Evaluation Essentials

Evaluation Essentials is an indispensable text that offers an introduction to program evaluation. Examples of program descriptions from a variety of sectors including public policy, public health, non-profit management, social work, arts management, education, international assistance, and labor illustrate the book's step-by-step approach to the process and methods of program evaluation. Perfect for students as well as new evaluators, Evaluation Essentials offers a comprehensive foundation in the core concepts, theories, and methods of program evaluation.

Performance Evaluation is a hands-on text for practitioners, researchers, educators, and students in how to use scientifically-based evaluations that are both rigorous and flexible. Author Ingrid Guerra-Lopez, an internationally-known evaluation expert, introduces the foundations of evaluation and presents the most applicable models for the performance improvement field. Her book offers a wide variety of tools and techniques that have proven successful and is organized to illustrate evaluation in the context of continual performance improvement.

This is an accessible and practical introduction to research that addresses the broadest spectrum of research methodologies of interest to the student or new research, from experimental and survey approaches to program evaluation and ethnography. Research Essentials includes key interpretive and qualitative strategies. The book shows the role that research plays in the social sciences and education, followed by an overview of research traditions. It offers practical examples and relevant resources across the disciplines. Other features include study questions, lists of relevant journals, web...

This book offers an innovative introduction to social research. The book explores all stages of the research process and it features both quantitative and qualitative methods. Research design topics include sampling techniques, choosing a research design, and determining research question that inform public opinion and direct future studies. Throughout the book, the authors provide vivid and engaging examples that reinforce the reading and understanding of social science research. "Your Turn" boxes contain activities that allow students to practice research skills, such as sampling,...

Action Research Essentials is a practical guide born of the author's own experience working with students in the social sciences and education, providing a step-by-step outline of how to "do" action research--backed by the most extensive theory and research coverage on the market today. The author guides future researcher/practitioners through the action research process via numerous concrete illustrations and a wealth of on-line resources; positioning it as a fundamental component of practice,

A key and unique strength of the book is its outreach to a much larger breadth of...

Designing and Conducting Your First Interview Project

Using a clear, easily followed approach, Designing and Conducting Your First Interview Project helps anyone new to the process develop the skills to conduct the most essential part of social research data collection: the interview. The book also shows how to organize, analyze, and interpret the data.

This workbook provides a step-by-step template for a collaborative class experience in social science. Organized according to the steps of the deductive scientific method, it includes essential activities to take place during...

Between good intentions and great results lies a program theory--not just a list of tasks but a vision of what needs to happen, and how. Now widely used in government and not-for-profit organizations, program theory provides a coherent picture of how change occurs and how to improve performance. Purposeful Program Theory shows how to develop, represent, and use program theory thoughtfully and strategically to suit your particular situation, drawing on the fifty-year history of program theory and the authors' experiences over more than twenty-five years.

"From needs assessment to...

An updated guide to the core concepts of program evaluation

This updated edition of Program Evaluation in Practice covers the core concepts of program evaluation and uses case studies to touch on real-world issues that arise when conducting an evaluation project. This important resource is filled with illustrative examples written in accessible terms and provides a wide variety of evaluation projects that can be used for discussion, analysis, and reflection. The book addresses foundations and theories of evaluation, tools and methods for collecting data, writing of reports,...

The golden standard evaluation reference text

Now in its second edition, Evaluation Theory, Models, and Applications is the vital text on evaluation models, perfect for classroom use as a textbook, and as a professional evaluation reference. The book begins with an overview of the evaluation field and program evaluation standards, and proceeds to cover the most widely used evaluation approaches. With new evaluation designs and the inclusion of the latest literature from the field, this Second Edition is an essential update for professionals and students who want to...