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The authors use the tools of philosophy and the insights from evaluation practice to cut through current confusion about values and the interplay of facts and values. Four views of facts and values in evaluation are analyzed: those rooted in a fact-value dichotomy and those of radical constructivists, postmodernists, and deliberative democrats. The arguments are tough, the prose concise, and the insights compelling

Social Work Research and Evaluation applies systematically developed research knowledge to social work practice and emphasizes the "doing" of social work as a reciprocal avenue for generating research evidence and social work knowledge. Using the Examined Practice Model, authors Elizabeth G. DePoy and Stephen F. Gilson present research as the identification of a problem and then proceed to evaluate the efficacy of social work practice in its resolution. Diverse theories, actions, and sets of evidence from a range of professional and disciplinary perspectives are included to underscore the importance of integrating evaluation and practice in research.

In January 1970 Alice M. Rivlin spoke to an audience at the University of California-Berkeley. The topic was developing a more rational approach to decisionmaking in government. If digital video, YouTube, and TED Talks had been inventions of the 1960s, Rivlin's talk would have been a viral hit. As it was, the resulting book, Systematic Thinking for Social Action, spent years on the Brookings Press bestseller list. Is is a very personal and conversational volume about the dawn of new ways of thinking about government.As deputy assistant secretary for program coordination, and later as assistan

Be prepared for your future role in a service-oriented agency. This textbook provides practical guidance on program evaluation while avoiding replicating other course material. Drawing on over 40 years of subject knowledge, Allen Rubin describes outcome designs that are feasible for service-oriented agencies and that match the degree of certainty needed by key users of outcome evaluations. The utility and easy calculation of within-group effect sizes are outlined, which enhance the value of evaluations that lack control groups. Instructions are also given on how to write and disseminate an evaluation report in a way maximizes its chances of being used. Conducting focus group interviews and capitalising on the value of non-probabilitysamples will become second nature after following the effective and pragmatic advice mapped out chapter-by-chapter.

This book, from SAGE's Evaluation in Practice series, considers variants of experimental evaluation designs, including those that are not commonly used but could be with much greater frequency. It also includes instructions for how to set up such experiments within program processes to learn about the effects of improvement efforts.

Providing students and practitioners with a comprehensive introduction to evaluation research, this book shows how social research methods and methodologies can be applied in a variety of evaluation contexts. The author: - illustrates the contribution both quantitative and qualitative methods can make to evaluation; - stresses the important part played by theory in the evaluation enterprise; - introduces some of the conceptual, methodological and practical problems encountered when undertaking this type of applied research, especially in the areas of criminal justice, health care and education

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc. ; At head of title: 94th Congress, 2d session. Committee print. ; CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 76 S402-10 ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Microfiche. ; Mode of access: Internet.

FOREWORDPREFACEDEDICATIONLIST OF TABLES AND FIGURESACKNOWLEDGEMENTSPROLOGUE1. SOME INTRODUCTORY FOUNDATIONS FOR BUILDING ON2. LIVING SYSTEMS3. CYCLES OF RESEARCH, EVALUATION AND INQUIRY FOR LIFE4. MORE (TRULY) LIVING HUMAN SERVICES5. EXAMPLES OF BUILDING IN INQUIRY FOR LIVING HUMAN SERVICE SYSTEMS 6. CONCLUDING WORDSAPPENDICESAppendix 1. How to deliver negative evaluation results constructivelyAppendix 2. Key drivers of organisational excellenceAppendix 3. What s the Myers Briggs indicator got to do with it?Appendix 4. An example of use of the sequence of whole cycle research questions: in healthpromotion practiceAppendix 5. Other integral theories of changeANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHYREFERENCESINDEX

Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 The Role of Evaluation in Society -- 2 Science-Based Evaluation -- 3 Evaluation Approaches and TheirFundamental Theoretical Principles -- 4 The Evaluation Process -- 5 Gathering and AssessingInformation -- 6 The Evaluation Environment -- Bibliography -- Index.

Introduction -- chapter 1. The evaluation context -- chapter 2. Evaluation methodology -- chapter 3. Evaluation ethics -- chapter 4. Types of evaluation -- chapter 5. Power -- chapter 6. Planning evaluations - an overview -- chapter 7. Collecting data to evaluate -- chapter 8. Using mixed methods in evaluation -- chapter 9. Analysing evaluation data -- chapter 10. Writing evaluation reports and presenting to different audiences -- Conclusion