Realworld Evaluation: Working Under Budget, Time, Data, and Political Constraints

By Michael J. Bamberger, Jim Rugh, Linda Mabry, et al.

Book Overview

This book addresses the challenges of conducting program evaluations in real-world contexts where evaluators and their clients face budget and time constraints and where critical data may be missing. The book is organized around a seven-step model developed by the authors, which has been tested and refined in workshops and in practice. Vignettes and case studies--representing evaluations from a variety of geographic regions and sectors--demonstrate adaptive possibilities for small projects with budgets of a few thousand dollars to large-scale, long-term evaluations of complex programs. The text incorporates quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method designs, and this Second Edition reflects important developments in the field since the publication of the First Edition.

"This book represents a significant achievement. The authors have succeeded in creating a book that can be used in a wide variety of locations and by a large community of evaluation practitioners."--Michael D. Niles, Missouri Western State University

"This book is exceptional and unique in the way that it combines foundational knowledge from social sciences with theory and methods that are specific to evaluation."--Gary Miron, Western Michigan University "The book represents a very good and timely contribution worth having on an evaluator′s shelf, especially if you work in the international development arena."--Thomaz Chianca, independent evaluation consultant, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1412979625
• ISBN13: 9781412979627
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
• Length: 712 Pages
• Weight: 2.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.9" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

An excellent resource - well organized

This book was the assigned text for a doctoral course in policy evaluation in a college of education. The book lays out a thoughtful process for program evaluation, and this was easily adapted by the instructor and students to apply to the policy analysis domain. The book is well-organized and uses easy to understand concepts and flow charts that could assist anyone charged with a program or policy evaluation. This book will be a reference book on my shelf for many years in the future.