Attribution
“causal link between observed (or expected to be observed) changes and a specific intervention.”
WHO (2013) Evaluation Practice Handbook
apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/96311/1/9789241548687_eng.pdf
Glossary
Baseline
“A set of measurements before any intervention starts (after any initial ‘run-in’ period with no intervention), with which subsequent results are compared.”
https://www.nice.org.uk/article/pmg20/chapter/glossary#baseline
Benchmark
“evaluate (something) by comparison with a standard: we are benchmarking our performance against external criteria”
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/benchmark
Confounder
“Confounding refers to a situation in which a measure of the effect of an intervention or exposure is distorted because of the association of exposure with other factor(s) that influence the outcome under investigation. This can lead to erroneous conclusions being drawn, particularly in observational studies”.
http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/glossary/confound.html
Developmental Evaluation
“supports innovation development to guide adaptation to emergent and dynamic realities in complex environments”
Michael Quinn Patton – http://betterevaluation.org/plan/approach/developmental_evaluation
Economic Evaluation
“Compare the benefits of the intervention [intervention/service] with the costs”
Magenta Book (2011) – http://gov.uk/government/publications/the-magenta-book
Effectiveness
“The extent to which an intervention produces an overall benefit under usual or everyday conditions”.
https://www.nice.org.uk/article/pmg20/chapter/glossary
“The extent to which a treatment achieves its intended purpose”. “The ability to produce a specific result or to exert a specific measurable influence”.
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/effectiveness
Efficacy
“the ability of an intervention to produce the desired beneficial effect in expert hands and under ideal circumstances”.
Efficiency
“A measure of how economically resources/inputs (funds, expertise, time, etc) are converted to results”
“which measures how well resources are used in order to achieve a desired outcome”
WHO (2013) Evaluation Practice Handbook
http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/painres/download/whatis/what_is_health_econ.pdf
Evaluability
“The extent to which an activity or a programme can be evaluated in a reliable and credible fashion”
WHO (2013) Evaluation Practice Handbook
apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/96311/1/9789241548687_eng.pdf
Evaluability Assessment
“Early review of a proposed activity in order to ascertain whether its objectives are adequately defined and its results verifiable”
WHO (2013) Evaluation Practice Handbook
apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/96311/1/9789241548687_eng.pdf
Evaluation
“measure/judge current service without reference to a standard, “What standard does this service achieve?”
http://www.hra.nhs.uk/documents/2013/09/defining-research.pdf
“A study in which research procedures are used in a systematic way to judge the quality or value of a service or intervention, providing evidence that can be used to improve it”
West of England Evaluation Strategy Group, 2013