About the Book

Evaluation of social and education services leads to better practice, however many practitioners find the language of evaluation difficult to conceptualize. 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. Emphasizing theory-driven evaluation, Brun uses his extensive experiences as a practitioner, administrator, educator, and evaluator to apply research skills to agency evaluations. 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 the skills taught. The new format also makes the book an invaluable guide that students will use in their work after graduation. Unlike many evaluation manuals, which focus purely on theory, A Practical Guide to Social Service Evaluation uses literature reviews and logic models, and real-world examples throughout the text to help social service practitioners connect theory to planning and evaluation.

Features

• Categorizes evaluations into three types: exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory and explains the different applications of qualitative or quantitative methods for each
• Organized around a circular six-step Evaluation Decision-Making Model
• New! Workbook format includes tear-out worksheets, checklists, and exercises for each stage of the evaluation process
• New! Chapters of the first edition have been divided into smaller chapters to better emphasize content
• Each chapter includes case examples, illustrations, critical thinking questions, references, and website resources

About the Author

Carl Brun (PhD, Ohio State University; AM, University of Chicago) is professor of social work at Wright State University, where he serves as department chair and MSW program director. Brun served as an evaluator for over fifteen social service evaluations, including small, private agencies and state-wide public agencies. He has published numerous articles, co-authored research and evaluation reports, and is a member of the American Evaluation Association.

Table of Contents:
Preface • Section One — Purpose and Scope of Evaluation • Chapter 1. Purpose of Evaluation • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Why Evaluate? • Evaluation Stakeholders • Goals of Evaluation • Evaluation Outputs • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Chapter 2. Scope of Evaluation • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Practice and Program Evaluations • Types of Evaluation Questions • Exploratory Evaluation Questions • Explanatory Evaluation Questions • Descriptive Evaluation Questions • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Section Two — Value-Driven Evaluation Decisions • Chapter 3. SCREAM • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Value-Driven Evaluation • Strengths • Culture • Resources • Multiple Systems • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Chapter 4. Ethical Guidelines for Evaluations • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Institutional Review Board • Potential Harm • Voluntary Participation • Confidentiality • Informed Consent      • Culturally-Competent Evaluations • Evaluation of the Evaluation • Conflicts of Interests • Benefits of the Evaluation • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Section Three — Negotiating with Stakeholders • Chapter 5. Politics of Evaluation • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Internally-Driven Evaluation • Externally-Driven Evaluation • Evaluation Stakeholder Agreement • Evaluation Stakeholder Plan • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Section Four — Theory-Driven Evaluation Decisions • Chapter 6. Developing a Logic Model • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Theory of Change • Logic Models • Formative Evaluation Logic Model • Summative Evaluation Logic Model • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Chapter 7. Conducting Literature Reviews of Evidence-Based Practice • Evaluation Decision-Making Question • Literature Reviews • Evidence-Based Practice • Theory Building: Emerging Literature Review For Exploratory Studies • Theory Testing: Literature Review of Theory For Explanatory and Descriptive Studies • Conducting a Literature Review • Systematic Reviews • Caveats About Literature Reviews • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Section Five — Data-Driven Evaluation Decisions • Chapter 8. Research Methods • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Transforming Information into Data • Research Designs • Research Protocol • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Chapter 9. Qualitative Research Designs: Exploratory Evaluation Questions • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Evaluation Conditions Appropriate For Exploratory Qualitative Research Design • Purposive Participant Selection • Qualitative Data Collection • Qualitative Data Analysis • Data Credibility • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Chapter 10. Quantitative Research Designs: Explanatory Evaluation Questions • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Evaluation Conditions Appropriate for Explanatory Quantitative Research • Random Participant Selection • Quantitative Data Collection • Data Credibility • Quantitative Data Analysis • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Chapter 11. Mixed-Methods Research Designs: Descriptive Evaluations • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Evaluation Conditions Appropriate for Descriptive Mixed-Methods Research • Qualitative Descriptive Research Designs • Quantitative Descriptive Research Designs • Mixed-Methods Descriptive Research Designs. • Participant Selection:  Purposive or Random • Data Collection, Data Analysis, and Data Credibility: Qualitative or Quantitative • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Section Six — Documenting Evaluating Decisions: Coming Full Circle • Chapter12. Ongoing Evaluation Reports • Evaluation Decision-Making Questions • Documenting Decisions Throughout the Evaluation Cycle • Documenting the Evaluation Plan • Evaluation Progress Report • Documenting Changes to the Evaluation • The Final Report • Major Points • Critical Thinking Questions • Documentation Tasks • Further Resources • Appendix A: Evaluation Decision-Making Questions Outline • Glossary • References • Index