NCJ Number
48723
Date Published
1978
Length
304 pages
Annotation
THIS VOLUME COMBINES THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES IN AN EXAMINATION OF BOTH HOW TO CONDUCT EVALUATIONS AND WHY.
Abstract
THE MATERIAL PRESENTED EMERGED FROM MANY SOURCES: STUDIES OF THE UTILIZATION OF EVALUATION; EXPERIENCES CONDUCTING EVALUATION; CURRENT THEORIES OF FORMAL ORGANIZATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DECISIONMAKING THEORY AND POLICY ANALYSIS; WORK IN THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS AND UTILIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE; AND MANY SOURCES IN THE RAPIDLY GROWING EVALUATION RESEARCH LITERATURE. EACH CHAPTER CONTAINS BOTH A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE AND ACTUAL CASE EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE MAJOR POINTS. THE SUBJECT AREAS COVERED INCLUDE: THE EMERGENCE OF EVALUATION RESEARCH; AN EMPIRICAL PERSPECTIVE ON UTILIZATION OF EVALUATION IN PRACTICE; THE POWER OF EVALUATIONS (IN THE SENSE OF POLITICAL AND GROUP RELATIONS); THE IDENTIFICATION AND ORGANIZATION OF RELEVANT DECISIONMAKERS AND INFORMATION USERS; FOCUSING THE EVALUATION QUESTION; GOALS CLARIFICATION; THE GOAL OF GOALS (WHETHER IT IS ALWAYS DESIRABLE TO SET A FIRM GOAL); THE EVALUATION OF PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION; EVALUATING CAUSAL LINKAGES; ALTERNATIVE PARADIGMS OF EVALUATION MEASUREMENT AND DESIGN; THE ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, DISSEMINATION, AND UTILIZATION OF EVALUATION DATA; AND THE UTILIZATION-FOCUSED EVALUATION. A DETAILED OUTLINE OF THE UTILIZATION-FOCUSED APPROACH IS PROVIDED, AS ARE SELECTED REFERENCES. ASSORTED TABLES ARE INCLUDED.