A PRACTICAL ALTERNATIVE TO COMPARISON GROUP DESIGNS IN OD EVALUATIONS: THE ABBREVIATED TIME SERIES DESIGN.

Abstract

The article examines the use of abbreviated time series design (ATSD) as an alternative to comparison group designs in the evaluation of organization development (OD). It was found, in a study which dealt with problems in evaluating OD efforts, that some of the most significant administrative problems in evaluating change center around the difficulties of employing comparison groups. These difficulties have prompted change agents to utilize more convenient one-group designs. With the ATSD, one may be able to discount expectation effects by asking a sample of organizational members to depict situations in which change has been detected.