Definitions

Etiology
Examination of etiological work that may lead to the creation and implementation of an intervention Click here for a list of all projects currently in the etiology phase
Formative Evaluation
An evaluation designed to produce qualitative and quantitative data and insight during the early developmental phase of an intervention, including an assessment of (1) the feasibility of program implementation; (2) the appropriateness of content, methods, materials, media, and instruments; and (3) the immediate (e.g., 1 hour to 1 week) or short-term (e.g., 1 week to 6 months) cognitive, psychosocial, psychomotor (skill), and/or behavioral impact of an intervention for a well-defined population at risk.
Click here for a list of all projects currently in the formative evaluation phase
Efficacy Evaluation
An evaluation of the extent to which a new (untested) intervention produced significant changes in a behavioral impact or a health outcome rate: Did the intervention produce significant changes among a sample population at risk under optimal program-practice conditions?
Click here for a list of all projects currently in the efficacy evaluation phase
Effectiveness Evaluation
An evaluation of the extent to which an existing (tested) intervention with documented internal validity produced a significant change in a behavioral impact or health outcome rate: Did the intervention produce a significant change among a large, representative sample of a well-defined population at risk under normal program-practice conditions?
Click here for a list of all projects currently in the effectiveness evaluation phase
Impact/Dissemination
The congruence between performance (i.e., what occurred?) and objectives (i.e., what was supposed to occur?).
Click here for a list of all projects currently in the impact/dissemination evaluation phase
Internal Validity
The degree to which an observed significant change in a behavioral impact of health status outcome rate A among a sample of a population at risk B can be attributed to an intervention C: "Did C cause A to change among B"?

External Validity
The degree to which an observed significant change in an impact (behavior) or outcome (health status) rate attributable to a prevention science intervention can be generalized from a representative sample to a large, well-defined population at risk.