The quality of mixed methods systematic reviews relies on the quality of primary-level studies. The synthesis of qualitative evidence and the recent development of synthesizing mixed methods studies hold promise, but also pose challenges to evidence synthesis.

In 1999, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded funds to the Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University to conduct an external evaluation of the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. ATE, a federally mandated program designed to increase the number and quality of skilled technicians in the U.S. workforce, has funded over 346…

In 1995, the National Science Foundation (NSF) contracted with principal investigator Iris Weiss and an evaluation team at Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI) to conduct a national evaluation of the Local Systemic Change for Teacher Enhancement program (LSC). HRI conducted the core evaluation under a $6.25 million contract with NSF. This program…

In "Utilization Focused Evaluation" (1997), Patton introduced the term "process use" to describe changes in thinking and behavior, whether at the individual, program, or organizational level, as a result of one's participation in an evaluation, irrespective of the evaluation results. In conversations with stakeholders, Patton found that although…

The seven articles in this issue represent an approach to multisite evaluation that has much in common with the tradition of clinical trials. However, this approach shares with cluster evaluation an appreciation for the adjustments that are necessary to reflect the realities of conducting evaluation research in actual service settings. (Author/SLD)

Summarizes and analyzes the four case studies of this theme issue. The analyses consider the three structural elements of evaluation capacity building (ECB): overall ECB process; actual ECB practices; and ECB occupational orientation and practitioner role. Provides a practical checklist for assessing ECB at an organization and a framework for…

Describes how the first evaluation practitioner for the American Cancer Society (ACS) came to do evaluation capacity building (ECB) because of the need for evaluation following changes in the organizational structure. Provides a brief history of these changes as a background for understanding the seven principles of ECB at the ACS. (Author/SLD)

Discusses how a feminist conception of objectivity can be used to guide a needs assessment of the sexual health needs of men who have sex with men. In the example, a feminist approach was used to inform a needs assessment that involved 1,000 men. Applied criteria proposed by D. Haraway (1988): accountability, positioning, and partiality. (SLD)

Conducted a case study of the evaluation of a women's substance abuse prevention program and identified three key aspects of negotiated evaluation. Discusses the processes involved in feminist evaluation, including collaborative agenda setting and cooperative teamwork. (SLD)

Focuses on the process of evaluation capacity building (ECB) in a school district from the perspective of an internal evaluator hired to develop the evaluation function of the district. Shows how the work was originally conceived and why it changed. Emphasizes the core function of the district's Assessment Department, managing the standardized…

Discusses the challenges faced by evaluators in moving from results-focused evaluation to learning-oriented evaluative theory in the context of school-university partnerships with professional learning agendas. Also discussed are the influences of the transition on individual practitioners and their organizations. (Author/SLD)

This chapter examines how a particular strategy for analyzing evaluation data, intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses, may underestimate the true effects of interventions. Such underestimation of intervention effects can profoundly influence policies for prevention and treatment of children's mental health problems, which can in turn lead to negative…

This chapter presents the findings from a network analysis of a demonstration program for the developmentally disabled to show the application of graphical network analysis in program evaluation. The developmentally disabled demonstration (DDD) program was a five-year pilot project to provide person-centered service environments to people with …