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Although there is research on training program evaluation, there is little systematic research on the design, development and use of training reaction evaluations. In order to obtain meaningful information from a program evaluation, evaluation professionals must be rigorous in the design and development of all aspects of an evaluation study, including instrumentation. The purposes of the study were to classify the dimensions of information sought using reaction evaluations and to establish design criteria for developing training reaction instruments. There were three major phases of the study:(1) classification of the dimensions and questionnaire design criteria used in reaction evaluations;(2) validation of the classi ed dimensions and the questionnaire design criteria by subject matter experts; and (3) assessment of a sample of training reaction instruments currently used in training programs in US corporations. The research ndings were: eleven dimensions for reaction evaluation were identi ed and classi ed by purpose. Five overall design criteria, each consisting of several sub-criteria, were judged important in the design of reactionnaires. These include: introduction and directions; question format; question construction; questionnaire layout; and data analysis. It was concluded that a well-designed training reaction instrument integrates the proper application of design criteria with appropriate reaction dimensions. Most training reaction instruments used by US corporations consisted of questions representing only a few dimensions. The instruments varied in form and length. Few of them properly utilized the established questionnaire design criteria.

This article summarizes a research project that evaluated fifty reactionnaire forms that are regularly administered by a prestigious medical school. Four areas of survey design and development were examined. Results indicated that a thorough assessment of currently used reactionnaire forms is likely to locate weaknesses and that appropriate revisions would benefit evaluators, instructors, and learners.

In this second part of a two-part series, a panel of experts indicated that human performance technology (HPT) research is being adequately conducted but not properly used in practice.They stressed a need for more applied research and more extensive use of case studies. They also provided their perspectives about the influences of other fields on HPT, suggesting the need for HPT to align more closely with other disciplines that address issues of human and organizational performance.THIS STUDY SOUGHT INPUT from 15 experts and opinion leaders in the field of human performance technology (HPT) to obtain their judgments concerning HPT's current status and forecasts for the future. In seeking their views, the study posed the following questions: