Study Planning

Abstract

The prior chapters have provided a general introduction to the evaluation process. This chapter describes what to do once evaluation questions are outlined and interest in conducting an evaluation project has deepened. The chapter begins with a description of a realistic evaluation mindset and warning of what might undermine the project during the planning stage. It then describes the role of stakeholders, the process of seeking evidence by searching for and reviewing the literature, the importance of Evidence Based Health Informatics (EBHI), and the necessity of organizing and conducting an evaluation study as a formal project.

Answers to Self-Tests

Self-Test 5.1

• 1. What sources would a team member want to look for first and for what topics?

  The literature about Diffusion of Innovations Theory is vast. The team knows there is a classic book about it, so first a copy of that book should be located. It would be a good starting point if it included up to date references, but the book is old, so references are old. Therefore, the team should next locate papers in the health science literature about DOI and informatics interventions, so the team asks a librarian for guidance searching appropriate databases for papers at the intersection of those two broad topics.

• 2. What would you do if you find 1000 papers about Diffusion of Innovations and ICT in health care?

  You would narrow your search. You could try finding papers about DOI and patient entered data, but there might be other relevant papers of interest as well about DOI and patient facing technologies.

• 3. Once you found a few especially helpful papers, what would you do?

  Look at the references in those papers. Look at the index terms for those papers and use those terms when doing another search. Search a citation index database to find recent papers that have cited those key papers.

Self-Test 5.2

• 1. What skills would the present team need to make sure were represented on an internal evaluation team?

  Assuming the existing team members have informatics training, they are likely a mix of clinicians and ICT specialists. They probably know how to gather and analyze usage data, but they might want to make sure they have a usability specialist on the team and a clinician practicing in the outpatient environment. They should add a qualitative methodologist if they do not already have one on the team to plan the interview process. In addition, they will need a project manager.

• 2. What skills might the team want in an advisory group?

  To help with access to the usage data, a data specialist from the organization could become an advisor. To assist with the qualitative part, both an outside social scientist and a clinic manager who could help with building rapport in the clinics would be useful. The addition of a patient representative to gain that perspective would be a good idea as well.