Analysis of discrimination capacity of Postgraduate evaluation criteria in the area of Urban and Regional Planning and Demography of Capes

Abstract

In the evaluation of the postgraduate programs by Capes, according to the criteria adopted for framing the programs in the five note strata, the items demonstrate different capacities to discriminate the programs. The purpose of this article is to propose a methodology to evaluate the discrimination capacity of the items and to identify the items whose criteria could be rediscussed to try to improve the capacity to discriminate the programs. For that, we analyzed the frequency of programs in the strata in each one of the items, based on the information presented in the area of Urban and Regional Planning and Demography for the triennium 2010-2012. To evaluate the discrimination capacity of each item, it was proposed to use the following statistical parameters: mean, amplitude, standard deviation, degree of asymmetry and mean deviation in relation to the uniform distribution. The items, based on these statistical parameters, were classified as having no, low, medium and high discrimination capacity. It should be emphasized that the results could serve as a preliminary subsidy for discussion within the area for possible implementation of objective criteria in the items.