Mixed methods evaluation has a long-standing history of enhancing the credibility of evaluation findings. However, using mixed methods in a utilitarian way implicitly emphasizes convenience over engaging with its philosophical underpinnings (Denscombe, 2008). Because of this, some mixed methods evaluators and social science researchers have been…

A cross-case analysis of four National Science Foundation (NSF) case studies identified both unique details and common themes related to promoting the use and influence of multisite evaluations. The analysis provided evidence of diverse evaluation use by stakeholders and suggested that people taking part in the multisite evaluations perceived…

A team at the University of Minnesota conducted the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) core evaluation between 1999 and 2004. The purpose of the CETP core evaluation was to achieve consensus among CETP project leaders and project evaluators on evaluation questions; to develop, pilot, and field test evaluation instruments…

Programs and policies invariably contain new knowledge. Theories about knowledge utilization, diffusion, implementation, transfer, and knowledge translation theories illuminate some mechanisms of change processes. But more often than not, when it comes to understanding patterns about change processes, "the foreground" is privileged more…

Historically, examples of project evaluation in conservation were rare. In recent years, however, conservation professionals have begun to recognize the importance of evaluation both for accountability and for improving project interventions. Even with this growing interest in evaluation, the conservation community has paid little attention to…

A critical theory lens is used to explore the role of evaluation in youth development, a field aimed at recognizing youth as assets. A theory of change in the field is questioned for its emphasis on individual youth outcomes as programmatic outcome measures. A review of 209 evaluations of 131 programs in the Harvard Family Research Project's…

The chapter explores critical roles of internal evaluators in contemporary organizational settings. The need is highlighted for an expanded, reconfigured, unorthodox set of roles and styles of work to meet the needs of the emerging learning organizations effectively. A discussion of major categories of internal evaluator roles emerged from the…

The author analyzes the growth and nature of internal evaluation from the 1960s to the present and suggests that internal evaluation has been on the increase because of its perceived importance. Although the 1960s were characterized by a rich intellectual development of evaluation theory and practice, the fiscal conservatism of the 1980s ushered…

This chapter explores how the structure of large complex organizations such as Cooperative Extension affects their ability to support internal evaluation of their programs and activities. Following a literature review of organizational structure and its relation to internal evaluation capacity, the chapter presents the results of interviews with…

Methodological rigor consists of a series of elements that, in combination, determine the confidence with which conclusions can be drawn from the evaluation results. These elements include evaluation design, conceptualization of constructs, measurement strategies, time frames, program integrity, and others. The authors examine the factors that…

In 1996, United Way of America (UWA) developed and began disseminating the most widely used approach to program outcome measurement in the nonprofit sector. Today an estimated 450 local United Ways encourage approximately 19,000 local agencies they fund to measure outcomes. The authors first describe and then assess the strengths and limitations…

Three primary stances on the wisdom of mixing evaluation models while mixing evaluation methods frame the challenges to defensible mixed-method evaluative inquiry. These challenges are addressed by shifting the mixed-method controversy from models toward other critical features of disparate traditions of inquiry. (Author/SLD)

Summarizes efforts to strengthen program evaluation capacity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviews the circumstances that triggered an interest in building this capacity in public health and the principles and procedures used by the working group charged to achieve this goal. (Author/SLD)

Reflects on an evaluation that aspired to be inclusive but generally failed to provide a backdrop for a discussion of inclusive evaluation. Identifies issues of absence of significant stakeholders, making of values by method, and the limited authority of the evaluation. Shows how easily deliberative intentions are distorted. (SLD)

Two broad classes of mixed-method designs--component and integrated--that have the potential to combine elements of different inquiry traditions are described. The conceptual ideas advanced in the first chapter are illustrated through selected examples of several mixed-method integrated models. (Author/SLD)