

Bernholz, Eric and others. 2006. Evaluation Dialogue Between OMB Staff 

and Federal Evaluators: Digging a Bit Deeper into Evaluation Science.

Washington, D.C. July. http://www.fedeval.net/docs/omb2006briefing.pdf

Enders, Walter. 2009. Applied Econometric Time Series, 3rd ed. 

Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. 

Langbein, Laura and Claire L. Felbinger. 2006. Public Program 

Evaluation: A Statistical Guide. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. 

Lipsey, Mark W. “Theory as Method: Small Theories of Treatments.” 

1993. New Directions for Program Evaluation 57:5-38. Reprinted in 2007, 

New Directions for Evaluation 114:30-62. 

OMB (U.S. Office of Management and Budget), Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs. 2006. Standards and Guidelines for Statistical 

Surveys. Washington, D.C. September. 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg_statpolicy#pr

Rosenbaum, Paul R. 2002. Observational Studies, 2nd ed. New York: 

Springer. 

Rossi, Peter H., Mark W. Lipsey, and Howard E. Freeman. 2004. 

Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, 7th ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

Shadish, William R., Thomas D. Cook, and Donald T. Campbell. 2002. 

Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal 

Inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Stake, Robert E. 1995. The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, 

Calif.: Sage.

U.S. Department of Energy. 2004. Peer Review Guide: Based on a 

Survey of Best Practices for In-Progress Peer Review. Prepared by the 

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Peer Review Task 

Force. Washington, D.C. August. 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ba/pba/pdfs/2004peerreviewguide.pdf. 

Yin, Robert K. 2009. Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 4th ed. 

Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 50 GAO-12-208G 

Most of the impact designs discussed in chapter 4 were developed to test 

hypotheses about the causal effects of individual factors or discrete 

interventions on clearly defined outcomes. These designs may have 

limited relevance and credibility on their own for assessing the effects of 

federal programs where neither the intervention nor the desired outcome 

is clearly defined or measured. In addition, many, if not most, federal 

programs aim to improve some aspect of complex systems, such as the 

economy or the environment, over which they have limited control, or 

share responsibilities with other agencies for achieving their objectives. 

Thus, it can be difficult to confidently attribute a causal connection 

between the program and the observed outcomes. This chapter describes 

some of the evaluation strategies that federal agencies have used to 

develop performance information for these types of programs that can 

inform management, oversight, and policy.

In many federal programs, it can be difficult to assess the program’s 

effectiveness in achieving its ultimate objectives because it is difficult to 

obtain data on those goals. This can occur because there is no common 

measure of the desired outcome or because the desired benefits for the 

public are not frequently observed.

A federal program might lack common national data on a desired 

outcome because the program is relatively new, new to measuring 

outcomes, or has limited control over how service providers collect and 

store information. Where state programs operate without much federal 

direction, outcome data are often not comparable across the states. 

Federal agencies have taken different approaches to obtaining common 

national outcome data, depending in part on whether such information is 

needed on a recurring basis (GAO 2003):

• collaborating with others on a common reporting format;

• recoding state data into a common format;

• conducting a special survey to obtain nation-wide data.

Where federal programs operate through multiple local public or private 

agencies, careful collaboration may be required to ensure that the data 

they collect are sufficiently consistent to permit aggregation nationwide. 

To improve the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention and 

Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected

Methodological Challenges

Outcomes That Are 

Difficult to Measure 

Challenge: Lack of 

Common Outcome 

Measures

Collaborate with Others on a 

Common Reporting Format
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 51 GAO-12-208G 

treatment, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration (SAMHSA) awards block grants to states to help fund local 

drug and alcohol abuse programs. In order to measure progress towards 

national goals and the performance of programs administered by states’ 

substance abuse and mental health agencies, SAMHSA funded pilot 

studies and collaborated with state agencies and service providers in 

developing national outcome measures for an ongoing performance 

monitoring system. The process of developing and agreeing upon data 

definitions has taken several years, but allows them to assess 

improvements in substance abuse treatment outcomes and monitor the 

performance of SAMHSA block grants. SAMHSA has also invested in 

states’ data infrastructure improvement activities such as software, 

hardware, and training in how to use standardized data definitions (U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services n.d.).

Alternatively, if states already have their own distinct, mature data 

systems, it may not be practical to expect those systems to adopt new, 

common data definitions. Instead, to meet federal needs to assess 

national progress, a federal agency may choose to support a special data 

collection that abstracts data from state systems and recodes them into a 

common format, permitting cross-state and national analyses. For 

example, in order to analyze highway safety policies, the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration has invested in a nationwide 

system to extract data from state records to develop a well-accepted

national database on fatal automobile crashes. A standard codebook 

provides detailed instructions on how to record data from state and local 

emergency room and police records into a common format that can 

support sophisticated analyses into the factors contributing to crashes 

and associated fatalities (GAO 2003). Although such a data collection and 

analysis system can be initially expensive to develop, it is likely to be less 

expensive to maintain such a system, and much more practical than 

attempting to gain agreements for data collection changes from hospitals 

and police departments across the country.

Some federal agencies also, of course, conduct periodic sample surveys 

or one-time studies to collect new data that supplements data from 

existing performance reporting systems. For example, SAMHSA conducts 

a voluntary periodic survey of specialty mental health organizations that 

are not subject to the agency’s routine grantee reporting requirements 

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services n.d.). In addition, to 

obtain information on drug abusers who are not in treatment, they 

conduct an annual national household survey of drug use. Such surveys 

Recode State Data into a 

Common Format

Conduct a Special Survey to 

Obtain Nation-Wide Data
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 52 GAO-12-208G 

can provide valuable information about how well existing programs are 

serving the population’s needs.

Some federal programs are created to respond to national concerns, such 

as increased cancer rates or environmental degradation, which operate in 

a lengthy time frame and are not expected to resolve quickly. Thus, 

changes in intended long-term outcomes are unlikely to be observed 

within an annual performance reporting cycle or even, perhaps, within a 

five-year evaluation study. Other programs aim to prevent or provide 

protection from events that are very infrequent and, most importantly, not 

predictable, such as storms or terrorist attacks, for which it is impractical 

to set annual or other relatively short-term goals. Evaluation approaches 

to these types of programs may rely heavily on well-articulated program 

logic models to depict the program’s activities as multi-step strategies for 

achieving its goals. Depending on how infrequent or unexpected 

opportunities may be to observe the desired outcome, an evaluator might 

choose to:

• measure program effects on short-term or intermediate goals;

• assess the quality of an agency’s prevention or risk management 

plan; or

• conduct a thorough after-action or critical-incident review of any 

incidents that do occur.

To demonstrate progress towards the program’s ultimate goals, the 

evaluator can measure the program’s effect on short-term and 

intermediate outcomes that are considered important interim steps 

towards achieving the program’s long-term goals. This approach is 

particularly compelling when combined with findings from the research 

literature that confirms the relationship of short-term goals (such as 

increased vaccination rates) to the program’s long-term goals (such as 

reduced incidence of communicable disease). (See GAO 2002 for 

examples.) Moreover, tracking performance trends and progress towards

goals may provide timely feedback that can inform discussion of options 

for responding to emerging performance problems.

Several federal programs are charged with managing risks that are 

infrequent but potentially quite dangerous, in a wide array of settings: 

Challenge: Desired 

Outcomes Are Infrequently 

Observed

Measure Effects on Short-Term 

or Intermediate Goals 

Assess the Quality of a 

Prevention or Risk 

Management Plan 
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 53 GAO-12-208G 

banking, intelligence, counter-terrorism, natural disasters, and community 

health and safety. Generally, risk management involves:

• assessing potential threats, vulnerabilities of assets and networks, 

and the potential economic or health and safety consequences; 

• assessing and implementing countermeasures to prevent incidents 

and reduce vulnerabilities to minimize negative consequences; and

• monitoring and evaluating their effectiveness (GAO 2005).

Depending on the nature of the threat, one federal program may focus 

more on prevention (for example, of communicable disease) while 

another focuses on response (for example, to hurricanes). Some threats 

occur frequently enough that program effectiveness can be readily 

measured as the reduction in threat incidents (such as car crashes) or 

consequences (such as deaths and injuries). Where threat incidents do 

not occur frequently enough to permit direct observation of the program’s 

success in mitigating their consequences, evaluators have a couple 

choices.

The evaluator could assess the effectiveness of a risk-management 

program through assessing (1) how well the program followed the 

recommended “best practices” of design, including conducting a 

thorough, realistic assessment of threats and vulnerabilities, and costbenefit analysis of alternative risk reduction strategies; and (2) how 

thoroughly the agency implemented its chosen strategy, such as installing 

physical protections or ensuring staff are properly trained.

Alternatively, an evaluator may choose to conduct simulations or 

exercises to assess how well an agency’s plans anticipate the nature of 

its threats and vulnerabilities, as well as how well agency staff and 

partners are prepared to carry out their responsibilities under their plans.

Exercises may be “table-top,” where officials located in an office respond 

to virtual reports of an incident, or “live,” where volunteers act out the 

roles of victims in public places to test the responses of emergency 

services personnel. Exercises may be especially useful for obtaining a 

realistic assessment of complex risk management programs that require 

coordination among multiple agencies or public and private sector 

organizations.

When a threat incident is observed, an evaluator can conduct an ‘afteraction’ or ‘critical incident’ review to assess the design and execution–or 

Conduct an After-Action or 

Critical-Incident Review 
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 54 GAO-12-208G 

effectiveness—of the prevention or risk mitigation program. The Army 

developed after-action reviews as a training methodology for soldiers to 

evaluate their performance against standards and develop insights into 

their strengths, weaknesses, and training needs (U.S. Department of the 

Army 1993). State and federal public safety agencies have adopted them 

to identify ways to improve emergency response. These reviews consist 

of a structured, open discussion of participants’ observations of what 

occurred during an incident to develop ‘lessons learned’ about the 

effectiveness of plans and procedures and actionable recommendations. 

Reviews involve (1) detailed description of the nature and context of the 

incident and the actions taken and resources used step-by-step; followed 

by (2) a critique to assess whether plans and procedures were useful in 

addressing the incident and provide suggestions for improvement. These 

reviews may be formal—with an external facilitator or observer and a

written report to management—or informal—conducted as an internal 

review to promote learning. Although identifying the factors contributing to 

success or failure in handling an incident could provide useful insight into 

the effectiveness of a risk mitigation program, the focus of these reviews 

is primarily on learning rather than judging program effectiveness. 

With increased interest in assuring accountability for the value of 

government expenditures, have come increased efforts to demonstrate 

and quantify the value of public investments in scientific research. An 

evaluator might readily measure the effectiveness of an applied research 

program by whether it met its goal to improve the quality, precision, or 

efficiency of tools or processes. However, basic research programs do 

not usually have such immediate, concrete goals. Instead, goals for 

federal research programs can include advancing knowledge in a field, 

and building capacity for future advances through developing useful tools 

or supporting the scientific community. In addition, multiyear investments 

in basic research might be expected to lead to innovations in technology 

that will (eventually) yield social or financial value, such as energy 

savings or security. (For more information about methods for assessing

these effects, see Ruegg and Jordan 2007.) Common agency 

approaches to evaluating research programs include:

• external expert review of a research portfolio;

• bibliometric analyses of research citations and patents.

Challenge: Benefits of 

Research Programs Are 

Difficult to Predict
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 55 GAO-12-208G 

To assess the quality of their research programs and obtain program 

planning advice, the National Science Foundation (NSF) adopted an 

external expert review process called a Committee of Visitors (COV) 

review. Periodically, panels of independent experts review the technical 

and managerial stewardship of a specific program (a portfolio of research 

projects), compare plans with progress made, and evaluate the outcomes 

to assess their contributions to NSF’s mission and goals. COV reviews 

provide external expert judgments on 1) assessments of the quality and 

integrity of program operations and program-level technical and 

managerial matters pertaining to project decisions; and 2) comments on 

how the outputs and outcomes generated by awardees have contributed 

to NSF’s mission and strategic outcome goals. Other federal science 

agencies have adopted similar expert panel reviews as independent 

evaluations of their basic research programs (U.S. Department of Energy 

2004). 

Since publications and patents constitute major outputs of research 

programs and large databases capture these outputs, bibliometric 

analysis of research citations or patents is a popular way of assessing the 

productivity of research. In addition to simply tracking the quantity of 

publications, analysis of where, how often and by whom the papers are 

cited can provide information about the perceived relevance, impact and 

quality of the papers and can identify pathways of information flow.

Many federal programs are not discrete interventions aiming to achieve a 

specific outcome but, instead, efforts to improve complex systems over 

which they have limited control. Moreover, in the United States, federal 

and state governments often share responsibility for the direction of 

federal programs, so a federal program may not represent a uniform 

package of activities or services across the country.

Federal grant programs vary greatly as to whether they have performance 

objectives or a common set of activities across grantees such as state 

and local agencies or nonprofit service providers. Where a grant program 

represents a discrete program with a narrow set of activities and 

performance-related objectives, such as a food delivery program for 

seniors, it can often be evaluated with the methods described in chapter 

4. However, a formula or ‘block’ grant, with loosely defined objectives that 

simply adds to a stream of funds supporting ongoing state or local 

programs, presents a significant challenge to efforts to portray the results 

External Expert Portfolio 

Review 

Bibliometric Analysis

Complex Federal 

Programs and 

Initiatives 

Challenge: Benefits of 

Flexible Grant Programs 

Are Difficult to Summarize
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 56 GAO-12-208G 

of the federal or ‘national’ program (GAO 1998a). Agencies have 

deployed a few distinct approaches, often in combination:

• describe national variation in local approaches; 

• measure national improvement in common outputs or outcomes; 

• conduct effectiveness evaluations in a sample of sites. 

An important first step in evaluating the performance of flexible grant 

programs is to describe the variation in approaches deployed locally, 

characteristics of the population served, and any information available on 

service outputs or outcomes. Depending on the nature of grantee 

reporting requirements, this information might be obtained from a review 

of federal program records or require a survey of grantees or local 

providers. Such descriptive information can be valuable in assessing how 

well the program met Congress’ intent for the use and beneficiaries of 

those funds. In addition, where there is prior research evidence on the 

effectiveness of particular practices, this descriptive data can provide 

information, at least, on the extent to which grantees are deploying 

effective or ‘research-based’ practices.

Where the federal grant program has performance-related objectives but 

serves as a funding stream to support and improve the capacity of a state 

function or service delivery system, state (but not uniquely federal)

program outcomes can be evaluated by measuring aggregate 

improvements in the quality of or access to services, outreach to the 

targeted population, or participant outcomes over time. Depending on the 

program, this information may be collected as part of state program 

administration, or require special data collection to obtain comparable 

data across states. For example, the Department of Education’s National 

Assessment of Educational Progress tests a cross-sectional sample of 

children on a variety of key subjects, including reading and math, and 

regularly publishes state-by-state data on a set of common outcome 

measures. These national data also provide a comparative benchmark for 

the results of states’ own assessments (Ginsburg and Rhett 2003).

However, because cross-sectional surveys lack information linking 

specific use of federal funds to expected outcomes, they cannot assess 

the effectiveness of federal assistance in contributing to those service 

improvements; identifying those links is often very difficult in grant 

programs of this type.

Describe National Variation in 

Local Approaches

Measure National Improvement 

in Common Outputs or 

Outcomes
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 57 GAO-12-208G 

Some federal grant programs support distinct local projects to stimulate or

test different approaches for achieving a performance objective. To 

assess such programs, the evaluator might study a sample of projects to 

assess their implementation and effectiveness in meeting their objectives.

Individual impact evaluations might be arranged for as part of the original 

project grants, or conducted as part of a nationally-directed evaluation. 

Sites for evaluation might be selected purposively, to test the 

effectiveness of a variety of promising program approaches or represent 

the range in quality of services nationally (Herrell and Straw 2002).

For example, cluster evaluations, as used by the W. K. Kellogg 

Foundation, examine a loosely connected set of studies of communitybased initiatives to identify common themes or components associated 

with positive impacts, and the reasons for such associations (W. K. 

Kellogg Foundation 2004). Cluster evaluations examine evidence of 

individual project effectiveness but do not aggregate that data across 

studies. Multisite evaluations, as frequently seen in federally-funded 

programs, may involve variation across sites in interventions and 

measures of project effectiveness, but typically use a set of common 

measures to estimate the effectiveness of the interventions and examine 

variation across sites in outcomes. (See discussion of comprehensive 

evaluations in chapter 4.) Both of these evaluation approaches are quite 

different from a multicenter clinical trial (or impact study) that conducts 

virtually the same intervention and evaluation in several sites to test the 

robustness of the approach’s effects across sites and populations (Herrell 

and Straw 2002). 

Case study evaluations, through providing more in-depth information 

about how a federal program operates in different circumstances, can 

serve as valuable supplements to broad surveys when specifically 

designed to do so. Case studies can be designed to follow-up on low or 

high performers, in order to explain–or generate hypotheses about—what 

is going on and why. 

In contrast to programs that support a particular set of activities aimed at 

achieving a specified objective, some comprehensive reform initiatives 

may call for collective, coordinated actions in communities in multiple 

areas such as altering public policy, improving service practice, or 

engaging the public to create system reform. This poses challenges to the 

evaluator in identifying the nature of the intervention (or program), the 

desired outcomes, as well as an estimate of what would have occurred in 

the absence of these reforms. Depending on the extent to which the 

Conduct Effectiveness 

Evaluations in a Sample of 

Sites

Challenge: Assess the 

Progress and Results of 

Comprehensive Reforms
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 58 GAO-12-208G 

dimensions of reform are well understood, the progress of reforms might 

be measured quantitatively in a survey or through a more exploratory 

form of case study.

For example, in the Department of Education’s Comprehensive School 

Reform demonstration program, federal grantees were encouraged to 

strengthen several aspects of school operations–-such as curriculum, 

instruction, teacher development, parental involvement—and to select 

and adopt models that had been found effective in other schools, in an 

effort to improve student achievement. The comprehensive evaluation of 

this program used three distinct methodological approaches to answer 

distinct questions about implementation and effects (U.S. Department of 

Education 2010)

1. Multivariate statistical analyses comparing grantees with matched 

comparison schools to determine whether receiving a grant was 

associated with student achievement level increases three to five 

years later;

2. Quantitative descriptive analyses of reform implementation from a 

survey of principals and teachers in a random sample of grantees and 

matched comparison schools to determine the comprehensiveness of 

reform implementation; and

3. Qualitative case study analyses to study reform component 

implementation and understand the process by which chronically lowperforming schools turned themselves around and sustained student 

achievement gains.

Note that because a school reform effort by design applies to everyone in 

the school, the evaluators formed a comparison group by matching each 

grantee school with a school in another community with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Moreover, this study’s analyses of the schools’ 

reforms were greatly assisted by being able to draw on the set of potential 

reforms listed in the legislation.

A different approach is required for a much more open-ended program, 

such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 

Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Program. This 

program provided grants and tax incentives to economically 

disadvantaged communities which were encouraged to develop their own 

individual economic development strategies around four key principles: 

economic opportunity, sustainable community development, communityFollow-up Survey Findings 

with Case Studies

Conduct Exploratory Case 

Studies
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 59 GAO-12-208G 

based partnerships, and a strategic vision for change. Local evaluators 

assisted in collecting data in each of 18 case study sites to track how 

each community organized itself, set goals, and developed and 

implemented plans to achieve those goals–its theory of change

(Fulbright-Anderson et al. 1998). 

Case studies are recommended for assessing the effectiveness of 

comprehensive reforms that are so deeply integrated with the context 

(i.e., community) that no truly adequate comparison case can be found.

In-depth interviews and observations are used to capture the changes in 

and relationships between processes, while outcomes may be measured 

quantitatively. The case study method is used to integrate this data into a 

coherent picture or story of what was achieved and how. In programs that 

are more direct about what local reform efforts are expected to achieve, 

the evaluator might provide more credible support for conclusions about

program effects by: (1) making specific, refutable predictions of program 

effects, and (2) introducing controls for, or providing strong arguments 

against, other plausible explanations for observed outcomes. This theory 

of change approach cannot provide statistical estimates of effect sizes, 

but can provide detailed descriptions of the unfolding of the intervention

and potential explanations for how and why the process worked to 

produce outcomes (Fulbright-Anderson et al. 1998, Yin and Davis 2007).

Attributing observed changes in desired outcomes to the effect of a 

program requires ruling out other plausible explanations for those 

changes. Environmental factors such as historical trends in community 

attitudes towards smoking could explain changes in youths’ smoking 

rates over time. Other programs funded with private, state, or other 

federal funds may also strive for similar goals to the program being 

evaluated. Although random assignment of individuals to treatment and 

comparison groups is intended to cancel out the influence of those 

factors, in practice, the presence of these other factors may still blur the 

effect of the program of interest or randomization may simply not be 

feasible. Collecting additional data and targeting comparisons to help rule 

out alternative explanations can help strengthen conclusions about an 

intervention’s impact from both randomized and nonrandomized designs 

(GAO 2009, Mark and Reichardt 2004).

In general, to help isolate the impact of programs aimed at the same goal 

it can be useful to construct a logic model for each program—carefully 

specifying the programs’ distinct target audiences and expected shortterm outcomes—and to assess the extent to which the programs actually 

Challenge: Isolating Impact 

When Several Programs 

Are Aimed at the Same 

Outcome
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 60 GAO-12-208G 

operate in the same localities and reach the same populations. Then the 

evaluator can devise a data collection approach or set of comparisons 

that could isolate the effects of the distinct programs, such as

• narrow the scope of the outcome measure;

• measure additional outcomes not expected to change; 

• test hypothesized relationships between the programs.

Some programs have strategic goals that imply that they have a more 

extensive or broader range than they in fact do. By clarifying very 

specifically the program’s target audience and expected behavior 

changes, the evaluator can select an outcome measure that is closely 

tailored to the most likely expected effects of the program and distinguish 

those effects from those of other related programs.

For example, to distinguish one antidrug media campaign from other 

antidrug messages in the environment, the campaign used a distinctive 

message to create a brand that would provide a recognizable element 

and improve recall. Then, the evaluation’s survey asked questions about 

recognition of the brand, attitudes, and drug use so that analysis could 

correlate attitudes and behavior changes with exposure to this particular

campaign (GAO 2002, Westat 2003).

In another example, the large number of workplaces in the country makes 

it impractical for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to 

routinely perform health and safety inspections in all workplaces. Instead, 

program officials indicated that they target their activities to where they 

see the greatest problems—industries and occupations with the highest 

rates of fatality, injury, or illness. Thus, the agency set a series of 

performance goals that reflect differences in their expected influence, 

setting goals for reductions in three of the most prevalent injuries and 

illnesses and for injuries and illness in five “high-hazard” industries (GAO 

1998b).

Another way to attempt to rule out plausible alternative explanations for 

observed results is to measure additional outcomes that a treatment or 

intervention is not expected to influence but arguably would be influenced 

under alternative explanations for the observed outcomes. If one can 

predict a relatively unique pattern of outcomes for the intervention, in 

contrast to the alternative, and if the study confirms that pattern, then the 

Narrow the Scope of the 

Outcome Measure 

Measure Additional Outcomes 

Not Expected to Change
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 61 GAO-12-208G 

alternative explanation becomes less plausible. In a simple example, one 

can extend data collection either before or after the intervention to help 

rule out the influence of unrelated historical trends on the outcome of 

interest. If the outcome measure began to change before the intervention 

could have plausibly have affected it, then that change was probably 

influenced by some other factor. 

Some programs aimed at similar broad outcomes may be expected also 

to affect other programs. For example, the effectiveness of one program 

that aims to increase the number of medical personnel in locations 

considered medically underserved might be critical to ensuring that a 

second program to increase the number of patients with health insurance 

will result in their patients obtaining greater access to care. To assess the 

effectiveness of the health insurance program, the evaluator could survey 

potential recipients in a variety of locations where some are considered 

medically underserved and some are not. Interviews could follow-up on 

these hypotheses by probing reasons why potential recipients may have 

had difficulty obtaining needed health care.

GAO. 1998a. Grant Programs: Design Features Shape Flexibility, 

Accountability, and Performance Information, GAO/GGD-98-137. 

Washington, D.C. June 22. 

GAO. 1998b. Managing for Results: Measuring Program Results That Are 

Under Limited Federal Control, GAO/GGD-99-16. Washington, D.C. 

Dec. 11. 

GAO. 2003. Program Evaluation: An Evaluation Culture and Collaborative 

Partnerships Help Build Agency Capacity, GAO-03-454. Washington, 

D.C. May 2. 

GAO. 2009. Program Evaluation: A Variety of Rigorous Methods Can 

Help Identify Effective Interventions, GAO-10-30. Washington, D.C. 

Nov. 23. 

GAO. 2002. Program Evaluation: Strategies for Assessing How 

Information Dissemination Contributes to Agency Goals, GAO-02-923. 

Washington, D.C. Sept. 30. 

Test Hypothesized 

Relationships between 

Programs 

For More Information

GAO documents 
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 62 GAO-12-208G 

GAO. 2005. Risk Management: Further Refinements Needed to Assess 

Risks and Prioritize Protective Measures at Ports and Other Critical 

Infrastructure. GAO-06-91. Washington, D.C. Dec. 15. 

Domestic Working Group, Grant Accountability Project. 2005. Guide to 

Opportunities for Improving Grant Accountability. Washington, D.C.: U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General, October. 

www.epa.gov/oig/dwg/index.htm. 

Fulbright-Anderson, Karen, Anne C. Kubisch, and James P. Connell, eds. 

1998. New Approaches to Evaluating Community Initiatives. vol. 2. 

Theory, Measurement, and Analysis. Washington, D.C.: The Aspen 

Institute.

Ginsburg, Alan, and Nancy Rhett. 2003. “Building a Better Body of 

Evidence: New Opportunities to Strengthen Evaluation Utilization.”

American Journal of Evaluation 24: 489–98.

Herrell, James M., and Roger B. Straw, eds. 2002. Conducting Multiple 

Site Evaluations in Real-World Settings. New Directions for Evaluation

94. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Summer. 

Mark, Melvin M. and Charles S. Reichardt. 2004. “Quasi-Experimental

and Correlational Designs: Methods for the Real World When Random 

Assignment Isn’t Feasible.” In Carol Sansone, Carolyn C. Morf, and A. T. 

Panter, eds. The Sage Handbook of Methods in Social Psychology. 

Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

Ruegg, Rosalie, and Gretchen Jordan. 2007. Overview of Evaluation 

Methods for R&D Programs: A Directory of Evaluation Methods Relevant 

to Technology Development Programs. Prepared under contract DEAC0494AL8500. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. March.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

Development, Policy and Program Studies Service. 2010. Evaluation of 

the Comprehensive School Reform Program Implementation and 

Outcomes: Fifth Year Report. Washington, D.C.

U.S. Department of Energy. 2004. Peer Review Guide: Based on a 

Survey of Best Practices for In-Progress Peer Review. Prepared by the 

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Peer Review Task 

Other resources
Chapter 5: Approaches to Selected 

Methodological Challenges

Page 63 GAO-12-208G 

Force. Washington, D.C.: August.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ba/pba/pdfs/2004peerreviewguide.pdf. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services Administration. n.d. SAMHSA Data Strategy: FY 

2007- FY2011. Washington, D.C.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management 

Agency, U.S. Fire Administration. 2008. Special Report: The After-Action 

Critique: Training Through Lessons Learned. Technical Report Series. 

USFA-TR-159. Emmitsburg, Md.: April.

U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters. 1993. A Leader’s Guide to 

After-Action Reviews, Training Circular 25-20. Washington, D.C.: 

September 30. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate 

W. K. Kellogg Foundation. 2004. W. K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation 

Handbook. Battle Creek, Mich.: Jan. 1, 1998, updated. 

http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2010/W-K-KelloggFoundation-Evaluation-Handbook.aspx

Westat. 2003. Evaluation of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media 

Campaign: 2003 Report of Findings. Prepared under contract N01DA-8-

5063. Rockville, Md.: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on 

Drug Abuse, Dec. 22. 

Yin, Robert K. and Darnella Davis 2007. “Adding New Dimensions to 

Case Study Evaluations: The Case of Evaluating Comprehensive 

Reforms.” New Directions for Evaluation 113:75-93.
Appendix I: Evaluation Standards

Page 64 GAO-12-208G 

Different auditing and evaluation organizations have developed guidelines 

or standards to help ensure the quality, credibility, and usefulness of 

evaluations. Some standards pertain specifically to the evaluator’s 

organization (for example, auditor independence), the planning process 

(for example, stakeholder consultations), or reporting (for example, 

documenting assumptions and procedures). While the underlying 

principles substantially overlap, the evaluator will need to determine the 

relevance of each guideline to the evaluator’s organizational affiliation 

and the specific evaluation’s scope and purpose.

GAO publishes generally accepted government auditing standards 

(GAGAS) for the use of individuals in government audit organizations 

conducting a broad array of work, including financial and performance 

audits. The standards are broad statements of auditors’ (or evaluators’) 

responsibilities in an overall framework for ensuring that they have the 

competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence needed to plan, 

conduct, and report on their work. The standards use “performance audit” 

to refer to “an independent assessment of the performance and 

management of government programs against objective criteria or an 

assessment of best practices and other information”; thus, it is intended to 

include program process and outcome evaluations.

The general standards applying to all financial and performance audits 

include the independence of the audit organization and its individual 

auditors; the exercise of professional judgment; competence of staff; and 

the presence of quality control systems and external peer reviews. The 

field work standards for performance audits relate to planning the audit; 

supervising staff; obtaining sufficient, competent, and relevant evidence; 

and preparing audit documentation.

GAO. 2011. Government Auditing Standards: 2011 Internet Version. 

Washington, D.C.: August. http://www.gao.gov/govaud/iv2011gagas.pdf

GAO’s transfer paper The Evaluation Synthesis lists illustrative questions 

for assessing the soundness of each study’s basic research design, 

conduct, analysis, and reporting—regardless of the design employed. The 

questions address the clarity and appropriateness of study design, 

measures, and analyses and the quality of the study’s execution and 

reporting.

Appendix I: Evaluation Standards

“Yellow Book” of 

Government Auditing 

Standards 

GAO’s Evaluation 

Synthesis 
Appendix I: Evaluation Standards

Page 65 GAO-12-208G 

GAO.1992. The Evaluation Synthesis, revised, GAO/PEMD-10.1.2. 

Washington, D.C.: March. 

The American Evaluation Association (AEA) is a professional association 

with U.S. headquarters for evaluators of programs, products, personnel, 

and policies. AEA developed guiding principles for the work of 

professionals in everyday practice and to inform evaluation clients and 

the general public of expectations for ethical behavior. The principles are 

broad statements of evaluators’ responsibilities in five areas: systematic 

inquiry; competence; honesty and integrity; respect for people; and 

responsibilities for general and public welfare. 

AEA. 2004. Guiding Principles for Evaluators. July. 

http://www.eval.org/Publications/GuidingPrinciples.asp. 

A consortium of professional organizations (including the American 

Evaluation Association), the Joint Committee on Standards for 

Educational Evaluation, developed a set of standards for evaluations of 

educational programs, which have been approved as an American 

National Standard. The standards are organized into five major areas of 

concern: to ensure program stakeholders find evaluations valuable

(utility); to increase evaluation effectiveness and efficiency (feasibility); to 

support what is proper, fair, legal, right, and just in evaluations (propriety); 

to increase the dependability and truthfulness of evaluation

representations and findings (accuracy); and to encourage accurate 

documentation and a focus on improvement and accountability of 

evaluation processes and products (evaluation accountability).

Yarbrough, D. B., L. M. Shulha, R. K. Hopson, and F. A. Caruthers. 2011. 

The Program Evaluation Standards: A Guide for Evaluators and 

Evaluation Users, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage. 

American Evaluation 

Association Guiding 

Principles for 

Evaluators 

Program Evaluation 

Standards, Joint 

Committee on 

Standards for 

Educational 

Evaluation 
Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 66 GAO-12-208G 

Nancy Kingsbury (202) 512-2700 or kingsburyn@gao.gov

In addition to the person named above, Stephanie Shipman, Assistant 

Director, made significant contributions to this report. Additional 

contributors include Thomas Clarke, Timothy Guinane, Penny Pickett, 

and Elaine Vaurio.

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments
Other Papers in This Series

Page 67 GAO-12-208G 

Assessing the Reliability of Computer-Processed Data, external 

version 1, GAO-09-680G. Washington, D.C.: July 2009. 

Case Study Evaluations, GAO/PEMD-10.1.9, November 1990. 

How to Get Action on Audit Recommendations, OP-9.2.1, July 1991. 

Performance Measurement and Evaluation: Definitions and 

Relationships, GAO-11-646SP, May 2011. 

Prospective Evaluation Methods: The Prospective Evaluation Synthesis, 

GAO/PEMD-10.1.10, November 1990. 

Quantitative Data Analysis: An Introduction, GAO/PEMD-10.1.11, 

May 1992. 

Record Linkage and Privacy: Issues in Creating New Federal Research 

and Statistical Information, GAO-01-126SP, April 2001. 

The Evaluation Synthesis, revised, GAO/PEMD-10.1.2, March 1992. 

The Results Act: An Evaluator’s Guide to Assessing Agency Annual 

Performance Plans, version 1, GAO/GGD-10.1.20, April 1998. 

Using Statistical Sampling, revised, GAO/PEMD-10.1.6, May 1992. 

Using Structured Interviewing Techniques, GAO/PEMD-10.1.5, 

June 1991. 

Other Papers in This Series

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