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Book Context  A Framework for Its Influence on Evaluation Practice

Download or read book Context A Framework for Its Influence on Evaluation Practice written by Debra J. Rog and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-09-06 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Context is a force in evaluation. It shapes our practice, influencing how we approach and design our studies, how we carry them out, and how we report our findings. Context also moderates and mediates the outcomes of the programs and policies we evaluate. This issue focuses squarely on the role that context plays in practice and illuminates its effect on the implementation and outcomes of programs. Exploring the ways in which attending to context may improve the quality of evaluation practice, the contributions span theory, methods, and practice in an effort to move to a more comprehensive conceptualization of context that can guide our work. It: Provides an historical and theoretical view of evaluators’ treatment of context Illustrates how context has influenced evaluation practice Presents a five-area framework for guiding a contextual analysis of evaluations Introduces “context assessment,” which provides a means of integrating context and its implications within the important stages of evaluation. This is the 135th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Book Context  A Framework for Its Influence on Evaluation Practice

Download or read book Context A Framework for Its Influence on Evaluation Practice written by Debra J. Rog and published by Jossey-Bass. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Context is a force in evaluation. It shapes our practice, influencing how we approach and design our studies, how we carry them out, and how we report our findings. Context also moderates and mediates the outcomes of the programs and policies we evaluate. This issue focuses squarely on the role that context plays in practice and illuminates its effect on the implementation and outcomes of programs. Exploring the ways in which attending to context may improve the quality of evaluation practice, the contributions span theory, methods, and practice in an effort to move to a more comprehensive conceptualization of context that can guide our work. It: Provides an historical and theoretical view of evaluators’ treatment of context Illustrates how context has influenced evaluation practice Presents a five-area framework for guiding a contextual analysis of evaluations Introduces “context assessment,” which provides a means of integrating context and its implications within the important stages of evaluation. This is the 135th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Book Evaluation in Action

Download or read book Evaluation in Action written by Jody Fitzpatrick and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2009 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An innovative approach to program evaluation that takes readers behind the scenes of real evaluations and the decisions the evaluators made.

Book Evaluation Practice

    Book Details:
  • Author : Elizabeth DePoy
  • Publisher : Psychology Press
  • Release : 2012-10-12
  • ISBN : 1135592772
  • Pages : 240 pages

Download or read book Evaluation Practice written by Elizabeth DePoy and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2012-10-12 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluation Practice bridges the apparent gap between practice and research to present a logical, systematic model to guide all professional thinking and action within the context of everyday professional life. Their framework embraces diverse theories, action, and sets of evidence from a range of professional and disciplinary perspectives.

Book Credible and Actionable Evidence

Download or read book Credible and Actionable Evidence written by Stewart I. Donaldson and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2014-09-10 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addressing one of the most important and contentious issues challenging applied research and evaluation practice today—what constitutes credible and actionable evidence?—this volume offers a balanced and current context in which to analyze the long-debated quantitative-qualitative paradigms. In the Second Edition, the contributors, a veritable "who’s who" in evaluation, discuss the diversity and changing nature of credible and actionable evidence; offer authoritative guidance about using credible and actionable evidence; explain how to use it to provide rigorous and influential evaluations; and include lessons from their own applied research and evaluation to suggest ways to address the key issues and challenges. Reflecting the latest developments in the field and covering both experimental and non-experimental methods, the new edition includes revised and updated chapters, summaries of strengths and weaknesses across varied approaches, and contains diverse definitions of evidence. Also included are two new chapters on assessing credibility and synthesizing evidence for policy makers. This is a valuable resource for students and others interested in how to best study and evaluate programs, policies, organizations, and other initiatives designed to improve aspects of the human condition and societal well-being.

Book What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice

Download or read book What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice written by Stewart I. Donaldson and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2009 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice? is the first book of its kind to define and place into greater perspective the meaning of evidence for evaluation professionals and applied researchers. Editors Stewart I. Donaldson, Christina A. Christie, and Melvin M. Mark provide observations about the diversity and changing nature of credible evidence, include lessons from their own applied research and evaluation practice, and suggest ways in which practitioners might address the key issues and challenges of collecting credible evidence." "This book is appropriate for a wide range of courses, including Introduction to Evaluation Research, Research Methods, Evaluation Practice, Program Evaluation, Program Development and Evaluation, and evaluation courses in Social Work, Education, Public Health, and Public Policy."--BOOK JACKET.

Book Assessing Contexts of Learning

Download or read book Assessing Contexts of Learning written by Susanne Kuger and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together educational effectiveness research and international large-scale assessments, demonstrating how the two fields can be applied to inspire and improve each other, and providing readers direct links to instruments that cover a broad range of topics and have been shown to work in more than 70 countries. The book’s initial chapters introduce and summarize recent discussions and developments in the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of international large-scale context assessments and provide an outlook on possible future developments. Subsequently, three thematic sections – “Student Background”, “Outcomes of Education Beyond Achievement”, and “Learning in Schools” – each present a series of chapters that provide the conceptual background for a wide range of important topics in education research, policy, and practice. Each chapter defines a conceptual framework that relates recent findings in the educational effectiveness research literature to current issues in education policy and practice. These frameworks were used to develop interesting and relevant indicators that may be used for meaningful reporting from international assessments, other cross-cultural research, or national studies. Using the example of one particular survey (the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2015)), this volume links all theoretical considerations to fully developed questionnaire material that was field trailed and evaluated in questionnaires for students and their parents as well as teachers and principals in their schools. The primary purposes of this book are to inform readers about how education effectiveness research and international large-scale assessments are already interacting to inform research and policymaking; to identify areas where a closer collaboration of both fields or input from other areas could further improve this work; to provide sound theoretical frameworks for future work in both fields; and finally to relate these theoretical debates to currently available and evaluated material for future context assessments.

Book Theory Driven Evaluations

Download or read book Theory Driven Evaluations written by Huey T. Chen and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 1990-01-01 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the publication of Theory-Driven Evaluations, Huey-Tsyh Chen has given us an ambitious volume. . . . Indeed, it is the aspiration of this book to provide a conceptual framework that integrates the diverse approaches and paradigms of evaluation. For those of us accustomed to the rhetoric of the paradigm wars that have been raging in recent years, it is refreshing to find a text that works so assiduously at reconciliation. . . . There is much that is useful in Chen′s analysis. He gives us a full and thoughtful book that attempts no less than the construction of a conceptual framework for all of program evaluation. . . . It provides an impressive compendium of source material and references spanning not only evaluation, but related work in economics and public policy (this alone is worth the price of the book). . . . Chen′s Theory-Driven Evaluations provides a stimulating, even heroic attempt to bring some conceptual integration to a field that has been too long dominated by methodological paradigms and procedural particulars. --a prepublication review for Evaluation and Program Planning "Generous use of examples which are well selected and lucidly summarized." --Contemporary Sociology "Chen introduces a new, comprehensive framework for program evaluation that is designed to bridge the gap between method and theory-oriented perspectives. . . . For program planners, decision makers, scholars, and students, this volume clarifies, illuminates and provides unique insights into the conception, construction and implementation of a wide range of programs. . . . The research examples used in the discussion draw upon various areas, such as education, welfare, health, criminal justice, job training [and] family construction to attract a wider audience." --Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling Program evaluation has traditionally emphasized the application of social science research methods in evaluation activities. However, there is a growing awareness that program theory is vital for broadening the scope and enhancing the usefulness of program evaluation. In Theory-Driven Evaluations, Huey-Tsyh Chen introduces a new, comprehensive framework for program evaluation that is designed to bridge the gap between the method- and theory-oriented perspectives. He provides an intensive discussion of the nature and functions of program theory, approaches to constructing program theories, and the integration of program theory with evaluation processes. Specific types of theory-driven evaluations, as well as principles and guidelines for application are developed for meeting different policy purposes. Application of systematic strategies is illustrated by concrete examples from a variety of evaluation studies in different fields. The presentation of this new perspective directly addresses the needs and concerns in both the professional and applied areas of program evaluation. For program planners, decisionmakers, scholars and students, this volume will clarify, illuminate, and provide unique insights into the conception, construction, and implementation of a wide range of programs.

Book Qualitative Research   Evaluation Methods

Download or read book Qualitative Research Evaluation Methods written by Michael Quinn Patton and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2014-10-29 with total page 833 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on more than 40 years of experience conducting applied social science research and program evaluation, author Michael Quinn Patton has crafted the most comprehensive and systematic book on qualitative research and evaluation methods, inquiry frameworks, and analysis options available today. Now offering more balance between applied research and evaluation, this Fourth Edition of Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods illuminates all aspects of qualitative inquiry through new examples, stories, and cartoons; more than a hundred new summarizing and synthesizing exhibits; and a wide range of new highlight sections/sidebars that elaborate on important and emergent issues. For the first time, full case studies are included to illustrate extended research and evaluation examples. In addition, each chapter features an extended "rumination," written in a voice and style more emphatic and engaging than traditional textbook style, about a core issue of persistent debate and controversy.

Book Culturally Responsive Approaches to Evaluation

Download or read book Culturally Responsive Approaches to Evaluation written by Jill Anne Chouinard and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2019-09-27 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluators have always worked in diverse communities, and the programs they evaluate are designed to address often intractable socio-political and economic issues. Evaluations that explicitly aim to be more responsive to culture and cultural context are, however, a more recent phenomenon. In this book, Jill Anne Chouinard and Fiona Cram utilize a conceptual framework that foregrounds culture in social inquiry, and then uses that framework to analyze empirical studies across three distinct cultural domains of evaluation practice (Western, Indigenous and international development). Culturally Responsive Approaches to Evaluation provide a comparative analysis of these studies and discuss lessons drawn from them in order to help evaluators extend their current thinking and practice. They conclude with an agenda for future research.

Book The SAGE Handbook of Evaluation

Download or read book The SAGE Handbook of Evaluation written by Ian Shaw and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2006-07-10 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ′This handbook thoroughly covers all aspects of evaluation, yet isn′t too technical to understand. It offers everything an organization needs to know to get the most out of evaluation′ - Nonprofit World `The Handbook succeeds in capturing and presenting evaluation′s extensive knowledge base within a global context. In so doing it provides a useful, coherent and definitive benchmark on the field′s diverse and dynamic purposes, practices, theories, approaches, issues, and challenges for the 21st century. The Handbook is an essential reference and map for any serious evaluation practitioner, scholar and student anywhere in the world′ - Michael Quinn Patton, author of Utilization-Focused Evaluation `Readers of this volume will find a set of texts that provide an evocative overview of contemporary thinking in the world of evaluation. This is not a book of simple tips. It does justice to the complex realities of evaluation practice by bringing together some of the best practitioners in the world to reflect on its current state. It is theoretically sophisticated yet eminently readable, anchored in evaluation as it is undertaken in a variety of domains. It is the kind of book that startles a little and makes you think. I highly recommend it′ - Murray Saunders, University of Lancaster In this comprehensive handbook, an examination of the complexities of contemporary evaluation contributes to the ongoing dialogue that arises in professional efforts to evaluate people-related programs, policies and practices. The SAGE Handbook of Evaluation is a unique and authoritative resource consisting of 25 chapters covering a range of evaluation theories and techniques in a single, accessible volume. With contributions from world-leading figures in their fields overseen by an eminent international editorial board, this handbook is an extensive and user-friendly resource organised in four coherent sections: " Role and Purpose of Evaluation in Society; " Evaluation as a Social Practice; " The Practice of Evaluation; " Domains of Evaluation Practice. The Handbook of Evaluation is written for practicing evaluators, academics, advanced postgraduate students and evaluation clients and offers a definitive, benchmark statement on evaluation theory and practice for the first decades of the 21st century.

Book Evaluability Assessment

Download or read book Evaluability Assessment written by Michael S. Trevisan and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2014-08-06 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluability assessment (EA) can lead to development of sound program theory, increased stakeholder involvement and empowerment, better understanding of program culture and context, enhanced collaboration and communication, process and findings use, and organizational learning and evaluation capacity building. Evaluability Assessment: Improving Evaluation Quality and Use, by Michael Trevisan and Tamara Walser, provides an up-to-date treatment of EA, clarifies what it actually is and how it can be used, demonstrates EA as an approach to evaluative inquiry with multidisciplinary and global appeal, and identifies and describes the purposes and benefits to using EA. Using case examples contributed by EA practitioners, the text illustrates important features of EA use, and showcases how EA is used in a variety of disciplines and evaluation contexts. This text is appropriate as an instructional text for graduate level evaluation courses and training, and as a resource for evaluation practitioners, policymakers, funding agencies, and professional training. “The most impressive aspect of this book is that it positions EA as an approach that perfectly fits within the current philosophical views on program evaluation… The authors do a great job connecting these theories to practice, and provide good guidelines.” —Sebastian Galindo-Gonzalez, University of Florida “This book is focused on one very important topic in the scope of program evaluation content. It establishes the foundation for a variety of applications: impact assessment, program development, and formative evaluation. This text provides new insights and methods for conducting evaluability assessment.” —S. Kim MacGregor, Louisiana State University “The book is written in a very readable style, is well organized and referenced. I like the inclusion of case studies, guidelines for actually doing EA, and the extensive discussion of its alignment with other models of evaluation process.” —Iris Smith, Emory University

Book Continuing the Journey to Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice

Download or read book Continuing the Journey to Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice written by Stafford Hood and published by IAP. This book was released on 2014-12-01 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity has become of global importance in places where many never would have imagined. Increasing diversity in the U.S., Europe, Africa, New Zealand, and Asia strongly suggests that a homogeneity-based focus is rapidly becoming an historical artifact. Therefore, culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) should no longer be viewed as a luxury or an option in our work as evaluators. The continued amplification of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity and awareness among the populations of the U.S. and other western nations insists that social science researchers and evaluators inextricably engage culturally responsive approaches in their work. It is unacceptable for most mainstream university evaluation programs, philanthropic agencies, training institutes sponsored by federal agencies, professional associations, and other entities to promote professional evaluation practices that do not attend to CRE. Our global demographics are a reality that can be appropriately described and studied within the context of complexity theory and theory of change (e.g., Stewart, 1991; Battram, 1999). And this perspective requires a distinct shift from “simple” linear cause-effect models and reductionist thinking to include more holistic and culturally responsive approaches. The development of policy that is meaningfully responsive to the needs of traditionally disenfranchised stakeholders and that also optimizes the use of limited resources (human, natural, and financial) is an extremely complex process. Fortunately, we are presently witnessing developments in methods, instruments, and statistical techniques that are mixed methods in their paradigm/designs and likely to be more effective in informing policymaking and decision-making. Culturally responsive evaluation is one such phenomenon that positions itself to be relevant in the context of dynamic international and national settings where policy and program decisions take place. One example of a response to address this dynamic and need is the newly established Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CREA is an outgrowth of the collective work and commitments of a global community of scholars and practitioners who have contributed chapters to this edited volume. It is an international and interdisciplinary evaluation center that is grounded in the need for designing and conducting evaluations and assessments that embody cognitive, cultural, and interdisciplinary diversity so as to be actively responsive to culturally diverse communities and their aspirations. The Center’s purpose is to address questions, issues, theories, and practices related to CRE and culturally responsive educational assessment. Therefore, CREA can serve as a vehicle for our continuing discourse on culture and cultural context in evaluation and also as a point of dissemination for not only the work that is included in this edited volume, but for the subsequent work it will encourage.

Book Evaluation Policy and Evaluation Practice

Download or read book Evaluation Policy and Evaluation Practice written by William M. K. Trochim and published by Jossey-Bass. This book was released on 2009-10-19 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This issue of New Directions for Evaluation addresses the topic of evaluation policy, especially how it is informed by and affects evaluation practice. An evaluation policy is any rule or principle that a group or organization uses to guide its decisions and actions when doing evaluation. Every group and organization that engages in evaluation, including government agencies, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations, has evaluation policies. Sometimes they are formal, explicit, and written; at other times they are more implicit and ad hoc principles or norms that have simply evolved over time. Evaluation policy is a critically important issue for the field and profession of evaluation. Evaluation policies profoundly affect the day-to-day work of all evaluators. Many recent and current controversies or conflicts in the field of evaluation can be viewed, at least in part, as struggles around evaluation policy. The chapters in this issue consider evaluation policy in its many and varied settings and contexts, including extensive treatment of large-scale national evaluation policy both in the United States and in Europe. The issue brings together revised and extended versions of all of the key addresses in the presidential strand of the 2008 American Evaluation Association conference, including the presidential address, plenary speeches, and expert lectures. This is the 123rd volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly thematic journal New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association. The journal publishes empirical, methodological, and theoretical works on all aspects of evaluation. Each issue is devoted to a single topic, with contributions solicited, organized, reviewed, and edited by a guest editor or editors. Issues may take any of several forms, such as a series of related chapters, a debate, or a long article followed by brief critical commentaries

Book Cases on Quality Initiatives for Organizational Longevity

Download or read book Cases on Quality Initiatives for Organizational Longevity written by Krishnan, Archana and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2018-06-20 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past decade, increasing competition has created immense opportunities for businesses globally. As such, it important to research new methods and systems for creating optimal business cultures. Cases on Quality Initiatives for Organizational Longevity is a scholarly publication that examines cases on practices in organizations and how they have facilitated transformation over the years. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as customer loyalty, benchmarking, and employee training, this book is geared toward business owners, managers, entrepreneurs, professionals, researchers, and students seeking current and relevant research on contemporary cases in the field of business quality management.

Book Introduction to Theory Driven Program Evaluation

Download or read book Introduction to Theory Driven Program Evaluation written by Stewart I. Donaldson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction to Theory-Driven Program Evaluation provides a clear guide for practicing evaluation science, and numerous examples of how these evaluations actually unfold in contemporary practice. A special emphasis is placed how to conduct theory-driven program evaluations that are culturally responsive and strengths-focused. In this thoroughly revised new edition, author Stewart I. Donaldson provides a state-of-the art treatment of the basics of conducting theory-driven program evaluations. Each case follows a three-step model: developing program impact theory; formulating and prioritizing evaluation questions; and answering evaluation questions. The initial chapters discuss the evolution and popularity of theory-driven program evaluation, as well as step-by-step guide for culturally responsive and strengths-focused applications. Succeeding chapters provide actual cases and discuss the practical implications of theory-driven evaluation science. Reflections, challenges, and lessons learned across numerous cases from practices are discussed. The volume is of significant value to practicing evaluators, professors of introductory evaluation courses and their students, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and serves as a text or a supplementary text for a wide range of evaluation and applied research courses. It is also of great interest to those interested in the connections between work and health, well-being, career development, human service organizations, and organizational improvement and effectiveness.

Book Evaluation Practice for Collaborative Growth

Download or read book Evaluation Practice for Collaborative Growth written by Lori L. Bakken and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-04 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluation Practice for Collaborative Growth highlights the approaches, tools, and techniques that are most useful for evaluating educational and social service programs. This book walks the reader through a process of creating answerable evaluations questions, designing evaluation studies to answer those questions, and analyzing, interpreting, and reporting the evaluation's findings so they are useful and meaningful for key stakeholders. The text concludes with a chapter devoted to the shifting landscape of evaluation practice as it faces complex systems and issues that are shaped by society. Additionally, the author provides a list of knowledge and skills needed to adapt to a changing landscape and encourages organizations to use evaluation as a mechanism for learning and adapting to change. Her orientation toward community-based approaches and social justice prevail throughout the book's content and align well with a reader's desire to be inclusive and accountable in programing efforts. Nonprofit leaders, social science professionals, and students will find this book helpful for understanding basic program evaluation concepts, methods, and strategies.