Which of these statements do you most agree with?
Although it should never be stated that a program “will” do anything, this answer is most consistent with the view of most ASC practitioners.
Which of these statements do you most agree with?
This answer is most consistent with the view of ASC practitioners.
Which of the following is LEAST consistent with your view of an ASC project?
This answer may indeed have social value and help promote social change, but, is likely the answer least consistent with ASC as we are defining it in this module – which involves non-artists participating actively in the art making.
True or False:
Some information collected from a qualitative study may be able to be summarized into a quantitative format.
For example, counting the number of people interviewed that highlighted the same important theme.
Fill in the blank:
“___________ data can be measured and assigned a numerical value.”
For example:
- Percent change on a personal growth index
- Percent of people who decreased substance use after starting the program
- Percent of the people who had dropped out of school prior to the program who returned to school
Examples
Visit the
Examples to see examples of projects using quantitative approaches.
Choose the best answer:
“___________ evaluation results can be observed or experienced, but not directly measured.”
For example:
- Understanding people’s perceptions about an experience through an interview, gestures, or drawings
- Analyzing power dynamics within a program by participant observation or a role-play
- Observing children smiling and laughing
Note that by definition, quantitative data should be able to be directly measured.
Examples
Visit the
Examples to see examples of projects using qualitative and arts-based approaches.
Choose the best answer:
“___________” evaluation uses art or artistic processes in the evaluation process itself.
For example; asking participants to:
- make a gesture to depict how they feel about the program
- draw a picture or sing a song about their experience
- take photos of things that matter to them and discuss these as it relates to the program objectives
Arts-based techniques could even be used in a quantitative survey – e.g., asking people to pick a drawing that most represents their views, rather than choosing a written answer. Arts-based techniques can also be used within a focus group.
Which is true?
Monitoring, which is ongoing, provides important input to formal evaluations. The people involved in monitoring may or may not be involved in the formal evaluation.
What makes a good evaluator?
It is best not to have someone with potential conflicts of interest leading the evaluation.
What do you do if the data you collect with different methods give contradicting messages? For example, the quantitative results show no gains but the qualitative results suggest there are benefits for some participants.
Often surveys do not have enough “power” to detect important impacts because the numbers are not large enough. Also, the fact that some people may benefit even if the majority do not is still worth noting.
What do you do if the evaluator provides a bad evaluation?
A negative evaluation provides a valuable opportunity to review and reflect on the project and process, and to consider improvements for future projects.
What kind of art forms can be involved in ASC projects?
Art for social change projects can involve any art form, or any combination of art forms.
Quantitative methods - comparing rates before and after the program
Participatory action methods
Discourse analysis of the writing of participants
Analysis of interviews with participants
Investigate the skills needed to effectively advocate for better daycare policy and engage with single mothers to improve these skills
Understand the lived experience of three participants engaged in a community music project
Understand the different realities of participants in a poetry writing workshop
Evaluate the extent to which reoffending rates decrease in incarcerated youth who attend a dance program compared to those who were not offered such a program
Match the program theory to the level of analysis.
Create an interactive theatrical production with and by community activists to raise awareness of the social roots of a local environmental issue in their community and galvanize opposition
Use dance to improve mobility in adults with a physical disability and thereby improve their social inclusion and activism for the rights of people with disabilities
Use dance to improve mobility in adults with a physical disability and thereby improve their social inclusion in their community
Use dance to improve mobility in adults with a physical disability
Social change can be seen as relating to the
micro (individual) level,
meso (group) level, or
macro (societal) level, although these are
not mutually exclusive categories as shown by the responses designated.
(Read more about theories of social change. 
)
You want to study how the ASC project is currently being perceived amongst the 18 individuals in the program.
Your evaluation could:
Because you are dealing with individuals' perceptions, qualitative analysis would probably be the best fit. Further, because you are only considering the current perception, and not how perception is changing over time, you would not need to collect multiple data points. Therefore conducting interviews or holding a focus group for cross-sectional qualitative analysis would be best.
You want to measure the extent to which individuals in the ASC project develop greater self-esteem than they had before they started the project.
Your evaluation could include:
Because you want to determine the change in self-esteem (whether it increased), you will need to perform a longitudinal evaluation. Further, because you are looking to compare a measurable change in self-esteem, you will need to collect quantitative data. It could be possible to extract quantitative data from interviews with the participants, but using an existing validated survey for self-esteem would require less work.
If you want to measure the extent to which participants in ASC projects develop greater self-esteem than participants in other recreational activities, your evaluation could include:
Because you want to determine the change in self-esteem (whether it increased), you will need to perform a longitudinal evaluation. Further, because you are looking to compare a measurable change in self-esteem, you will need to collect quantitative data. Because you want to compare with participants that did not participate in the art project, you will want to have a comparison group from the same community.
You want to study the way that individuals in ASC projects perceive that their self-esteem has improved, and how this change has impacted their lives.
Your evaluation could include:
Because you are looking at individual perceptions, a qualitative evaluation would be most appropriate. You could also interview the participants both before and after the art project to see if there are changes in important themes that you discuss.
You want to study whether communities perceive that after the ASC project there is greater social cohesion, less crime, less drop-outs, greater solidarity, etc.
Your evaluation would be LEAST helped by:
Statisics Canada would not have useful information on how the community perceives social cohesion and solidarity, let alone have accurate data on crime or school attendance.
You want to study whether there is evidence of decreased incarcerations of youth in the community since the ASC project began, compared to where no such programs exist.
Your evaluation could include:
The question asks for ‘evidence', so it would be best if there are actual statistics you can draw upon. If the data is available, for example through police reports, the anaysis can be done retrospectively after the project has been completed.
You want to study whether the ASC project resulted in fewer school drop-outs compared to a community which didn’t participate in the ASC project.
Your evaluation could include:
Once the art project is complete, if data is available for school drop-out rates, you can compare the change in the community with the ASC project to the one without an ASC project.
True or False:
If you are an academic you should wait for a response from peer-reviews before sharing a synthesis of your findings with your community partners and participants.
The input of your community partners and participants may make the work better, and need not wait for the long period of peer-review. However, you should advise your partners to consider this a preliminary report, subject to modification and finalization after peer-review.
True or False:
You should let the funder make the final decision about whether your analysis should be shared with the community with which you are working.
Keep in mind that ASC, by definition, is meant to promote positive social change; you should not allow the funders to “own” your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the ASC project. However, it is reasonable to share your report with the funder, to get their input, before your share it more widely with the public and/or academic community.
True or False:
It is always best to plan multiple ways to disseminate your findings.
While it is unusual for a statement that has the word “always” to be considered “true” in a multiple-choice question, there are indeed always many stakeholders involved in an ASC project – the community you are serving, organizations, funders, researchers, artists – and you need to plan the ways to reach all of these using the way that is best for them.
Which would not be an appropriate way to disseminate findings?
There are many stakeholders involved in an ASC project – the community you are serving, organizations, funders, researchers, artists – and you need to plan the ways to reach all of these using the way that is best for them.
True or False:
You only need to consider ethics if you are submitting a Research Ethics Board application at a university.
A community volunteer who worked hard to create this program raises a concern; she feels that meetings about the evaluation are always held during the workday so the paid staff can participate, but as she is a volunteer and has to work during the day, she cannot attend these meetings. This concern is an example of which of the following ethical issues?
A participant signs a consent form on the first day of the program. On the fifth day, he says that he no longer feels comfortable participating in the evaluation. You:
Consent is active and ongoing. Participants must be able to decline consent at any time. And, it is important to document individuals declining consent, analyzing why this refusal is occurring.
(Read more in the ethics section of our guide
)
You are running a painting program for adults with mental health issues. The plan is to exhibit the paintings in the lobby of a public building to raise awareness of mental health issues and to reduce stigma. The person organizing the exhibit printed a poster with a list of the names of all the participants and mounted placards with each artist’s name to display alongside the paintings. The poster has been used online to promote the exhibit. One of the participants becomes upset that her identity has been revealed publicly. You:
Participants should be allowed to determine whether or not they want to be identified and should have the right to change their position. Also, the attribution and disclosure of identity should be made clear at the outset to help avoid future issues.
(Read more in the ethics section of our guide
)
As part of an evaluation of a youth arts program, you analyzed a video-recorded skit created and performed by the participants illustrating their experiences during the program. After reading the evaluation findings in a report, a few of the participants dispute the findings saying that your interpretation of the skit does not reflect their true thoughts and feelings. What could have been done to mitigate this issue?
Arts-based evaluation methods have many advantages including the opportunity for participants to express themselves through different art forms. However, misrepresentation of art can easily happen so it is important to consider ways to mitigate this issue.
(Read more in the ethics section of our guide
)
Which of the following examples does not constitute social change, as defined in this tool?
In arts for social change,
social justice is a central objective of the program theory and its evaluation.
(Read more about theories of social change. )
In the case of scenario A and D, the agency is using arts-based methods but the underlying
theory (What does the program hope to accomplish, and how?) is not necessarily centered around social justice.
You receive the results of an evaluation of a similar program to one you recently evaluated but in a different community – it used the same art form, the same age group and the same evaluation method – but the results are different. You:
It is vital to consider the
context as it can influence the underlying program theory, the evaluation analysis and results, and the interpretation of the results, among other factors.
(Read more about context. )
The advantages of arts-based methods include the following, except:
Arts-based methods are an emerging area in research and evaluation. Read more about
arts-based methods, including their advantages and challenges, as well as issues to consider in
arts-based analysis
You analyzed the data from your evaluation of a visual arts program for school-aged children, and are looking to synthesize the findings in a report. Questions to consider when drawing conclusions from your data analysis include the following, except:
Please note
Due to the nature of the material, problems can often have multiple solutions. The following questions are no exception. The answers provided are guidelines only.
If you think that any of our questions are wildly inaccurate or woefully lacking,
please let us know. Your suggestions on ways we can improve the quiz (or any other part of the tool) can remain anonymous if you prefer.
Icon Guide
Indicates the preferred option(s) given the information provided in the question.
Indicates the secondary option(s) based on the information presented in the question; although there could be other contextual reasoning to select what is identified as a secondary option.
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