Free-listing is a quick, semi-quantitative methodology commonly used by anthropologists to uncover information within a cultural domain. In this method note, we review how anthropologists have used free-listing in a variety of research settings. We then apply the social-ecological framework to describe how free-listing can be used for formative,…

The Nuremberg Code established ethics for the involvement of humans in research, initially in the area of health and medical research. While aspects of the code have been extended to the social and behavioral sciences, program evaluation does not always implement those policies, procedures, and protocols for protecting research participants,…

Engaging students in assessment practice benefits honors students, faculty, and administrators. Students gain meaningful research experience while honors programs receive data to help assess student learning and prepare for program review. A one-semester course, Program Evaluation Experiences, tasks students (n = 10) with collecting and analyzing…

Since 2003, the Oral History Project Team has conducted interviews with individuals who have made particularly noteworthy contributions to the theory and practice of evaluation. In 2013, Mel Mark, Valerie Caracelli, and Miles McNall sat with Thomas Cook in Washington, D.C., during the American Evaluation Association (AEA) annual conference. The…

In 2009, the government's Department for Education commissioned a team of researchers at NatCen Social Research to evaluate the effectiveness of the youth development/teenage pregnancy prevention programme 'Teens and Toddlers'. Previous studies had positive findings but had not been very rigorous in terms of methodology and methods used. We…

In the past decade, the federal government, some states, and numerous communities have initiated programs to help couples form and sustain healthy marriages and relationships in order to increase family stability for children. Thus, the authors value the attention given to this emerging policy area by the "American Psychologist" in a recent…

It is a special characteristic of all modern societies that people consciously decide on and plan projects designed to improve their social systems. It is their universal predicament that their projects do not always have their intended effects. It seems inevitable that in most countries this common set of problems, combined with the obvious…

Advocacy is central to the social work profession's commitment to social betterment and justice, yet much of what we know about it is based on conventional wisdom. We have little evidence on the effectiveness of interventions and even less on the costs and benefits of advocacy campaigns. This article discusses some of the conceptual and…

This article addresses a void in the literature about social work research and evaluation (R&E) designs, in particular related to the quality of its published work. Data were collected by reviewing three empirically oriented journals, "Research on Social Work Practice", "Journal of Social Service Research", and "Social Work Research" over three…

Over the past few years, the focus group method has assumed a very important role as a method for collecting qualitative data in social and behavioural science research. This article elucidates theoretical and practical problems and prospects associated with the use of focus groups as a qualitative research method in social and behavioural science…

There is an untapped potential of social work faculty to conduct aging research aimed at enhancing the well-being of older adults. To better exploit this resource, we have designed, implemented, and evaluated a postgraduate training program in aging research. The goal of the program is to build and sustain a community of social work faculty…

This article provides a brief summary of the seven articles in this special issue through the lens of the concept of "caring reflexivity". In joining "caring" and "reflexivity", we deepen the conversation about what constitutes reflexivity, encouraging an explicit focus on the relational. Revisiting the first article,…

Written by a social worker for social work students, this is a nuts and bolts guide to statistics that presents complex calculations and concepts in clear, easy-to-understand language. It includes numerous examples, data sets, and issues that students will encounter in social work practice. The first section introduces basic concepts and terms to…

Secondary analysis is a situation that argues for explicit training in methodology. Evaluative researchers are often required to extend analysis conducted by original evaluators of a program for reasons of dissatisfaction or incompleteness. (Author/GK)

This paper advances a humanistic and literary view of history which has important implications for those doing educational evaluation in naturalistic settings. It stresses the particularity of historical events and the importance of investigating history from the perspective of the individual actors involved. It emphasizes being sensitive to…