Program Evaluation: Methods and Case Studies

For upper-level undergraduate/ graduate-level courses in Program Evaluation, Program Planning, Program Administration, and Public Administration.     Comprehensive yet accessible, this text provides a practical introduction to the skills, attitudes, and methods required to assess the worth and value of human services offered in public and private organizations in a wide range of fields. Students are introduced to the need for such activities, the methods for carrying out evaluations, and the essential steps in organizing findings into reports. The text focuses on the work of people who are closely associated with the service to be evaluated, and is designed to help program planners, developers, and evaluators to work with program staff members who might be threatened by program evaluation.

Table of Contents:
TABLE OF CONTENTS    1 Program Evaluation: An Overview   Evaluation Tasks That Need to Be Done   Common Types of Program Evaluations   Activities Often Confused with Program Evaluation   Different Types of Evaluations for Different Kinds of Programs   Purpose of Program Evaluation     2 Planning an Evaluation   An Overview of the Core Purposes of Evaluation Steps in Preparing to Conduct an Evaluation Dysfunctional Attitudes Making Program Evaluation Challenging   3 Developing and Using a Theory of the Program Developing a Program Theory Evaluation Questions Flow from Program Theory Cautions in Choosing Evaluation Criteria Identifying  Goals and Objectives Some Practical Limitations in Selecting Evaluation Criteria     4 Developing Measures of Implementation and Outcomes Sources of Data for Evaluation   Gathering Information Wisely Case Study 1: Using Multiple Measures in an Evaluation of a Summer Community Program for Youth   Types of Measures of Evaluation Criteria   Preparing Special Surveys     5 Ethics in Program Evaluation   Standards for the Practice of Evaluation   Ethical Issues Involved in the Treatment of People   Role Conflicts Facing Evaluators   Recognizing the Needs of Different Stakeholders   The Validity of Evaluations   Avoiding Possible Negative Side Effects of Evaluation Procedures Institutional Review Boards and Program Evaluation   Ethical Problems Evaluators Report   6 The Assessment of Need   Definitions of Need   Sources of Information for the Assessment of Need   Inadequate Assessment of Need   Using Needs Assessments in Program Planning     7 Monitoring the Implementation and Operation of Programs   Monitoring Programs as a Means of Evaluating Programs   What to Summarize with Information Systems   Program Records and Information Systems   Avoiding Common Problems in Implementing an Information System     8 Qualitative Evaluation Methods   Evaluation Settings Best Served by Qualitative Evaluations Gathering Qualitative Information   Case Study 2: Using Qualitative Methods in an Evaluation of a University Library   Carrying Out Naturalistic Evaluations   Coordinating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods   Philosophical Assumptions     9 Outcome Evaluations with One Group One-Group Evaluation Designs   Uses of One-Group, Descriptive Designs   Case Study 3: A Pretest-Posttest Design to Evaluate a Peer-Based Program to Prevent Skin Cancer   Threats to Internal Validity   Construct Validity in Pretest-Posttest Designs   Overinterpreting the Results of One-Group Designs   Usefulness of One-Group Designs as Initial Approaches to Program Evaluation     10Quasi-Experimental Approaches to Outcome Evaluation   Increasing the Number of Times  Observations Are Made Observing Other Groups Case Study 4: Nonequivalent Control Groups Used to Evaluate an Employee Incentive Plan   Regression-Discontinuity Design   Observing Other Dependent Variables   Combining Designs to Increase Internal Validity     11Using Experiments to Evaluate Programs   Experiments in Program Evaluation   Objections to Experimentation   The Most Desirable Times to Conduct Experiments   Case Study 5: Teaching Doctors Communication Skills: An Evaluation with Random Assignment and Pretests   Successfully Implementing and Interpreting an Experimental Design     12Analyses of Costs and Outcomes   Cost Analyses and Budgets   Comparing Outcomes to Costs   Some Details of Cost Analyses   Case Study 6: The Value of Providing Smoking Cessation Clinics for Employees on Company Time   Major Criticisms of Cost Analyses     13Evaluation Reports: Interpreting and Communicating Findings   Developing a Communication Plan   Personal Presentations of Findings   Content of Formal Written Evaluation Reports   Provide Progress Reports and Press Releases       References Index