`a very good book indeed... I have read and re-read many parts of the text... Wit, thoughtfulness, graceful style, and practical advice are well mixed... a welcome contribution to the maturing of evaluation into an interdisciplinary field whose function in describing and understanding social programs is as important as its role in explaining or judging those programs′ -- Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

Qualitative Evaluation Methods

Politics & Social Sciences

Michael Quinn Patton

Social Sciences

Sage Publications, Inc.

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.

The Politics of Program Evaluation: The Political Context, The Policy Cycle, Politics and Research Methods (10 Essays)

Carol H. Weiss

Peter DeLeon

Eleanor Chelimsky

VARIOUS

Utilization-Focused Evaluation

Charmagne E. Campbell-Patton

Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use

Developmental evaluation (DE) offers a powerful approach to monitoring and supporting social innovations by working in partnership with program decision makers. In this book, eminent authority Michael Quinn Patton shows how to conduct evaluations within a DE framework. Patton draws on insights about complex dynamic systems, uncertainty, nonlinearity, and emergence. He illustrates how DE can be used for a range of purposes: ongoing program development, adapting effective principles of practice to local contexts, generating innovations and taking them to scale, and facilitating rapid response in crisis situations. Students and practicing evaluators will appreciate the book's extensive case examples and stories, cartoons, clear writing style, "closer look" sidebars, and summary tables. Provided is essential guidance for making evaluations useful, practical, and credible in support of social change. See also Developmental Evaluation Exemplars, edited by Michael Quinn Patton, Kate McKegg, and Nan Wehipeihana, which presents 12 in-depth case studies.

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

The Guilford Press

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Books by Michael Quinn Patton