title: Response shift bias: a problem in evaluating nutrition training using self-report measures.
abstract: The Cooperative Extension Service has been a key partner in the design, implementation, and evaluation of school nutrition training. To evaluate the effectiveness of their training and the effects of response shift bias on outcomes using a self-report measure, 162 foodservice staff from eight rural schools participated in this food-handling behavior study. Nutrition staff were assigned to one of two treatment groups or to the control group. Two different evaluation designs (pretest/ post-test and then/post) were used. The then/post design asks participants to first report their behavior or understanding as a result of the training (post) and then to retrospectively report this behavior before the training. The then/post evaluation design provided more significant change data than did the traditional pretest/post-test design, indicating that a response shift occurred. Such differences in evaluation findings suggest that the educational benefit of such training may be underestimated when using the traditional pre/post evaluation design.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. eps-dffr@arches.uga.edu
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Rohs
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Langone
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Coleman
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015982:Bias; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005522:Food Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools