The Guilford Press Evaluation Essentials, Second Edition: From A to Z

Thoroughly revised and updated, this engaging text has given thousands of students and new evaluators the practical information and expert advice needed to conduct or use evaluations. In 26 concise sections, the book describes how to articulate answerable evaluation questions, collect and analyze data using both quantitative and qualitative methods, and deal with contingencies that might alter the traditional sequence of an evaluation. Special strengths of the text are its attention to individual, organizational, and community culture and emphasis on building collaborative relationships with stakeholders. An in-depth case study and related end-of-section exercises (including group activities) help students put themselves in the evaluator role. Other pedagogical features include section titles written as questions, bulleted recaps of each section, "Thinking Ahead" and "Next Steps" pointers, cautionary notes, and suggestions for further reading. New to This Edition *New and expanded topics: evaluation contracts, budgeting, surveys, data visualization, qualitative coding and memoing, factors affecting evaluation use, and context-sensitive evaluation. *Revised case study with extended exercises that guide the reader to complete a simulated evaluation. *End-of-section "Quick Read" links to recommended American Evaluation Association blog posts. *Four entirely new sections (such as "How Do You Strengthen Relationships with Stakeholders?" and "How Do We Plan a Process-Focused Evaluation Design?"), plus other changes and additions throughout. Review "This second edition is all I could hope for to teach an introductory class on evaluation--at nearly any level, undergraduate or graduate. Experienced evaluators also can benefit from the clear, elegant explanations. Reading Evaluation Essentials has served as an opportunity for me to revisit and refresh my own answers to the various 'whats,' 'whys,' 'whos,' and 'hows' of evaluation. Many evaluation texts are pedantic, but not this one, which has a lively, conversational style. I especially appreciate the detailed case study accompanied by questions in each section that invite readers to apply what they have learned."--Sharon F. Rallis, EdD, Dwight W. Allen Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and Reform, University of Massachusetts, Amherst "The strengths of this book are many. Students (and I) felt that they were learning from a very experienced evaluator. Alkin and Vo cover the key steps in an evaluation and clearly lay out the technical and practical details, including the writing of good, evaluable questions, which I generally find lacking in the literature. The easy-to-read, jargon-free language makes the book very accessible for novice evaluators. The case study exercises throughout the book help bring the concepts to life for students, and provide teachers with discussion questions for class participation."--Jill Anne Chouinard, PhD, School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro "I will continue to use Evaluation Essentials in teaching because its clarity, accessibility, and emphasis on relationship building are unparalleled in the field. This book provides careful explanations for why mixed methods--and sometimes very inventive ways of pursuing truth--are necessary in conducting accurate, comprehensive, and useful evaluations. The authors do a fantastic job of emphasizing that evaluators need to appreciate the sociopolitical context within which they work if they are to realize success."--Rick Sperling, PhD, Department of Psychology, St. Mary's University, Texas "The second edition makes an already good book even better. Extending the RUPAS case study with the new thought questions is stimulating and useful for teaching and learning purposes. This text is particularly useful for providing students without an evaluation background with a nontechnical, straightforward, comprehensive introduction to the field. It cover