OPTIMIZING KNOWLEDGE TESTS FOR INFERRING LEARNING ACQUISITION LEVELS IN SINGLE GROUP TRAINING EVALUATION DESIGNS: THE INTERNAL REFERENCING STRATEGY
评估了一种操作简单的内部参照策略（IRS），通过比较培训相关与无关内容的前后变化来推断培训效果，实证研究显示其结果与复杂实验设计一致。
Training evaluation is a process designed to measure the degree of trainee changes (on learning as well as on other dimensions) that training programs cause. Whereas many experimental and correlational designs permitting such inferences exist, they are rarely used, principally for practical reasons. This paper evaluates an operationally simple procedure for estimating effectiveness of training in improving trainee knowledge–the Internal Referencing Strategy (IRS). It identifies and tests the implicit training evaluation notion that training‐relevant content should show more change (pre‐post) than training‐irrelevant content. An empirical evaluation study conducted with 66 managers enrolled in a training course compares the inferences produced by the IRS versus a more traditional experimental evaluation. The results indicate that the IRS approach may permit inferences that mirror those obtained by the more complex design. The paper closes with a discussion of the limits and possible uses of this design.