Evaluation Research and Decision Guidance is designed to help people make better judgments and decisions when trying to reform, cure, or instruct anyone whose behavior or ignorance is a problem to themselves or to others. It will help those who work with delinquents, criminals, drug addicts, mentally ill persons, or the educationally deficient, to help them become more capable, self-controlled, and law-abiding individuals. It is a "how to" book, a guide for anyone concerned with evaluating the effectiveness of programs, predicting case outcomes, or allocating resources.Glaser analyzes all types of evaluations. He shows how to define goals, measure the extent of their attainment, and assess costs in relation to benefits. He distinguishes routine from non-routine decision, tells how to predict outcomes more accurately in routine case prognoses, and how to estimate the probable consequences of alternative choices in unusual situations that occur infrequently. A chapter by Edna Erez discusses ethical and legal issues in program evaluation. Glaser's concluding chapter deals with how to institutionalize more rational policymaking.The author offers numerous examples of evaluations and decision analyses in criminal justice, addiction treatment, mental health, and educational agencies to show how scientific evaluation methods have been successfully employed. Written without technical jargon, this guidebook will be essential to the policymaker and the practitioner, the student and the teacher.

The second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to impact evaluation for policy makers and development practitioners. First published in 2011, it has been used widely across the development and academic communities. The book incorporates real-world examples to present practical guidelines for designing and implementing impact evaluations. Readers will gain an understanding of impact evaluations and the best ways to use them to design evidence-based policies and programs. The updated version covers the newest techniques for evaluating programs and includes state-of-the-art implementation advice, as well as an expanded set of examples and case studies that draw on recent development challenges. It also includes new material on research ethics and partnerships to conduct impact evaluation. The handbook is divided into four sections: Part One discusses what to evaluate and why; Part Two presents the main impact evaluation methods; Part Three addresses how to manage impact evaluations; Part Four reviews impact evaluation sampling and data collection. Case studies illustrate different applications of impact evaluations. The book links to complementary instructional material available online, including an applied case as well as questions and answers. The updated second edition will be a valuable resource for the international development community, universities, and policy makers looking to build better evidence around what works in development.

This workbook applies the CDC Frameword for Program Evaluation in Public Health. The purpose of this workbook is to help public health program managers, administrators, and evaluators develop a joing understanding of what constitutes an evaluation plan, why it is important, and how to develop an effective evaluation plan in the context of the planning process.This workbook is intended to assist in developing an evalution plan but is not intended to serve as a complete resource on how to implement program evaluation.

"If a student researcher had only one handbook on their bookshelf, Miller and Salkind′s Handbook would certainly have to be it. With the updated material, the addition of the section on ethical issues (which is so well done that I′m recommending it to the departmental representative to the university IRB), and a new Part 4 on "Qualitative Methods", the new Handbook is an indispensable resource for researchers." --Dan Cover, Department of Sociology, Furman University " I have observed that most instructors want to teach methodology "their way" to imbue the course with their own approach; Miller-Salkind allows one to do this easily. The book is both conceptually strong (e.g., very good coverage of epistemology, research design and statistics) and at the same time provides a wealth of practical knowledge (scales, indices, professional organizations, computer applications, etc.) In addition, it covers the waterfront of methodology." --Michael L. Vasu, Director of Information Technology, North Carolina State University "A unique and excellent reference tool for all social science researchers, and a good textbook for graduate students and senior year undergraduate classes. These students are about to enter the real life of research, and need a handy and comprehensive tool as a starting point that offers shortcuts for getting into real research projects. For a small project, the book offers enough information to get the project started. For big projects, the book is ideal for information on where to look for things and examples." --Jianhong Liu, Department of Sociology, Rhode Island College The book considered a "necessity" by many social science researchers and their students has been revised and updated while retaining the features that made it so useful. The emphasis in this new edition is on the tools graduate students and more advanced researchers need to conduct high quality research. Features/Benefits: Provides step-by-step instruction for students′ research training by beginning with how to find a creative idea, a middle-range theory, and initial hypothesis and proceeds through design, proposal, collection and analysis of data followed by writing, reporting and publication Section on scales and indices are organized so that readers can quickly locate and find the type of scale or index in which they may be interested All sections are now followed by useful and well-considered reference sections so that readers can read more about each topic Includes updated coverage on new scales, internal and external validity, and new analytic techniques with extensive references on each Presents extensive coverage of how to prepare manuscripts for publication, including a list of all journals covered by Sociological Abstracts along with the editorial office address and URL for each entry Discusses the importance of policy research with presentation and discussion of specific models as an adjunct to both applied and basic research techniques Provides extensive coverage of funding opportunities including those offered by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and a directory of private funding sources including relevant contact information New to this edition: New Part 4 by John Creswell and Ray Maietta provides a comprehensive introduction to qualitative methods including a review of existing computer applications for collecting and analyzing data New and more current reviews and commentaries have replaced dated or no longer relevant excerpts Thousands of new references on the assessment of important sociological variables as well as references to such topics as statistical analysis, computer applications, and specific topics Thoroughly updated information on the use of computers and online research techniques, including beginning and intermediate material about the Internet and its use by the modern research scientist Coherent and thoughtful review of the most popular statistical analysis software packages New guidelines and discussion of ethical practices in social and behavioral science research, including extensive coverage of institutional review board procedures and activities Expansion of social indicators to include international coverage Plus, there is an extensive and well-organized table of contents with four levels of headings; and, for the first time in the history of the book, a comprehensive index.

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.