"What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice? is the first book of its kind to define and place into greater perspective the meaning of evidence for evaluation professionals and applied researchers. Editors Stewart I. Donaldson, Christina A. Christie, and Melvin M. Mark provide observations about the diversity and changing nature of credible evidence, include lessons from their own applied research and evaluation practice, and suggest ways in which practitioners might address the key issues and challenges of collecting credible evidence." "This book is appropriate for a wide range of courses, including Introduction to Evaluation Research, Research Methods, Evaluation Practice, Program Evaluation, Program Development and Evaluation, and evaluation courses in Social Work, Education, Public Health, and Public Policy."--BOOK JACKET.

Applied Research and Evaluation Methods in Recreation is the only text that integrates research, evaluation, and basic statistical analysis and links these concepts directly to the field. Using a logical format and accessible language, the book presents students with the foundational knowledge they need to move through the research process.

Clinically oriented professionals and students need to understand and evaluate the research and statistics in professional articles, especially given today's emphasis on evidence-based practice. This book demonstrates how the research approach and design help determine the appropriate statistical analysis. Understanding and Evaluating Research in Applied and Clinical Settings features: *short, independent, chapters that do not have to be read in order; *a guide to understanding why a particular statistic was selected; *an emphasis on effects sizes including measures of risk potency; *numerous cross-disciplinary examples to illustrate the material; and *methods to help determine practical and clinical significance and their relation to meta-analysis and evidence-based practice. This book is intended for practitioners and students in psychology, education, counseling, mental and allied health, nursing, and medicine, and as a text for courses on understanding research methods and statistics.

Practical Approaches to Applied Research and Program Evaluation for Helping Professionals is a comprehensive textbook that presents master’s-level counseling students with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully evaluate the effectiveness of mental health services and programs. Each chapter, aligned with 2016 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards, guides counseling students through study design and evaluation fundamentals that will help them understand existing research and develop studies to best assess their own applied research questions. Readers will learn the basics of research concepts as applied to evaluative tasks, the art of matching evaluative methods to questions, specific considerations for practice-based evaluative tasks, and practical statistical options matched to practice-based tasks. Readers can also turn to the book’s companion website to access worksheets for practitioner and student planning exercises, spreadsheets with formulas for basic data analysis, a sample database, PowerPoint outlines , and discussion questions and activities aligned to each chapter.

Practical Mapping for Applied Research and Program Evaluation is the first book to bring the mapping methodology to social research and program evaluation. Bernadette Wright and Steven E. Wallis guide readers through all phases of the research process: learning from stakeholder experience; reviewing existing knowledge in the field; conducting new data collection such as interviews; collaborating with other researchers; and facilitating the use of knowledge for communication, collaboration, and action. With plenty of illustrations and navigational aids such as “travel tips,” the book is an accessible guide for busy students, researchers, and managers of all levels of experience.

Much applied research takes place as if complex social problems--and evaluations of interventions to address them--can be dealt with in a purely technical way. In contrast, this groundbreaking book offers an alternative approach that incorporates sustained, systematic reflection about researchers' values, what values research promotes, how decisions about what to value are made and by whom, and how judging the value of social interventions takes place. The authors offer practical and conceptual guidance to help researchers engage meaningfully with value conflicts and refine their capacity to engage in deliberative argumentation. Pedagogical features include a detailed evaluation case, "Bridge to Practice" exercises and annotated resources in most chapters, and an end-of-book glossary.

This user-friendly guide illustrates how to assess measurement invariance using computer programs, statistical methods, and real data.