A Practical Guide To Evaluation

Demystifying the evaluation journey, this is the first evaluation mentoring book that addresses the choices, roles, and challenges that evaluators must navigate in the real world. Experienced evaluator and trainer Donna R. Podems covers both conceptual and technical aspects of practice in a friendly, conversational style. She focuses not just on how to do evaluations but how to think like an evaluator, fostering reflective, ethical, and culturally sensitive practice. Extensive case examples illustrate the process of conceptualizing and implementing an evaluation--clarifying interventions, identifying beneficiaries, gathering data, discussing results, valuing, and developing recommendations. The differences (and connections) between research, evaluation, and monitoring are explored. Handy icons identify instructive features including self-study exercises, group activities, clarifying questions, facilitation and negotiation techniques, insider tips, advice, and resources. Purchasers can access a companion website to download and print reproducible materials for some of the activities and games described in the book.

"A Practical Guide to Evaluation presents the mechanisms and processes of evaluation with an eye toward illustrating the impact of evaluation on the long-term success of agencies. The book utilizes a circular six-step Evaluation Decision-Making Model to discuss every stage of the evaluation process, highlighting the model's applicability to different types of evaluations in different professional settings. The new edition of the book has been reformatted as a workbook with tear-out checklists, exercises, and decision-making tasks for each chapter, so students and practitioners will have an opportunity to practice skills taught. Unlike many evaluation manuals, which focus purely on theory, A Practical Guide to Evaluation uses literature reviews and logic models, as well as complete case studies, to help social service practitioners connect theory to planning and evaluation."--Back cover.

A comprehensive guide to running randomized impact evaluations of social programs in developing countries This book provides a comprehensive yet accessible guide to running randomized impact evaluations of social programs. Drawing on the experience of researchers at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which has run hundreds of such evaluations in dozens of countries throughout the world, it offers practical insights on how to use this powerful technique, especially in resource-poor environments. This step-by-step guide explains why and when randomized evaluations are useful, in what situations they should be used, and how to prioritize different evaluation opportunities. It shows how to design and analyze studies that answer important questions while respecting the constraints of those working on and benefiting from the program being evaluated. The book gives concrete tips on issues such as improving the quality of a study despite tight budget constraints, and demonstrates how the results of randomized impact evaluations can inform policy. With its self-contained modules, this one-of-a-kind guide is easy to navigate. It also includes invaluable references and a checklist of the common pitfalls to avoid. Provides the most up-to-date guide to running randomized evaluations of social programs, especially in developing countries Offers practical tips on how to complete high-quality studies in even the most challenging environments Self-contained modules allow for easy reference and flexible teaching and learning Comprehensive yet nontechnical

This book guides evaluators in planning a comprehensive, yet practical, program evaluation—from start to design—within any context, in an accessible manner.

Designed to help medical educators implement better assessment methods, tools, and models directly into training programs, Practical Guide to the Evaluation of Clinical Competence, 2nd Edition, by Drs. Eric S. Holmboe, Steven J. Durning, and Richard E. Hawkins, is a hands-on, authoritative guide to outcomes-based assessment in clinical education. National and international experts present an organized, multifaceted approach and a diverse combination of methods to help you perform effective assessments. This thoroughly revised edition is a valuable resource for developing, implementing, and sustaining effective systems for evaluating clinical competence in medical school, residency, and fellowship programs.

Toolkits is divided into three sections: underlying principles, practical questions and tools. This new edition brings these up-to-date and discusses the implications of adopting a human rights approach to development and the increased emphasis on partnership. There are new chapters on impact assessment and monitoring and evaluating advocacy, as well as two new tools - one for improving your planning, evaluation, and impact assessment and one for stakeholder analysis.

Evaluating Research in Academic Journals is a guide for students who are learning how to evaluate reports of empirical research published in academic journals. It breaks down the process of evaluating a journal article into easy-to-understand steps, and emphasizes the practical aspects of evaluating research – not just how to apply a list of technical terms from textbooks. The book avoids oversimplification in the evaluation process by describing the nuances that may make an article publishable even when it has serious methodological flaws. Students learn when and why certain types of flaws may be tolerated, and why evaluation should not be performed mechanically. Each chapter is organized around evaluation questions. For each question, there is a concise explanation of how to apply it in the evaluation of research reports. Numerous examples from journals in the social and behavioral sciences illustrate the application of the evaluation questions, and demonstrate actual examples of strong and weak features of published reports. Common-sense models for evaluation combined with a lack of jargon make it possible for students to start evaluating research articles the first week of class. New to this edition New chapters on: evaluating mixed methods research evaluating systematic reviews and meta-analyses program evaluation research Updated chapters and appendices that provide more comprehensive information and recent examples Full new online resources: test bank questions and PowerPoint slides for instructors, and self-test chapter quizzes, further readings and additional journal examples for students.

Evaluation of social and education services leads to better practice, however many practitioners find the language of evaluation difficult to conceptualise. A Practical Guide to Evaluation presents the mechanisms and processes of evaluation with a clear eye toward the impact evaluation has for the long-term productivity and success of practices and agencies.

In this indispensable companion to the classic book Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, Donald and James Kirkpatrick draw on their decades of collective experience to offer practical guidance for putting any or all of the Four Levels into practice. In addition, they offer a comprehensive list of the ten requirements for an effective training program and show how to decide what to evaluate, how to get managers to support the evaluation process, and how to use the Four Levels to construct a compelling chain of evidence demonstrating the contribution of training to the bottom line.

This book is an accessible, contemporary, and comprehensive guide to the concepts and practice of evaluation. Authors Gail Vallance Barrington and Beverly Triana-Tremain integrate new approaches and concerns, and classic frameworks with practical tools that readers can use to design evaluation studies. They show how evaluators measure whether the planned and implemented interventions or services are achieving their goals and objectives, while focusing on the questions most important to the community and organizations in which the evaluation takes place. The book stresses the role of critical and evaluative thinking and self-reflection, and demonstrates the importance of context and equity in today's turbulent environment, offering a new stance for evaluators to support global as well as local issues.