This bibliography includes selected documents MSCs can access to obtain additional information about needs assessment and a range of social research methods.

• Assessing Community Needs and Resources (2000). University of Kansas Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development and AHEC/Community Partners in Amherst, Massachusetts. Available online at http://ctb.ukans.edu/tools/EN/chapter_1003.htm.

  The Community ToolBox website provides myriad "how-to tools" designed to help practitioners with the different tasks necessary for community health and development. There are sections on leadership, strategic planning, community assessment, advocacy, grant writing, and evaluation. This chapter, which is part of a larger overview (Community Assessment, Agenda Setting, and Choice of Broad Strategies), includes information on assessment planning; analyzing community problems; conducting focus groups, interviews, and surveys; and leading a community dialogue.

• Carmona, M. C., Stewart, K., Gottfredson, D. C., and Gottfredson, G. D. (1998). A Guide for Evaluating Prevention Effectiveness, CSAP Technical Report. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. E-mail info@health.org to order (Publication No. PHD764).

  This guide provides practitioners with basic evaluation concepts and tools. It describes commonly used research designs and their strengths and weaknesses, as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection methods used in process and outcome evaluations. Data analysis issues are also discussed.

• Dahlberg, L. L., Toal, S. B., and Behrens, C. B. (1998). Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/measure.htm.

  This compendium provides information about the importance of outcome evaluations, and guidance on how to conduct such evaluations, along with a set of more than 100 tools that can be used to evaluate programs designed to prevent youth violence. The measures included in this compendium, which are primarily intended for use with youth between the ages of 11 and 20, fall into four categories: attitude and belief assessments, psychosocial and cognitive assessments, behavior assessments, and environmental assessments. This is not an exhaustive list of available measures and should be used carefully since many assessments are not included, new measurement tools are being developed, and existing tools must be improved.

• Dawkins, C., Larson, M. J., Buckley, J., and Gabriel, R. M. (1997). How Do We Know We Are Making a Difference? A Community Substance Abuse Indicators Handbook. Boston, MA: Join Together, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston University; and Institute for Health Policy, Heller School, Brandeis University. Available online at http://www.jointogether.org/sa/.

  This handbook is designed to help community coalitions and other groups develop indicators that describe the scope and nature of local substance abuse problems. It provides basic information on twenty different substance abuse indicators, outlines some important use and interpretation issues, and contains state and local directories and data references.

• Getting to Outcomes: Assess Needs (Spring, 2000). Rockville, MD: U.S. SAMHSA/CSAP's National Center for the Advancement of Prevention and Centers for the Application of Prevention Technologies. Available online at http://www.preventiondss.org/.

  This training guide offers an eight-step process for conducting a needs assessment: (1) Determine the Problem, (2) Build Your Team, (3) Assess Risk and Protective Factors, (4) Select Indicators, (5) Collect the Data, (6) Go the Extra Mile, (7) Analyze and Report the Data, and (8) Do It All Over Again.

• Gruenewald, P. J., Treno, A. J., Taff, G., and Klitzner, P. J. (1997). Measuring Community Indicators: A Systems Approach to Drug and Alcohol Problems. Applied Social Research Methods (45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Available online at http://www.sagepub.com/.

  This guide provides communities and researchers with analytic and practical tools for assessing their programs. The authors present a theoretical perspective -- developed from community systems theory -- as a basis for the practical strategies outlined in the book. They identify and evaluate a number of community indicators, present specific techniques for collecting community indicator data, and explore the advantages and disadvantages of doing so.

• Hawkins, J. D. and Nederhood, B. (1987). Handbook for Evaluating Drug and Alcohol Prevention Programs: Staff/Team Evaluation of Prevention Programs (STEPP). Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 87-1512.

  Though written in 1987, this is still a powerful resource for parent groups needing to evaluate their programs. The handbook begins by answering such questions as, Why bother evaluating? Do we need experts? How do we begin? It goes on to explain various kinds of measurements and how to make use of what is learned from the evaluation process. Included are "Think Sheets," sample survey instruments, and an annotated bibliography.

• Isaac, S. and Michael, W. B. (1983). Handbook in Research and Evaluation: A Collection of Principles, Methods, and Strategies Useful in Planning, Design, and Evaluation of Studies in Education and the Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition). San Diego, CA: EdLTS Publishers.

  This book summarizes basic information on research and evaluation methods. It is intended to help practitioners choose the best technique for a particular study. The major topics discussed include planning evaluation and research studies, research design and methods, instrumentation and measurement, data analysis, and reporting a research study. In addition, many useful tables and worksheets are included.

• Join Together, Boston University School of Public Health (1999). Beyond Anecdote: Using Local Indicators to Guide Your Community Strategy to Reduce Substance Abuse. 1999 Monthly Action Kit, Special 1999 Issue. Boston, MA: Join Together. Available online at http://www.jointogether.org/sa/files/pdf/surveykit.pdf.

  This kit introduces readers to a variety of local substance abuse indicators and provides suggestions on how to measure them. Drawing on responses from Join Together's 1998 Survey of Communities, it presents examples of how communities across the nation are using indicators to assess their efforts to reduce substance abuse.

• Kozel, N. J. and Sloboda, Z. (1998). Assessing Drug Abuse Within and Across Communities: Community Epidemiology Surveillance Networks on Drug Abuse. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication No. 98-3614. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/DEPR/Assessing/Guideindex.html.

  This guidebook is meant to help practitioners at the local, regional, and state levels assess drug use patterns and trends using indicator data. The types of data sources discussed include treatment data, medical examiner/coroner data, the Drug Abuse Warning Network, law enforcement data, national surveys, HIV/AIDS data, census data, and telephone hotline data. The guidebook includes references, a glossary, and appendices that identify or discuss data sources.

• Maruyama, G. and Deno, S. (1992). Research in Educational Settings. Applied Social Research Methods (29). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Available online at http://www.sagepub.com/.

  This book is intended to help prospective researchers think through important issues related to conducting research in schools. The discussion complements traditional research methods texts by focusing on the particulars of educational settings and providing strategies for overcoming practical problems researchers may encounter. This book addresses issues of design, sampling, and analysis; considerations for selecting measures; basic issues of implementation; and how to communicate findings.

• McKillip, J. (1987). Need Analysis: Tools for the Human Services and Education. Applied Social Research Methods (10). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Available online at http://www.sagepub.com/.

  This guide, designed for students and practicing professionals in the social sciences, offers a comprehensive overview of need analysis. The text describes how and why to identify needs, including the role of values in determining need; provides models and examples for evaluating needs; describes different types of social indicators; and explores different methods for collecting assessment information.

• Miller, D. C. (1991). Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement (Fifth Edition). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc: Available online at http://www.sagepub.com/.

  This handbook provides procedures and guidance for three major types of research: basic, applied, and evaluation. Discussion topics include research design, data collection (documentary resources, questionnaires, and interviews), statistical analysis, and scales and indexes. This handbook also includes a detailed guide to existing data sources. Extensive bibliographies follow each major section of the guide.

• Muraskin, L. D. (1993). Understanding Evaluation: The Way to Better Prevention Programs. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Publication #ED/OESE92-41. Available by calling (877) 433-7827.

  This handbook was written for school and community agency staff to carry out required evaluations under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. The premise of the book is that many evaluations that use simple designs can be conducted without formal training in program evaluation. The author outlines checkpoints in the evaluation process where practitioners may want to consult with evaluation specialists. Topics discussed include evaluation design, data collection methods and instruments, interpreting and reporting findings, and the evaluation of a hypothetical prevention program.

• Posner, M. (1996). Youth Violence: Locating and Using the Data. Newton, MA: Children's Safety Network, Education Development Center, Inc. Available online at https://secure.edc.org/publications/prodview.asp?706.

  This comprehensive guide to data sources relevant to violence prevention discusses data collection, analysis, and interpretation; profiles the most important sources of youth violence data; describes programs that have created compelling portraits of youth violence in their communities; and recommends resources.

• Witkind, B. R. and Altschuld, J. W. (1995). Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments: A Practical Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Available online at http://www.sagepub.com/.

This hands-on guide for educators and prevention specialists addresses practical issues related to program planning and needs assessment. The book covers the basics of planning needs assessment and describes various methods, such as focus groups, strategic planning, and futuring techniques. It also includes many useful tools and examples.