IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/epplan/v35y2012i1p124-132.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the “what should be condition” in needs assessment data

Author

Listed:
  • White, Jeffry L.
  • Altschuld, James W.

Abstract

In needs assessment (N/A), the calculation of discrepancies is based on the assumption the “what should be” condition is a reasonable representation of respondent perceptions. That assumption may be erroneous and requires a closer inspection. This paper examines the use of importance scores in NA and some of the problems that can arise when they are used as a proxy to measure the “what should be” condition. A review of the literature and ways of dealing with importance scores are presented, followed by a discussion of the problems and issues that can arise. Some solution strategies are offered along with recommendations for practice and research. The paper provides guidance for others interested in improving needs assessment procedures.

Suggested Citation

  • White, Jeffry L. & Altschuld, James W., 2012. "Understanding the “what should be condition” in needs assessment data," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 124-132.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:epplan:v:35:y:2012:i:1:p:124-132
    DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2011.09.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149718911000759
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2011.09.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lee, Yi-Fang & Altschuld, James W. & White, Jeffry L., 2007. "Problems in needs assessment data: Discrepancy analysis," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 258-266, August.
    2. Kyu-Taik Sung, 1992. "Indentification and prioritization of needs of families by multiple groups: Residents, key informants, and agency directors," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 137-158, March.
    3. Fisher, Robert J, 1993. "Social Desirability Bias and the Validity of Indirect Questioning," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(2), pages 303-315, September.
    4. Lee, Yi-Fang & Altschuld, James W. & White, Jeffry L., 2007. "Effects of multiple stakeholders in identifying and interpreting perceived needs," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-9, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ross, John A., 2008. "Cost-utility analysis in educational needs assessment," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 356-367, November.
    2. Sweldens, Steven & Puntoni, Stefano & Paolacci, Gabriele & Vissers, Maarten, 2014. "The bias in the bias: Comparative optimism as a function of event social undesirability," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 229-244.
    3. Nenycz-Thiel, Magda & Romaniuk, Jenni, 2011. "The nature and incidence of private label rejection," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 93-99.
    4. G. Rejikumar & Aswathy Asokan-Ajitha & Sofi Dinesh & Ajay Jose, 2022. "The role of cognitive complexity and risk aversion in online herd behavior," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 585-621, June.
    5. Stalker, Katie Cotter & Wu, Qi & Evans, Caroline B.R. & Smokowski, Paul R., 2018. "The impact of the positive action program on substance use, aggression, and psychological functioning: Is school climate a mechanism of change?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 143-151.
    6. Mr Clive Boddy & Mr Derek Bond & Dr Elaine Ramsey, 2010. "Projective Techniques Are they a Victim of Clashing Paradigms," Accounting, Finance and Economics Research Group Working Papers 1, Ulster Business School.
    7. Frode Alfnes & Chengyan Yue & Helen H. Jensen, 2010. "Cognitive dissonance as a means of reducing hypothetical bias," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 37(2), pages 147-163, June.
    8. Ruvio, Ayalla A. & Shoham, Aviv, 2016. "Consumer arrogance: Scale development and validation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 3989-3997.
    9. Jie, Yun, 2020. "Responding to requests for help: Effects of payoff schemes with small monetary units," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Datta Gupta, Nabanita & Lausten, Mette & Pozzoli, Dario, 2012. "Does Mother Know Best? Parental Discrepancies in Assessing Child Functioning," IZA Discussion Papers 6962, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Gabriel, Andreas & Rombach, Meike & Wieser, Hannah & Bitsch, Vera, 2021. "Got waste: knowledge, behavior and self-assessment on food waste of university students in Germany," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 24(6), February.
    12. Ana León-Gómez & José Manuel Santos-Jaén & Daniel Ruiz-Palomo & Mercedes Palacios-Manzano, 2022. "Disentangling the impact of ICT adoption on SMEs performance: the mediating roles of corporate social responsibility and innovation," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 13(3), pages 831-866, September.
    13. Carvalho, Sergio W. & Fazel, Hesham & Trifts, Valerie, 2018. "Transgressing a group value in a transcultural experience: Immigrants' affective response to perceived social identity threats," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 326-333.
    14. Rimal, Arbindra & Fletcher, Stanley M. & McWatters, Kay H., 2000. "Nutrition Considerations In Food Selection," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 3(1), pages 1-16.
    15. Sjöstedt, Martin & Sundström, Aksel & Jagers, Sverker C. & Ntuli, Herbert, 2022. "Governance through community policing: What makes citizens report poaching of wildlife to state officials?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    16. María Dolores Aledo‐Ruiz & Eva Martínez‐Caro & José Manuel Santos‐Jaén, 2022. "The influence of corporate social responsibility on students' emotional appeal in the HEIs: The mediating effect of reputation and corporate image," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 578-592, May.
    17. Lergetporer, Philipp & Piopiunik, Marc & Simon, Lisa, 2021. "Does the education level of refugees affect natives’ attitudes?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    18. Burgstaller, Lilith & Feld, Lars P. & Pfeil, Katharina, 2022. "Working in the shadow: Survey techniques for measuring and explaining undeclared work," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 661-671.
    19. Pradeep Kumar Ponnamma Divakaran & Jie Xiong, 2022. "Eliciting brand association networks: A new method using online community data," Post-Print hal-03700393, HAL.
    20. Sha Yang & Yi Zhao & Ravi Dhar, 2010. "Modeling the Underreporting Bias in Panel Survey Data," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 525-539, 05-06.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:epplan:v:35:y:2012:i:1:p:124-132. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/evalprogplan .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.