Bloggers Series: Amy Germuth on EvalThoughts

Hi, I’m Amy Germuth, owner of EvalWorks, LLC,  an evaluation and survey company in Chapel Hill-Durham, NC.

Rad Resource – EvalThoughts.com:  EvalThoughts focuses on four main areas: Evaluation, Surveying, Methodology, and Consulting. Content is usually posted monthly or more frequently (although sometimes life intervenes instead!).  Where possible I try to examine my own practices and focus on ways I can improve.

Hot Tips – favorite posts: Below are a few posts that provide a good overview of the type of posts I write:

• Bias in Survey Response Scale – this post has received the most number of page views since it was created in October 2009 and was based on research I had conducted.
• Quasi-Experimental Designs – another highly viewed post and my effort to push evaluation designs.
• Evaluating Your Own Consulting Practice – turning our practice inwards.
• How Big Should Our Sample Be? – where I try to answer life’s most critical question.

Lessons Learned – why I blog: I blog as a means of trying to ask and answer questions that I have; the actual blog is then a way to share what I have learned.  My posts are meant for other evaluators, but my clients often read these posts and frequently new clients note that they have read my blog. It’s also a great way to give back to the community as I try to do with my pieces on consulting to help others new to the business.

Lessons Learned: Blogging is fun!  It’s a great way to meet others electronically, and almost all persons who leave comments provide their own insights to the topics I post, increasing learning for all readers.

This winter, we’re running a series highlighting evaluators who blog. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.