Rent 9780136781295 | Program Evaluation : Methods and Case Studies

Summary Table of Contents

This volume provides a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the skills, attitudes and methods required to evaluate programs offered in public and private organizations. The authors stress the development of a program-improvement focus that begins with program conceptualization through implementation and analysis of outcomes and costs. They also provide detailed descriptions of methods for improving program evaluation reports and encouraging utilization.

(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with a Summary and Preview, Study Questions, And Additional Resources. Also some chapters conclude with Case Studies.)
Program Evaluation: An Overview
Evaluation tasks that need to be done
Common types of program evaluations
Activities often confused with program evaluation
Differnet types of evaluations for differnet kinds of programs
Purpose of ... MOREprogram evaluation
The roles of evaluators
Planning an Evaluation
An overview of evaluation models
Steps in preparing to conduct an evaluation
Dysfunctional attitudes toward program evaluation
Selecting Criteria and Setting Standards
Importance of selecting criteria and setting standards
Developing goals and objectives
Evaluation criteria and evaluation questions
Some practical limitations on selecting evaluation criteria
Developing Measures
Sources of data for evaluating
Qualities of good assessment procedures
Types of measures of evaluation criteria
Preparing special surveys
Ethics in Program Evaluation
Standards for the practice of evaluation
Ethical issues involved in the treatment of people
Role conflicts facing evaluators
Recognizing the different needs of stakeholders
The validity of evaluations
Avoiding possible negative side effects of evaluation procedures
Ethical problems evaluators report
The Assessment of Need
Definitions of need
Sources of information for the assessment of need
Inadequate assessment of need
Using need assessments in program planning
Monitoring the Operation of Programs
Monitoring programs as a means of evaluating programs
What to summarize with information systems
Program records and information systems
Following the course of service
Threatening uses of information systems
Avoiding common problems in implementing an information system
Single Group, Nonexperimental Outcome Evaluations
Single-group evaluation designs
Uses of single-group, descriptive designs
Threats to internal validity
Construct validity in pretest-posttest designs
Overinterpreting the results of single-group designs
Usefulness of single-group designs as initial approaches to program evaluation
Quasi-Experimental Approaches to Outcome Evaluation
Making observations at a greater number of intervals
Observing other groups
Regression-discontinuity design
Observing other dependent variables
Combining designs to increase internal validity
Using Experiments to Evaluate Programs
Experiments in program evaluation
Objections to experimentation
The most desirable times to conduct experiments
Preserving an experimental design
Precautions before data collection
Precautions while the experiment is in progess
Analysis of Costs and Outcomes
Cost analyses and budgets
Comparing outcomes to costs
Some details of cost analyses
Major criticisms of cost analyses
Qualitative Evaluation Methods
Evaluation settings best served by qualitative methods
Gathering qualitative information
Carrying out naturalistic evaluations
Coordinating qualitative and quantitative methods
Philosophical assumptions
Evaluation Reports: Interpreting and Communicating Findings
Developing a communication plan
Personal presentations of findings
Content of formal written evaluation reports
Progress reports and press releases
How to Encourage Utilization
Obstacles to effective utilization
Dealing with mixed findings
Using evaluations showing no program effects
Developing a learning culture
Evaluation attitude
Summ
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