Evaluating Impact: Applications of Mixed-Methods Research Designs for Assessing the Effect of Street Outreach on Participant Outcomes

• In Event: The State of Street Outreach (in Chicago)

Abstract

An enduring question in street outreach is one of the most difficult ones to answer: “Does it work?” This session will highlight several available methods for assessing the impact of violence intervention programs on participant outcomes. During this session, panelists will introduce some of the quantitative and qualitative approaches that researchers at the Northwestern Neighborhood and Network Initiative (N3) apply to evaluate the success of street outreach efforts in Chicago. The discussion will include quantitative methods such as network mapping and survival analysis, as well as qualitative methods such as case and process studies. Panelists will provide preliminary results from analyzing the victimization and arrest outcomes of street outreach participants as well as discuss the challenges to answering the important question “is street outreach successful at reducing violence in Chicago?”

Author

• Marisa Ross, Northwestern University