Follow-Up Research as an Evaluation Strategy Jonathan A. Morell Handbook of Vocational and Educational Evaluation Abstract If follow-up techniques are to be used to their fullest potential as a method of evaluation, it is necessary to consider the unique nature of evaluation as a form of social research (Flaherty and Morell, 1978), and to integrate that understanding with a knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of follow-up design. It is also necessary to clearly identify those aspects of social research which are most relevant to the design of follow-up studies, and to show how each of those areas contributes to the construction of appropriate and powerful follow-up strategies. The present chapter is an attempt to meet these objectives. Although the focus of the chapter is on follow-up in vocational education programs, the issues presented will have general applicability to a wide range of evaluation settings. In order t meet these objectives, the discussion will be presented in six major sections: the uses of follow-up evaluation, inference from follow-up data, attrition, statistical issues, the costs of follow-up, and the choice of relevant variables. |