Intervention research is vital for social work, as it aims to develop practice/program approaches and provide evidence to understand which interventions are effective and for whom. Despite growing attention, little social work research exists that evaluates interventions. Among the reasons for the dearth of intervention research within social work…

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…

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,…

This paper focuses on the discrepancy the authors personally experienced between the stated principles of social research and experience with several applied social research projects over the last 10 years. Three cases of applied social research are presented and critiqued, and two types of structural problems were found. (Author/LMO)

This article illustrates how social research has moved into the public policy process while retaining the essential characteristics of research. It also shows how concerns about participant confidentiality have interacted with attempts by the General Accounting Office to analyze data. Journal availability: see TM 503 798. (CP)

Ethical issues; institutional characteristics and organizational arrangements; and roles and skills of the researcher must be considered if the government is to apply social science research findings more widely for the public good. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single issue, $6.95.) (Author/GDC)

L. Ku supports the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program as effective in improving children's health. D. Besharov and P. Germanis reiterate their earlier criticisms that the program is less effective than commonly believed and that research evidence about its effectiveness is flawed. (SLD)

Distortion and selective disclosure limit data that are available to program evaluators, producing a bias that tends to maintain the status quo. Paradoxically, attempts to objectify the data only increase the potential for distortion. Ironically, one way to encourage innovation may be to not measure it. Additional solutions are suggested.…

A model is described which illustrates two general uses of multiple analyses to evaluate quasi-experiments: obtaining estimates of the treatment effect, and checking the validity of the experiment. (MH)

An information feedback model and an ideology of evaluation are posed and contrasted with experiences in evaluation research. Impact on policy is the criterion for success of an evaluation and political constraints block this impact. Some ways social researchers might conceptualize and construct an appropriate base of power are considered.…

Strasser and Deniston's own analysis (TM 504 254) shows that post-planned evaluations are unsuitable substitutes for pre-planned evaluations. When viewed as post-experimental interviews, however, post-planned evaluations can produce valuable information which complements traditional experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations. (MH)

This paper explores how youth programs, particularly programs that try to prepare young people for the world of work and higher education, are organized and implemented in the field. It is argued that, in many cases, the needs of program practitioners are overlooked by the research community. The focus is on the field of "second-chance"…

Criticizes Strasser and Deniston's post-planned evaluation (TM 504 253) because of their: (1) emphasis on evaluation research; (2) imposition of experimental rigor; (3) inapplicability to human service projects; (4) inattention to congruity between the program and its environment; (5) distinct characteristics of program evaluation; and (6)…

Evaluation issues pertaining to the Intelligent Vehicle Highway System are discussed. Transportation is an area that clearly illustrates how technology is outrunning social science. Those responsible for the evaluation of programs and options must assume responsibility for spelling out the destructive consequences of focusing only on technology.…

The five essays that compose this report criticize, from federal, state, and local perspectives, current methods of evaluating government-sponsored education programs. A major recurring theme is that experimental design methods, most commonly used by the Department of Education, do not provide adequate information for policy-makers' needs. The…