Extrapolation is the process of applying findings to other situations or to the future. In evaluation, you might extrapolate your findings about one program to improve a similar program. We can also extrapolate about specific measurements. For example, if a company’s profits have been increasing each year, we might extrapolate to make a prediction about what their profits will be in 5 years. However, we must make assumptions when we extrapolate – we assume that the trend we saw in the past will continue into the future. It is up to us to decide whether it is safe to extrapolate in each situation.

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