Evaluation Practice: How To Do Good Evaluation Research In Work Settings

by DePoy; Elizabeth

• ISBN13: 9780805862997
• ISBN10: 0805862994
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-26
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Professional accountability has become central to both public and private sectors. Governments have emphasized and even developed empirical models, logic modeling, and evidence-based practice in the programs they support, and not-for-profit, for-profit and NGO entities increasingly rely on systematic strategies such as strategic planning, marketing research, outcome measures, and benchmarking to identify needs and determine success. In Evaluation Practice , Depoy and Gilson bridge 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.

Author Biography

Elizabeth DePoy is Professor of Policy and International Affairs and Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies at the University of Maine.

Table of Contents

Beginnings	p. 1
Introduction to Evaluation Practice: A Problem Solving Approach through Informed Thinking and Action	p. 3
The Conceptual Framework of Evaluation Practice	p. 19
Thinking Processes of Evaluation Practice	p. 33
Identifying Problems and Issues: Mapping and Analyzing Your Territory	p. 35
Obtaining and Organizing Information: How Do You Know?	p. 51
Ascertaining Need: What Is Needed to Resolve All or Part of the Problem or Issue?	p. 66
Examining Need with Previously Supported Approaches: Designing Experimental-Type Inquiry	p. 77
Obtaining Information in Experimental-Type Needs Assessment	p. 89
Ascertaining Need in Unexamined or Partially Understood Contexts: Designing Inductive Inquiry	p. 104
Setting Goals and Objectives	p. 120
Reflexive Action	p. 131
Reflexive Action: What Is It?	p. 133
Thinking Processes of Reflexive Action	p. 145
Action Processes of Reflexive Action	p. 158
During and After Professional Effort: Did You Resolve Your Problem, How Do You Know, and How Did You Share What You Know?	p. 171
Assessing Outcomes: Thinking Processes in Outcome Assessment	p. 173
Action Processes of Outcome Research	p. 180
Commencement: Sharing Evaluation Practice Knowledge and On To a New Problem Statement	p. 196
Data Analysis	p. 209
References	p. 217
Glossary/Index	p. 225
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