Project Evaluation Resources

Project evaluation plans were requested from all of the Noyce projects and Web sites at NSF, and the Noyce sites providing plans were examined to gather information on how the project level evaluations were being conducted. All of the information was distilled and integrated to amalgamate the data, the methods, the instruments, and the research questions.

Project Evaluation Database

The Project Evaluation Database provides:

  • an organized overview of the types and frequencies of variables on which sites reported collecting/intending to collect data. This database is not searchable (Evaluation Variables)
  • a searchable compilation of the instruments used by sites that were commercially available, publicly posted, or provided by Noyce Programs (Instrument Descriptions)

Click here to access the Project Evaluation Database

Instruction for using the Project Evaluation Database (Instrument Descriptions)

Step 1: Retrieve Relevant Instrument Descriptions:  

  • Upon entering the Project Evaluation Database File, choose the Instrument Descriptions tab at the bottom of the workbook to enter the appropriate spreadsheet.
  • You will notice several column headers, and the database is able to be queried by any of these. You will also notice an arrowhead in the cell of each column header. To query within a particular column, click your mouse upon that arrowhead.
  • A drop-down menu will appear and offer the options for your querying. These options consist of each entry in that column (e.g., observation, survey) as well as all, top 10, and custom.
  • To retrieve all records fitting a simple search parameter (e.g., observations or science instruments) click on that particular term (e.g., observation or science).
  • You may also select subsets of columns by querying more than one column (e.g., achievement in the construct column and mathematics in the content column).
  • To return all instrument descriptions, choose all. Note: You will need to select ALL for each column in which you have performed a query. The queried columns are indicated by a change in arrow color from black to blue.
  • To conduct a more elaborate query (e.g., all instruments for science or math), use the custom function and link your search terms with the appropriate connector (e.g., content equals science OR equals math).
  • Note: top 10 is generally not relevant as most columns are not arranged in any hierarchical fashion and sort ascending as well as sort descending functions are not enabled for this database.

Step 2: Link to and Examine Actual Instruments:  

  • If the actual instrument is available for public access, a link will be provided in the Link to Instrument column. Selecting this link will take you to the instrument.
  • The column Link to Additional Information will contain any link(s) available to further details on the instrument.
  • The method for returning to the main spreadsheet differs depending on whether you are viewing the instrument as a different spreadsheet within the main instrument file or as a separate file.
    • If you have accessed a different spreadsheet, you will see a column entitled Return Link to Main Database and clicking on the cell within this column in the row of the instrument you viewed will return you to the main spreadsheet.
    • If you have entered a different document, closing this document will return you to the instrument spreadsheet from which you initially departed.