Evaluating needs analysis

Needs analysis is a kind of assessment and thus can be evaluated by considering its reliability,
validity, and practicality.

Reliable needs analysis involves using well-thought-out, standardised tools that are applied
systematically. Rather than just observing people performing tasks that learners will have to do
after the course, it is better to systematise the observation by using a checklist, or by recording
and applying standardised analysis procedures. The more pieces of observation and the more
people who are studied, the more reliable the results.

Valid needs analysis involves looking at what is relevant and important. Consideration of the
type of need that is being looked at and the type of information that is being gathered is
important. Before needs analysis begins it may be necessary to do a ranking activity to decide
what type of need should get priority in the needs analysis investigation. The worst decision
would be to let practicality dominate by deciding to investigate what is easiest to investigate!

Practical needs analysis is not expensive, does not occupy too much of the learners’ and
teacher’s time, provides clear, easy-to-understand results, and can easily be incorporated into
the curriculum design process.

There will always be a tension between reliable and valid needs analysis and practical needs
analysis. A compromise is necessary but validity should always be given priority.

when you're doing an assessment we will to try to find materials and the results of the
materials that we will be using. make sure that they have some scientific basis for the students.
make sure it's reliable, valid, and practical. what I mean is we will go in and analyze a course or
program. what do they want? what do they need? what do they have?

and then when you go to start building things for them to use in this program, in addition to
just the scope and sequence you're going to start building materials and you need to make sure
those materials are reliable, valid and practical.

and what I mean by reliable is I'm going to get a consistent result from these materials over and
over again. so with a different group of learners if they're taking the same type of tests or doing
the same type of project the end result is I'm going to have students that have progressed as to
X amount. it's going to be consistent throughout

valid ensure that the content that's covered is actually what is needed and useful for these
learners. Make sure that it's valid
 practical what's going to be the easiest and most useful okay try not to get focused on well this
is the newest rave or this is the nicest software, what's practical am I going to be able to do it in
other words is it going to be efficient easy to reproduce and cost-effective make it practical
make it something that they can use rather quickly make it something that students can have
access to and immediately start using it again whether it's paper and pencil whether it's a
technology whatever these materials are it should be practical to them to where they are.