Qualitative methods in nutrition education evaluation research

Abstract

Evaluation research is seen as an essential component in the development, production, and implementation of all nutrition education programs (1-4), and more nutrition educators are involved in evaluation than in other research activities. The goal of this article is to discuss selected qualitative methods that may improve the quality of those evaluation efforts. Traditionally, nutrition education evaluation research has been quantitative in nature depending primarily on survey questionnaires that assess knowledge, attitudes, and behavior (see [5] for a comprehensive review and meta-analysis). In this type of evaluation, effectiveness is determined by the degree of change noted between preand postintervention (6). However, nutrition educators are becoming increasingly aware of the inadequacy of evaluation results that are based exclusively on quantitative data (3, 7). This is because such accounts often do not provide educators with any detailed insight as to how or why the changes were achieved (8). Qualitative data, on the other hand, can provide more complete information, especially on the process variables that fall between preand postmeasurements (9). This increases the explanatory power of the evaluation while accounting for variations in context (10) . A qualitative approach also yields a report on effects that were not anticipated by the program planners (9). Hence, leaders in nutrition education research (ll) have emphasized the need for more qualitative research. Since few nutrition educators have received formal training in qualitative research methodology, I will begin by defining and clarifying terms. Then I will describe a set of qualitative methods that may be useful in nutrition education evaluati/:m research. And finally, I will discuss the role of both qualitative and quantitative methods in evaluation re~earch. In this article, evaluation is defined as the process of delineating, obtaining, and providing useful information for judging decision alternatives (12) based on an established set of criteria (4). In other words, its primary use is to determine accountability, i.e., whether teachers