How to Focus an Evaluation
How to Focus an Evaluation

Author: Brian Stecher

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 9780803931275

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Changes in the initial stages of the evaluation process over the last decade are reflected in How to Focus an Evaluation. A new book in the series, this volume replaces the first edition's How to Deal with Goals and Objectives. The volume recognizes that deciding what to evaluate is a complex negotiation process that involves the methodological predisposition of the evaluator and the client, client needs, the nature of the program and the constraints surrounding the evaluation. It outlines five models that characterize different methodological approaches and considers how each may contribute to the focusing process. The text provides advice on how and what type of information to collect from clients, how to clarify and prioritize evaluation concerns, and how to formulate a plan matching evaluation concerns with data collection procedures within cost constraints.

Principles-Focused Evaluation
Principles-Focused Evaluation

Author: Michael Quinn Patton

Publisher: Guilford Publications

Published: 2017-09-28

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 1462531903

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How can programs and organizations ensure they are adhering to core principles--and assess whether doing so is yielding desired results? From evaluation pioneer Michael Quinn Patton, this book introduces the principles-focused evaluation (P-FE) approach and demonstrates its relevance and application in a range of settings. Patton explains why principles matter for program development and evaluation and how they can serve as a rudder to navigate the uncertainties, turbulence, and emergent challenges of complex dynamic environments. In-depth exemplars illustrate how the unique GUIDE framework is used to determine whether principles provide meaningful guidance (G) and are useful (U), inspiring (I), developmentally adaptable (D), and evaluable (E). User-friendly features include rubrics, a P-FE checklist, firsthand reflections and examples from experienced P-FE practitioners, sidebars and summary tables, and end-of-chapter application exercises. ÿ

Utilization-Focused Evaluation
Utilization-Focused Evaluation

Author: Michael Quinn Patton

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Incorporated

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13:

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The second edition of Patton's classic text retains the practical advice, based on empirical observation and evaluation theory, of the original. It shows how to conduct an evaluation, from beginning to end, in a way that will be useful -- and actually used. Patton believes that evaluation epitomizes the challenges of producing and using information in the information age. His latest book includes new stories, new examples, new research findings, and more of Patton's evaluation humour. He adds to the original book's insights and analyses of the changes in evaluation during the past decade, including: the emergence of evaluation as a field of professional practice; articulation of standards for evaluation; a methodological synthesis of the qualitative versus quantitative debate; the tremendous growth of 'in-house' evaluations; and the cross-cultural development of evaluation as a profession. This edition also incorporates the considerable research done on utilization during the last ten years. Patton integrates diverse findings into a coherent framework which includes: articulation of utilization-focused evaluation premises; examination of the stakeholder assumption; and clarification of the meaning of utilization. --Publisher description.

Program Evaluation
Program Evaluation

Author: Robert O. Brinkerhoff

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9401167575

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Please glance over the questions that follow and read the answers to those that are of interest. Q: What does this manual do? A: This manual guides the user through designing an evaluation. A: Who can use it? A: Anyone interested or involved in evaluating professional trammg or inservice education programs. The primary users will be staff members who are doing their own program evaluation-maybe for the first time. (Experienced evaluators or other professional educators can find useful guides and worksheets in it.) Q: If I work through this manual, what will I accomplish? A: You will develop one or more evaluation designs, and perhaps you'll also use the designs to evaluate something to make it better or to document its current value. Q: What is an evaluation design? A: An evaluation design is a conceptual and procedural map for getting important information about training efforts to people who can use it, as shown in the graphic below.

Program Evaluation Theory and Practice
Program Evaluation Theory and Practice

Author: Donna M. Mertens

Publisher: Guilford Press

Published: 2012-02-20

Total Pages: 642

ISBN-13: 1462503241

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This engaging text takes an evenhanded approach to major theoretical paradigms in evaluation and builds a bridge from them to evaluation practice. Featuring helpful checklists, procedural steps, provocative questions that invite readers to explore their own theoretical assumptions, and practical exercises, the book provides concrete guidance for conducting large- and small-scale evaluations. Numerous sample studies—many with reflective commentary from the evaluators—reveal the process through which an evaluator incorporates a paradigm into an actual research project. The book shows how theory informs methodological choices (the specifics of planning, implementing, and using evaluations). It offers balanced coverage of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches. Useful pedagogical features include: *Examples of large- and small-scale evaluations from multiple disciplines. *Beginning-of-chapter reflection questions that set the stage for the material covered. *"Extending your thinking" questions and practical activities that help readers apply particular theoretical paradigms in their own evaluation projects. *Relevant Web links, including pathways to more details about sampling, data collection, and analysis. *Boxes offering a closer look at key evaluation concepts and additional studies. *Checklists for readers to determine if they have followed recommended practice. *A companion website with resources for further learning.

A Practical Guide to Program Evaluation Planning
A Practical Guide to Program Evaluation Planning

Author: Marc A. Zimmerman

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1412967759

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This book guides evaluators in planning a comprehensive, yet practical, program evaluation—from start to design—within any context, in an accessible manner.

Developmental Evaluation
Developmental Evaluation

Author: Michael Quinn Patton

Publisher: Guilford Press

Published: 2010-06-14

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1606238868

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Developmental evaluation (DE) offers a powerful approach to monitoring and supporting social innovations by working in partnership with program decision makers. In this book, eminent authority Michael Quinn Patton shows how to conduct evaluations within a DE framework. Patton draws on insights about complex dynamic systems, uncertainty, nonlinearity, and emergence. He illustrates how DE can be used for a range of purposes: ongoing program development, adapting effective principles of practice to local contexts, generating innovations and taking them to scale, and facilitating rapid response in crisis situations. Students and practicing evaluators will appreciate the book's extensive case examples and stories, cartoons, clear writing style, "closer look" sidebars, and summary tables. Provided is essential guidance for making evaluations useful, practical, and credible in support of social change.

Internal Evaluation
Internal Evaluation

Author: Arnold J. Love

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 1991-03

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9780803932012

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This text provides an introduction to the theory and practice of internal evaluation. It presents the stages of internal evaluation growth, ways of identifying users' needs and selecting appropriate evaluation methods.

Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement
Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement

Author: James C. McDavid

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2012-10-25

Total Pages: 561

ISBN-13: 145228959X

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Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement: An Introduction to Practice, Second Edition offers an accessible, practical introduction to program evaluation and performance measurement for public and non-profit organizations, and has been extensively updated since the first edition. Using examples, it covers topics in a detailed fashion, making it a useful guide for students as well as practitioners who are participating in program evaluations or constructing and implementing performance measurement systems. Authors James C. McDavid, Irene Huse, and Laura R. L. Hawthorn guide readers through conducting quantitative and qualitative program evaluations, needs assessments, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, as well as constructing, implementing and using performance measurement systems. The importance of professional judgment is highlighted throughout the book as an intrinsic feature of evaluation practice.

Evaluation Methodology Basics
Evaluation Methodology Basics

Author: E. Jane Davidson

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780761929307

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Evaluation Methodology Basics introduces evaluation by focusing on the main kinds of 'big picture' questions that evaluations usually need to answer, and how the nature of such questions are linked to evaluation methodology choices. The author: shows how to identify the right criteria for your evaluation; discusses how to objectively figure out which criteria are more important than the others; and, delves into how to combine a mix of qualitative and quantitative data with 'relevant values' (such as needs) to draw explicitly evaluative conclusions.