This article addresses the debate on pre-evaluative choices of impact depictions and the forms of responses between applicants and funders. By adopting a reflexive perspective on the social impact of social sciences, this article explores researchers' vocabularies in the research proposals and mid-term reports of consortiums during the Strategic…

In an attempt to move, if not balance, the scales of activity toward increasing scientific capability across a diverse national population, U.S. federal funding agencies are purposefully linking research funding to broad national impact. Among United States federal agencies, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has led the way in the integration…

In March 1968, the Board of Education of School District 65 in Illinois began a study of the effects of school integration upon the pupils, teachers, and parents of the city of Evanston. This interim report is a summary of activities and a research design projection through to the conclusion of the study, June 30, 1971. Analyses are not included,…

Proposals satisfy a number of functions in evaluation work. This article examines how these functions differ depending on whether the proposal concerns a preordinate study in which methods are prespecified or an emergent study in which decisions about methods are made as the study proceeds. (Author/SLD)

Program theory-driven evaluation science uses substantive knowledge, as opposed to method proclivities, to guide program evaluations. It aspires to update, clarify, simplify, and make more accessible the evolving theory of evaluation practice commonly referred to as theory-driven or theory-based evaluation. The evaluator in this chapter provides a…

The four colleges participating in the Associated Colleges of the St. Lawrence Valley initiated a project to stimulate the involvement of their faculty in the development of research, development, and evaluation projects on a scale comparable to that at larger institutions. The specific objectives were as follows: a) to organize and implement…

A proposal to monitor and summarize the experience that will be gained during the course of the ATS-F Education Satellite Communications Demonstration is described. The goals of the demonstration and the context in which it must be evaluated are discussed in an introduction. Subsequent sections deal with specific analytic approaches proposed, the…

The curriculum for this 2-week workshop on educational research development and evaluation is designed to increase participants' skills in project development and proposal writing and increase their knowledge of research and evaluation methods. Geared toward adult professionals who are skilled and motivated, the curriculum helps participants to…

This document presents the research proposal and supporting documents for a study to evaluate the process of developing a comprehensive dissemination capacity in State Education Agencies (SEAs) and to assess the impact of the capacity building activities in the states, addressing two questions: Is dissemination capacity being built and, if so,…

This conference report identifies research needs in evaluating and documenting large scale school improvement efforts to serve disadvantaged populations. Summaries of the conference presentations are provided, grouped into three sections. The first section examines the basis of conducting evaluations. Several basic assumptions are challenged,…