Promoting Value in the Public Interest: Informing Policies for Judging Value in Evaluation

Promoting Value in the Public Interest: Informing Policies for Judging Value in Evaluation PDF Author: George Julnes
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118310489
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
Do you make evidence-based decisions when designing and conducting evaluations, and use methods validated by experience? Because of the growing importance of evidence-based decision-making for improving programs and policies, this issue examines methods selection: Which is better? How can one be improved? Are the results of the project worth the resources expended? and how that leads to confidence in value-based conclusions. It presents a constructive dialogue on valuing in evaluation, with the goal of developing a pragmatic approach for guiding method choice and for promoting methodology policies that support multiple approaches to valuation being employed in context-appropriate ways so as to serve the public interest. This is the 133rd volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Promoting Value in the Public Interest: Informing Policies for Judging Value in Evaluation

Promoting Value in the Public Interest: Informing Policies for Judging Value in Evaluation PDF Author: George Julnes
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118310489
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 146

Get Book Here

Book Description
Do you make evidence-based decisions when designing and conducting evaluations, and use methods validated by experience? Because of the growing importance of evidence-based decision-making for improving programs and policies, this issue examines methods selection: Which is better? How can one be improved? Are the results of the project worth the resources expended? and how that leads to confidence in value-based conclusions. It presents a constructive dialogue on valuing in evaluation, with the goal of developing a pragmatic approach for guiding method choice and for promoting methodology policies that support multiple approaches to valuation being employed in context-appropriate ways so as to serve the public interest. This is the 133rd volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Research on Evaluation

Research on Evaluation PDF Author: Paul R. Brandon
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119239656
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
This issue broaden the field’s understanding of Research on Evaluation (RoE) in practice, with a focus on empirical RoE. Considering the full collection of RoE studies, it defines RoE as systematic empirical inquiry resulting in original findings or in reexaminations of existing data about the practice, methods, or profession of program evaluation. RoE inquiries address: the inputs into evaluations, the contexts within which evaluations are conducted, the full range of methods and activities of evaluations, evaluation’s proximal or distal effects, or the professional issues that evaluators encounter. The inquiries include case studies, reflective narratives, studies about evaluation methods, literature reviews, oral histories, bibliometric studies, meta-evaluations, experiments, longitudinal studies, simulations, and time-series studies. This is the 148th issue in the New Directions for Evaluation series from Jossey-Bass. It is an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Quality

Quality PDF Author: Peter Dahler-Larsen
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030103927
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The notion of quality features prominently in contemporary discourse. Numerous ratings, rankings, metrics, auditing, accreditation, benchmarking, smileys, reviews, and international comparisons are all used regularly to capture quality. This book paves the way in exploring the socio-political implications of evaluative statements, with a specific focus on the contribution of the concept of quality to these processes. Drawing on perspectives from the history of ideas, sociology, political science and public management, Dahler-Larsen asks what is the role of quality, and more specifically quality inscriptions, such as measurement? What do they accomplish? And finally, as a consequence of all this, does the term quality make it possible to deal with public issues in a way that lives up to democratic standards? This cross-disciplinary book will be of interest to scholars and students across various fields, including sociology, social epistemology, political science, public policy, and evaluation.

Research Handbook on Program Evaluation

Research Handbook on Program Evaluation PDF Author: Kathryn E. Newcomer
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 180392828X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 729

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Book Description
In the Research Handbook on Program Evaluation, an impressive range of authors take stock of the history and current standing of key issues and debates in the evaluation field. Examining current literature of program evaluation, the Research Handbook assesses the field's status in a post-pandemic and social justice-oriented world, examining today’s theoretical and practical concerns and proposing how they might be resolved by future innovations. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Utilization-Focused Evaluation

Utilization-Focused Evaluation PDF Author: Michael Quinn Patton
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1544379471
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
The Fifth Edition of the bestselling Utilization-Focused Evaluation provides expert, detailed advice on conducting evaluations that promote effective use of the findings. Chock full of useful pedagogy, this book presents Michael Quinn Patton′s distinctive opinions based on more than forty years of experience, and also the expertise of new co-author Charmagne E. Campbell-Patton. The authors begin by describing the essence of utilization-focused evaluation, and then outline 10 operating principles. They conclude with chapters focused on how evaluation can be used to promote a more thoughtful, equitable, and sustainable world. Richly illustrated with examples, figures, and cartoons, this engaging text shows readers how to design and conduct evaluations that provide useful findings, and which contribute to a more equitable society. A companion website is available to accompany this book.

Evaluation Foundations Revisited

Evaluation Foundations Revisited PDF Author: Thomas Schwandt
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 080479572X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Evaluation examines policies and programs across every arena of human endeavor, from efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS to programs that drive national science policy. Relying on a vast array of methods, from qualitative interviewing to econometrics, it is a "transdiscipline," as opposed to a formal area of academic study. Accounting for these challenges, Evaluation Foundations Revisited offers an introduction for those seeking to better understand evaluation as a professional field. While the acquisition of methods and methodologies to meet the needs of certain projects is important, the foundation of evaluative practice rests on understanding complex issues to balance. Evaluation Foundations Revisited is an invitation to examine the intellectual, practical, and philosophical nexus that lies at the heart of evaluation. Thomas A. Schwandt shows how to critically engage with the assumptions that underlie how evaluators define and position their work, as well as how they argue for the usefulness of evaluation in society. He looks at issues such as the role of theory, how notions of value and valuing are understood, how evidence is used, how evaluation is related to politics, and what comprises scientific integrity. By coming to better understand the foundations of evaluation, readers will develop what Schwandt terms "a life of the mind of practice," which enables evaluators to draw on a more holistic view to develop reasoned arguments and well fitted techniques.

The Institutionalisation of Evaluation in the Americas

The Institutionalisation of Evaluation in the Americas PDF Author: Reinhard Stockmann
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030811395
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Book Description
This book examines the progress of institutionalisation of evaluation in American countries from various perspectives. It presents prior developments and current states of evaluation in 11 American countries and three transnational organisations, focusing on three dimensions, namely the political, social and professional systems. These detailed country reports, which have been written by selected researchers and authors of the respective countries, lead to a concluding comparison and synthesis. This is the second of four volumes of the compendium The Institutionalisation of Evaluation. The first volume on Europe was published in 2020. It will be followed by two more volumes on Asia Pacific, and Africa. The overall aim is to provide an interdisciplinary audience with cross-country learning to enable them to better understand the institutionalisation of evaluation in different nations, world regions and sectors.

Evaluating

Evaluating PDF Author: Ernest R. House
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1623969174
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 157

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Book Description
In this book, Ernie House reframes how we think about evaluation by reconsidering three key concepts of values, biases, and practical wisdom. The first part of the book reconstructs core evaluation concepts, with a focus on the origins of our values and biases. The second part explores how we handle values and biases in practice, and the third shows how we learn practical wisdom and use it in evaluations. Value is the central concept in this volume, yet it’s a fuzzy concept. In Part I, Ernie clarifies the concept of value by addressing basic questions: What are values? Where do they come from? Why do we have them? Why is our conception so confused? How do we handle values in evaluations? In Part II, another central concept is added, that of biases. Prominent evaluation frameworks have focused on biases, including Campbell and Stanley’s (1963) framework for validating causal inferences and Scriven’s (1972) conception of objectivity, which is achieved by correcting for biases in general. In addition, research on thought processes has made progress by focusing on cognitive biases (Kahneman, 2011). Even so, through a case example, Ernie demonstrates that the concept of biases is under-appreciated and not well engaged in evaluation practice. The third important concept, featured in Part III, is practical wisdom, which is the knowledge that evaluators acquire through experience. Practical wisdom informs what we do, possibly as much as theory. Experienced evaluators often conduct evaluations in similar ways, regardless of their theory, because practical wisdom determines much of what they do. Ernie provides concrete examples of practical wisdom and how we employ it. Throughout the book, he draws on the empirical research on thinking processes, especially Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow (2011). This book will be of interest and relevance to all evaluation scholars and practitioners, as it thoughtfully engages core constructs of the field. The book can also well serve as a supplementary text in multiple evaluation courses, as it offers valuable conceptual and practical perspectives on our craft.

Seven North American Evaluation Pioneers

Seven North American Evaluation Pioneers PDF Author: David D. Williams
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119293421
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
How do people evaluate in daily life? This issue broaches this topic to better understand this dimension of being human, to develop evaluation theory, and to improve extraprofessional and professional evaluation practice. As part of a larger study addressing these issues in the lives of many professional evaluators around the world, case studies of seven early evaluation theorists and practitioners from North America were conducted. This issue contains articles with stories of some of their evaluation life experiences told and interpreted by these individuals, with commentary by an eighth evaluator. Themes that cross the cases are proposed, and responses by the individuals highlighted are shared in a final article. This is the 150th issue in the New Directions for Evaluation series from Jossey-Bass. It is an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding and Dialogue

Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding and Dialogue PDF Author: Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110625083
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
In the emerging fields of religious and interreligious peacebuilding, the question of monitoring and evaluation is a challenging, yet necessary process. The need to develop comprehensive yet fitting evaluation models for religious and interreligious peacebuilding is not only important for donor interests, but also critical as a means of documenting and learning for peacebuilders themselves. Theories and best practices in monitoring and evaluation have become prevalent in many fields, yet the amount of literature on evaluating intercultural and, especially, religious and interreligious projects remains scant in comparison. This volume offers a unique contribution that not only looks at several of the challenges and implications faced by religious and interreligious peacebuilders but also provides concrete examples of new models and tools for monitoring and evaluating religious and interreligious peacebuilding projects. In doing so, this volume serves as a tool and point of reference for individuals and organizations developing and implementing interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding projects.