Innovating on an in-person evaluation design during a[n indefinite] period of physical distancing

The COVID-19 outbreak has driven rapid, drastic changes to the ways evaluators collect data. Presenters from the University of Michigan Center for Education Design, Evaluation, and Research (CEDER) share the ways in which these changes inspired them to innovate upon a focus group design to conduct a rigorous formative evaluation online. Prior to the nationwide COVID-19 response, members of the CEDER team were working on a focus group design that integrated small-scale A/B testing of a program resource, a two-question quantitative survey, and a semi-structured interview protocol. When the University of Michigan suspended in-person research activities on March 13, the team was forced to consider whether this evaluation was still feasible. This presentation will document the ways in which members of the CEDER team used technology to innovate upon their design so as to proceed with their evaluation. Presenters will discuss the challenges faced, changes made, and lessons learned.