This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. This article is rated as: Creating clean and consistent charts does not need to be complicated or time-consuming. With some forethought and a style guide, you can draft templates for all your charting needs. Chart templates will alleviate the pains of trying to […]
Sampling bias: identifying and avoiding bias in data collection
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. This article is rated as: Bias in evaluation is inevitable. Reflection helps us to identify our bias and when we do, it is necessary to identify sources of bias in our processes, eliminate which bias we can, and acknowledge which bias we cannot. […]
Finding the Right Sample Size (the Hard Way)
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. In our previous article, ‘Finding the Right Sample Size (the Easy Way)’, we discuss the importance of determining the so-called “correct sample size”. Our recommendation for most applications was to use an online sample size calculator (check out our calculator HERE). However, for […]
Finding the Right Sample Size (the Easy Way)
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. How many respondents do we need to take our survey? Whether it be survey respondents, program participants, or any other group of interest, evaluators are often posed with these “how many” questions. That is, what sample size is required to glean meaningful insight […]
A Beginner’s Guide to PivotTables
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. If you work with data in Excel, whether frequently or infrequently, learning the basics of PivotTables will improve your ability to quickly explore and analyze raw data. PivotTables can transform your raw data into meaningful insights and reports in minutes. And the best part: creating PivotTables does not require any prior knowledge of Excel’s […]
The Data Cleaning Toolbox
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. The end goal of collecting data is to eventually draw meaningful insights from said data. However, the transition from raw data to meaningful insights is not always a linear path. Real-world data are messy. Often, data will be incomplete, inconsistent, or invalid. Therefore, it is imperative that data be cleaned […]
From data to actionable insights
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. As evaluators, we are rarely organizational decision-makers; it is our job to provide those decision-makers with actionable insights. In this article I highlight how you can translate data into meaningful findings, or insights, so you can support decision-makers to drive action within […]
Video: How To Create a Visually Impactful Column Chart
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. In this video tutorial, we show you how to create a column chart in Microsoft Excel. Learn the basics of creating and transforming your column charts into something clean, informative, and impactful: To download a PDF version of this tutorial to save […]
7 Tips for Better Data Visualizations
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. Data visualization is an effective approach for improved data comprehension. Seeing the data presented in a clear, concise fashion drives your overall message home much better than cluttered tables. In this article I outline seven simple tips that will help to improve […]
Four common data entry mistakes (and how to fix them)
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at evalacademy.com. You have developed your evaluation plan, written your questions, and deployed your tools. And now, you have just received your raw data. You are excited to jump in and analyze the data. But wait. You note several inconsistencies in the raw data. […]