The Use of Microcomputers to Improve the Reliability and Validity of Content Analysis in Evaluation.

This paper provides an understanding of the conceptual and operational relationships between evaluation, content analysis, and microcomputers so that evaluation practitioners can better address applied content analysis problems used in their work. The first section presents a general model for conducting an evaluation effort that focuses on information, actions, and standards of quality. This framework: (1) highlights key components of evaluation and content analysis information in terms of their underlying relationships; (2) identifies basic actions used to develop evaluation and content analysis information; (3) discusses different standards of quality that have emerged for judging the information and related processes; (4) presents working definitions of evaluation and content analysis; (5) consolidates these concepts into the presented model; and (6) discusses content analysis tasks related to the model's basic actions that can be implemented with the use of microcomputers. The second section describes an experimental study in which microcomputers were used to help pre-service and practicing educators perform a content analysis of responses to an open-ended survey question used in a simulated evaluation effort. This two-part experimental study focuses on the reliability and validity of developing a new content analysis category system, and coding responses based on an established category system. (PN)