NIGMS-funded training programs must conduct ongoing program evaluations to monitor the effectiveness of their training and mentoring activities in meeting the stated goals. The following evaluation resources include guides, reports, tools, and relevant literature on various aspects of evaluation. This is not a comprehensive guide to the field of evaluation or to developing an evaluation. The resources listed are free and publicly accessible, as of the time this site was developed.

For answers to common questions about evaluations and their role in NIGMS programs, visit our Evaluation Resources Frequently Asked Questions page.

NIGMS did not create the content on the external sites linked below, isn't responsible for their availability or content, and does not endorse, warrant, or guarantee the products, services, or information described or offered at these sites.

General Evaluation Resources

• Evaluation 101: an index of resources to support program evaluation planning and implementation needs
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook: a handbook that provides guidance for conducting and managing evaluations
• BetterEvaluation: a website with hundreds of resources on evaluation tasks, including overviews, guides, example frameworks and questions, tools or toolkits, and discussion papers
• The Evaluation Center: a website with an evaluation checklist, organized by evaluation task areas, that can be used when designing and implementing an evaluation; various guides and literature
• Survey Methods for Sensitive Topics [PDF]: an outline of four survey techniques to protect sensitive topics
• Introduction to Impact Evaluation [PDF]: an introduction to impact evaluation that addresses questions to support management, program, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) staff in international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to plan, design, manage, conduct, and use impact evaluations
• 'A balancing act': Resolving multiple stakeholder interests in program evaluation [PDF]: a paper discussing negotiation—an essential component to the planning stage of an evaluation—and strategic steps to be taken early in the evaluation process to ensure consensus is developed in stakeholder expectations regarding methodology and outcomes
• Likert-type Scale Response Anchors [PDF], Vagias, WM. (2006)
• Cognitive Interviewing — A "How To" Guide [PDF]: a guide outlining strategies to implement during questionnaire development and testing to build better surveys

STEM Education and Research Training Evaluation Resources

• Informal Science: a website providing guides, plans, and tools for STEM evaluation
• Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA): an online survey instrument for programs to use in assessing the student outcomes of undergraduate research
• Entering Research Learning Assessment (ERLA): surveys for both research trainee and mentor to assess learning in seven areas of trainee development
• The STEM Education and Training Topical Interest Group (STEM TIG): a professional home for evaluators who are looking for a community around STEM education evaluation

Relevant Literature

• Entering Research Learning Assessment (ERLA): Validity Evidence for an Instrument to Measure Undergraduate and Graduate Research Trainee Development. Butz AR, Branchaw JL. (2020). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-07-0146
• Program evaluation practices and the training of PhD students in STEM. Reeves PM, Claydon J, Davenport GA. (2022). Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 13(2), 109-131. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-04-2021-0029
• The role of scientific communication in predicting science identity and research career intention. Cameron C, Lee HY, Anderson CB, Trachtenberg J, Chang S. (2020). PLOS ONE, 15(2): e0228197. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228197
• Where Do Our Graduates Go? A Tool Kit for Tracking Career Outcomes of Biomedical PhD Students and Postdoctoral Scholars. Silva E, Mejía A, Watkins E. (2019). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 18(4), p.le3. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-08-0150
• The Mentoring Competency Assessment: Validation of a New Instrument to Evaluate Skills of Research Mentors. Fleming M, House S, Hanson VS, Yu L, Garbutt J, McGee R, Kroenke K, Abedin Z, Rubio DM. (2013). Academic Medicine, 88(7), 1002 1008. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e318295e298
• Point of View: Competency-based assessment for the training of PhD students and early-career scientists. Verderame MF, Freedman VH, Kozlowski LM, McCormack WT. (2018). eLife. 7:e34801. https://doi.org/10.7554%2FeLife.34801

Relevant Journals

• American Journal of Evaluation
• CBE—Life Sciences Education
• Journal of Research Administration
• New Directions for Evaluation
• Research in Higher Education