Being purposeful, systematic and carefully implemented, evaluation is a continuous process and it is performed as the very basic part of the program activities to attain data to conclude if there is a need to make changes or eliminations, or accept something in it. Program evaluation is a kind of examination in social research field and it checks…

Aims to assist evaluators working with an institutional review board (IRB). Asserts that evaluators must accept the legitimacy of IRB review and learn about requirements and pressures even as they educate the IRB about social science methodology and empirically demonstrable risks. (SLD)

Standardization is inimical to innovation. Although the function of a standard is to standardize, the Evaluation Research Society (ERS) Standards avoid a standardizing effect. Their contribution lies mostly in the symbolism of their existence: to issue a set of standards is to proclaim maturity of thought for the field. (Author/LC)

The paper will present findings from a Social Science and Humanities Research (SSHRC) funded participatory evaluation conducted over the past four years in the Cree nation of Wemindji in Quebec, Canada. COOL (Challenging Our Own Limits) or "Nigawchiisuun" in Cree, was launched in 2003 as part of a broader program of governance…

Discusses problems that social scientists face when evaluating social programs, including cost, methodological concerns, and the development and application of new analytical techniques. (GC)

An ethnographic evaluation adapts data collection and analytical methods of the ethnographer to the purpose of decision-making. Ethnography and evaluation differ in determination of problems addressed by the researcher. Ethnographers are interested in slow cultural change, while evaluators address policy questions requiring immediate answers. The…

Forms of evaluation that involve evaluators working collaboratively with practitioners on applied social research projects are becoming increasingly common, but a body of empirical literature that warrants firm conclusions about collaborative evaluation has not yet been accumulated. This survey studies the views of evaluators and program…

The dilemma inherent in formal standards results from the tension between maintaining quality control and constraining creativity. This dilemma is nowhere more apparent than in matters of method: measurement, sampling, research design, and statistical analysis. The author offers suggestions for revision of the standards to allow for specific…

Evaluators who perform formative evaluations would be well served to apprise themselves of recent survey research in framing formative evaluations. Illustrative examples are used from research into such diverse areas of activity as: the development of identities attached to different forms of modern rock and roll; the rationales that juvenile…

This paper focuses on problems faced and lessons learned in the evaluation of a community crime-reduction program. The program ("Hartford Project"), designed to reduce residential burglary, street robbery, and the fear of those crimes, is briefly described. A multimethod approach to evaluation, which considered each variable in at least…

Applying attribution theory principles to evaluation of educational programs, the effects of training for social service employees were evaluated by trainees, training instructors, and agency supervisors. Findings confirmed a concept of attribution theory: trainees and instructors tended to have similar responses, while agency supervisor responses…

Studied community initiatives in several low-income California Latino communities over 5 years. Results of these analyses show the challenges of blending a critical theory social science approach with community-focused evaluation practice. (SLD)

Until recently, anthropologists have had little involvement in the evaluation of social welfare and social change programs, despite the fact that such research involves not only the quantitative assessment of program results, but also analysis of informal structures and processes through which goals are formulated and results achieved. This paper…

Examining moral values and normative criteria in education, it is argued that evaluators are not just social scientists with expertise about scientific methods but also make value judgments about programs, policies, and interventions. Evaluators must consider the ethical assumptions from which they operate in conducting evaluations. (SLD)

The aim of this article is to present the reader with an accessible and practical account of evaluation as a mode of inquiry within the broad domain of social science. The starting point is the presentation of a general outline of the main milestones relating to the emergence of evaluation as a mode of inquiry and some of the prominent advocates…