Evaluation Essentials from A to Z
New York; London: Guilford Press, 3rd ed. (2025), xiii, 330 pp.
Contains index
ISBN 978-1-4625-5543-7 (pbk); 978-1-4625-5544-4 (hbk)
"loved for its conversational style and reliable advice, this text is now in a revised and updated third edition, reflecting key developments in evaluation. It includes expanded coverage of equity and social justice issues, values and cost analysis, visualizing qualitative data with software, and more. Twenty-six concise chapters, or “sessions,” give students, applied researchers, and program administrators a solid foundation for conducting or using evaluations. Covering both quantitative and qualitative methods, the book emphasizes fostering evaluation use. It shows how to build collaborative relationships with users; formulate answerable evaluation questions; deal with contingencies that might alter the traditional sequence of an evaluation; and collect, analyze, and report data. Student-friendly features throughout the sessions include titles written as questions, bulleted recaps, “Thinking Ahead” and “Next Steps” pointers, cautionary notes, and annotated suggestions for further reading. An in-depth case study provides the basis for end-of-session practice exercises." (Publisher description)
A What is evaluation? 5
B Why do evaluations? 16
C Who does evaluations? 37
D Contratcing for evauations, 45
E Who are the stakeholders for an evaluation? 53
F How do you strengthen relatioships with stakeholders? 60
G How do you describe the program? 70
H What is the organizational, community and political context of the program? 84
I How do you "understand" the program? 95
J What are the questions/issues to be addressed? 104
K What are instruments for collecting quantitative data? 113
L What are instruments for collecting qualitative data? 130
M How do data collection issues impact potential evaluability? 142
N Are the questions evaluable? 155
O How do we plan a process-focused evaluation? 163
P How do we plan an outcome-focused evaluation? 176
Q How do we manage the evaluation? 196
R How are quantitative data analyzed? 210
S How are qualitative data analyzed? 227
T How are analyzed data used to answer questions? 239
U How are evaluation results reported? 247
V What is the evaluator's role in evalution use? 261
W What are the evaluation standards and codes of behavior? 274
X Contracting for evaluations? 284
Y How are costs analyzed? 293
Z Context-sensitive evaluation: Attaining evaluation use, 305
Appendix A. Use factors: relationship to research compilations, 319
Appendix B. How can you embark on a program to learn more about evaluation? 322
Appendix C. An evaluation lesson, 325
B Why do evaluations? 16
C Who does evaluations? 37
D Contratcing for evauations, 45
E Who are the stakeholders for an evaluation? 53
F How do you strengthen relatioships with stakeholders? 60
G How do you describe the program? 70
H What is the organizational, community and political context of the program? 84
I How do you "understand" the program? 95
J What are the questions/issues to be addressed? 104
K What are instruments for collecting quantitative data? 113
L What are instruments for collecting qualitative data? 130
M How do data collection issues impact potential evaluability? 142
N Are the questions evaluable? 155
O How do we plan a process-focused evaluation? 163
P How do we plan an outcome-focused evaluation? 176
Q How do we manage the evaluation? 196
R How are quantitative data analyzed? 210
S How are qualitative data analyzed? 227
T How are analyzed data used to answer questions? 239
U How are evaluation results reported? 247
V What is the evaluator's role in evalution use? 261
W What are the evaluation standards and codes of behavior? 274
X Contracting for evaluations? 284
Y How are costs analyzed? 293
Z Context-sensitive evaluation: Attaining evaluation use, 305
Appendix A. Use factors: relationship to research compilations, 319
Appendix B. How can you embark on a program to learn more about evaluation? 322
Appendix C. An evaluation lesson, 325
