The Politics of Program Evaluation
1st Edition
Published on 10. March 1988
Book
Hardback
310 pages
978-0-8039-2736-0 (ISBN)
Description
Evaluation and politics are related in a number of ways. While programme evaluators have traditionally tried to be neutral, objective and scientific in their assessment of programmes, the results of evaluation are inherently political -- and are used by politicians, programme administrators, special interest groups and other stakeholders for political purposes. The contributors argue that since evaluation cannot be divorced from its political context, the political dimension must be understood in order to conduct effective evaluations.
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Content
PART ONE: THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF EVALUATION
Introduction - Dennis J Palumbo
Politics and Evaluation
Where Politics and Evaluation Research Meet - Carol Weiss
PART TWO: EVALUATION POLITICS AND THE POLICY CYCLE
Linking Program Evaluation to User Needs - Eleanor Chelimsky
Evaluation's Political Inherency - Michael Quinn Patton
Practical Considerations for Design and Use
What Should Evaluation Mean to Implementation? - Angela Brown and Aaron Wildavsky
Policy Termination as a Political Phenomenon - Peter DeLeon
PART THREE: EVALUATION POLITICS AND RESEARCH METHODS
The Countenances of Fourth-Generation Evaluation - Egon G Guba and Yvonna S Lincoln
Description, Judgement and Negotiation
The Influence of Theory on What We See - Lawrence A Scaff and Helen M Ingram
The Political Uses of Evaluation Research - Susan Tolchin
Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Cotton Dust Standard
The Politics of Meaning - Rita Mae Kelly
Introduction - Dennis J Palumbo
Politics and Evaluation
Where Politics and Evaluation Research Meet - Carol Weiss
PART TWO: EVALUATION POLITICS AND THE POLICY CYCLE
Linking Program Evaluation to User Needs - Eleanor Chelimsky
Evaluation's Political Inherency - Michael Quinn Patton
Practical Considerations for Design and Use
What Should Evaluation Mean to Implementation? - Angela Brown and Aaron Wildavsky
Policy Termination as a Political Phenomenon - Peter DeLeon
PART THREE: EVALUATION POLITICS AND RESEARCH METHODS
The Countenances of Fourth-Generation Evaluation - Egon G Guba and Yvonna S Lincoln
Description, Judgement and Negotiation
The Influence of Theory on What We See - Lawrence A Scaff and Helen M Ingram
The Political Uses of Evaluation Research - Susan Tolchin
Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Cotton Dust Standard
The Politics of Meaning - Rita Mae Kelly