Praised by instructors and students alike, PROGRAM EVALUATION, 6th Edition helps your students evaluate services and programs that they will encounter in their professional practice. The textbook is designed to be a primary source for students in social work, sociology, psychology, public administration, counseling, education, nursing, and other related disciplines in which it is important to know if interventions (be they individual, family, group, or community focused) are having the desired impact. In the process of learning evaluation techniques and skills, students will become proficient at critically analyzing evaluation studies conducted by others. The authors present and simplify all the essentials needed for a critical appreciation of evaluation issues and methodology. The text's clear writing style and clear presentation of concepts, as well as its hands-on and applied focus, guide students on how to gather evidence and demonstrate that their interventions and programs are effective in improving clients' lives. This edition's up-to-date coverage includes a greater number of references to current literature, emphasizing that consulting the literature is an important step in recognizing, developing, and evaluating evidence-based practice or research-informed practice.

Preface.
1. Introduction.
2. Ethical Issues in Program Evaluation.
3. Needs Assessment.
4. Qualitative and Mixed Methods in Evaluation.
5. Formative and Process Evaluation .
6. Single System Research Designs.
7. Client Satisfaction.
8. Sampling.
9. Group Research Designs.
10. Cost-Effectiveness and Cost Analysis.
11. Measurement Tools and Strategies.
12. Illustrations of Instruments.
13. Pragmatic Issues.
14. Writing Evaluation Proposals, Reports, and Journal Articles.
Index.

Praised by instructors and students alike, PROGRAM EVALUATION, 6th Edition helps your students evaluate services and programs that they will encounter in their professional practice. The textbook is designed to be a primary source for students in social work, sociology, psychology, public administration, counseling, education, nursing, and other related disciplines in which it is important to know if interventions (be they individual, family, group, or community focused) are having the desired impact. In the process of learning evaluation techniques and skills, students will become proficient at critically analyzing evaluation studies conducted by others. The authors present and simplify all the essentials needed for a critical appreciation of evaluation issues and methodology. The text's clear writing style and clear presentation of concepts, as well as its hands-on and applied focus, guide students on how to gather evidence and demonstrate that their interventions and programs are effective in improving clients' lives. This edition's up-to-date coverage includes a greater number of references to current literature, emphasizing that consulting the literature is an important step in recognizing, developing, and evaluating evidence-based practice or research-informed practice. Coverage of most topics has been brought up to date with a greater number of references to current literature, emphasizing that consulting the literature is an important step in recognizing/developing and evaluating evidence-based practice or research-informed practice. Chapter 1 includes new discussion of the difference between research and evaluation. It also presents new material on justification for program evaluation and current examples drawn from policy/macro arenas, new material explaining what scientifically based research means, a new essay on evidence-based practice, and a new table of research-supported psychotherapies. Chapter 2, "Ethical Issues in Program Evaluation," includes new content on ethical boundaries in participatory and action research, more references to participatory research, and new material on ethical issues associated with observing program activities in situ. Chapter 3, "Needs Assessment," has been reorganized into more accessible units (types of needs assessments, ways to conceptualize need, how a needs assessment starts, and steps involved in conducting a needs assessment). The chapter also includes new material comparing the cost and time required for various needs assessment approaches as well as new information on what it is like to conduct a needs assessment (based on an anecdotal account in the literature). Chapter 4, "Qualitative and Mixed Methods in Evaluation," features a significantly greater emphasis on mixed methods of evaluation, including discussions of what a mixed method of evaluation is and how to design a mixed method of evaluation. Chapter 5, "Formative and Process Evaluation," presents a new logic model diagram as well as new material describing the seven foci for process evaluation. Chapter 6, "Single System Research Designs," includes a new section on logical and causal inference and new material on how to critically review and write-up a single system research design for program evaluation purposes. Chapter 7, "Client Satisfaction," presents new material on the arguments for client satisfaction studies as well as new information on qualitative client satisfaction. Chapter 8, "Sampling," features new illustrations on quota sampling and stratified sampling, new content on maximum deviation and extreme case sampling, and new guidelines to better explain the considerations in selecting a sample for an evaluative study.