• Continuous quality improvement (CQI) – A systematic, intentional process to improve services.
• Cultural rigor – Consideration and respect for the local culture in the evaluation, to ensure knowledge is gathered in an appropriate and meaningful way.
• Dependent variable – Observable target behavior that an intervention seeks to change.
• Evaluation design – Plan for conducting a study (or evaluation) to assess and explain change enacted through program implementation.
• Independent variable – The intervention, practice, or treatment being tested that should produce observable changes in a dependent variable.
• Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) – A four-step, repeatable problem-solving model for improving a process or carrying out change.
• Power – The probability that a study will detect an effect when there is one; larger sample sizes increase power and are more sensitive to detecting results that can be generalized.
• Scientific rigor – Use of an appropriate study design to answer evaluation questions, with systematic methods that enhance validity.
• Valid – Accurately, truthfully, and correctly representing the phenomenon the study intended to describe.