The purpose of this study was to identify the specific competencies needed to apply social marketing, a promising approach to behavior change, to Extension programming. A modified Delphi study was used to achieve group consensus among a panel of experts on the skills, characteristics, and knowledge needed to successfully apply this behavior change…

This dissertation describes the process of creating a guidebook that developmental education administrators can use to build their capacity as leaders, learners, and program planners. The guidebook is the product of a qualitative study designed to better understand how community college administrators who have program planning responsibilities for…

As qualitative research methodologies continue to evolve and develop, both students and experienced researchers are showing greater interest in learning about and developing new approaches. To meet this need, faculty at the University of Manitoba created the Qualitative Research Group (QRG), a community of practice that utilizes experiential…

In Fall 2007, Hudson Guild--a settlement house that provides services to hundreds of adults, teens and children in two housing developments in New York City--embarked on a study to assess the needs of youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who were residing in the community and were disconnected (i.e., those youth who were not in school or not…

This study assessed the types of research and the statistical methods used in three representative health education journals from 1994 through 2003. Editorials, commentaries, program/practice notes, and perspectives represent 17.6% of the journals' content. The most common types of articles are cross-sectional studies (27.5%), reviews (23.2%), and…

Describes a process for determining priorities within a university extension unit that involves pooling the judgment of extension programmers to produce a valid "average" judgment even where considerable diversity of opinion exists. (JOW)

The purpose of the focus group design described in this paper was to identify the needs of students in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs for use by researchers, program designers, and teachers. The pilot focus group consisted of students from various programs who were preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language. They were…

Systematic investigation of processes involved in needs analysis would improve current knowledge of the procedure and would bring analysts closer to the goal of generalized validity rather than situational validity. This article deals with two phases of the needs assessment process: selecting participants and defining needs and alternatives in…

This document is the first of a series that will address five stages of the school reform process. It focuses on the first stage of the change process, managing key stakeholders and external groups and engaging them in the planning and development of the reform or innovation. A stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect or is affected…

This book offers step-by-step guidance on using needs assessment to design high-quality programs in continuing education. The book begins with a definition and description of needs assessment as part of the process of developing a continuing education program. The first of the book's 10 chapters describes the role of needs assessment in…

A polling technique devised to discover the attitudes and priorities of low income families on the subject of health care is described. (JD)

As part of a 2-year study to plan, develop, and offer relevant continuing education programs for women in Pensacola, a Delphi study was conducted to determine the educational needs and priorities of different types of women living in Pensacola. The Delphi method was selected because it is considered an effective way of eliciting the opinions of a…

Needs assessment is an activity undertaken for planning purposes. It is important to define the limits of the study and design it on a scale appropriate to the entire planning process. This paper suggests that a needs assessment be structured into two phases. In the pre-assessment phase, a conceptual framework and well-defined exploratory…

A Teacher Corps-sponsored survey of a rural town in northern Maine is described. The survey was intended to investigate the feelings of town citizens regarding their own lives, the town in which they live, and their school. It was intended to disclose the need for day or foster care centers, to find out about the levels of educational attainment…

This presentation reports the results of a national assessment study of parenting skills. The aim of this study was to provide direction for the development of a television series to improve and increase awareness of parenting skills among parents of young children and prospective parents. Over 200 existing media items were located and evaluated;…