Evaluations of Operational Decision Aids. 3. Evaluative Approaches and Methods

摘要

The purposes of operational decision aids are presented and their characteristics are described. Then, operational decision aid evaluation criteria are discussed. This discussion includes proximal vs. distal criteria, criterion acceptability and how to assure acceptability, criterion generalizability, criterion reliability, criterion objectivity, and criterion quantifiability. The problem of the practical significance of a criterion in terms of provision of operationally oriented data is treated. Special criterion problems such as internal vs, external criteria, locus of the evaluation, and post facto derived criteria are discussed vis-a-vis decision aid evaluation. The use of multiple criteria is suggested because multiple measures which support one another are less vulnerable than a unitary measure.