By Janine Quiambao
Being a research assistant co-op student at Cathexis has been such a great experience. With 6 months behind me at Cathexis and 2 months to go, here are a few things I’ve learned about program evaluation:
Quantitative data analysis is not as scary as it sounds! I used to be so intimidated by quantitative data analysis. After reading the RA job description and seeing this listed as one of the tasks for the position, I immediately messaged everyone I could possibly think of that has done quantitative analysis asking for tips and tricks all of which replied the same way: “don’t worry, they’ll teach you on the job!” They were right. I’m picking things up as I go, and my level of comfort with Excel has increased with each quantitative analysis I’ve done.
Evaluation can look very different across projects. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to evaluation. Clients may have different goals of the evaluation, which is why Cathexis offers a broad array of services. On top of that, evaluations should be culturally sensitive, taking into account the diverse needs, values, and contexts of the program’s participants.
Reports don’t have to be lengthy – quality over quantity! Prior to working at Cathexis, when I thought of the word “report”, I thought of wordy 100+ page documents. Cathexis style reports are the opposite – they’re easy to follow, and have all the necessary information presented concisely with visuals to help tell a story. To avoid jargony reports, we always think about using plain language.
In 2 months I will go back to school to finish my last year of undergrad. While I’ll be sad to end this placement, I am so excited to take the skills and knowledge I gained from working at Cathexis into my academic career!