Evaluation in Action
Interviews With Expert Evaluators
- Jody Fitzpatrick - University of Colorado Denver, USA, University of Colorado, USA
- Christina Christie - University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- Melvin M. Mark - 1999 - 2004
Evaluation in Action: Interviews With Expert Evaluators is the first book to go behind the scenes of real evaluations to explore the issues faced—and the decisions made—by notable evaluators in the field. Drawing from the popular "Exemplars" section in the American Journal of Evaluation (AJE), the book's twelve interviews with evaluators illustrate a variety of evaluation practices in different settings and include commentary and analysis on what the interviews teach about evaluation practice.
Praise for Evaluation in Action
"Evaluation in Action: Interviews With Expert Evaluators is a "must" read for those who want to know how evaluations really take place."
—Marvin C. Alkin, University of California, Los Angeles
"This book offers a rare opportunity to glimpse the assumptions, values, logic, and reasoning behind evaluator choices. It models the reflection required of good practice. The interviews are accessible and engaging, like being invited to a conversation over coffee—a tribute to the power of storytelling. They drew me in and made me want to join the discussion and ask even more questions. The section on cultural competence in evaluation is a particularly significant contribution to the knowledge base of our field.
—Karen Kirkhart, Syracuse University, former President of American Evaluation Association
"This book is unique in the breadth of evaluation types and settings covered and the interview format provides a personal, in-depth picture of the evaluator's thinking. I'm excited about using it with my students."
—Katye M. Perry, Oklahoma State University, former Chair of the Topical Interest Group on Teaching of Evaluation
This book fills a major gap in evaluation literature. In addition to the cases, the introductory chapter is a masterful distillation of key issues in evaluation, while the last two chapters provide a concise analysis of the interaction of evaluation theory and practice.
—Leslie Cooksy, University of Delaware
"A fresh and insightful glimpse into the deliberations and choices made by practicing evaluators. The questions asked of the evaluators are right on target and give students of evaluation, whether they are in the classroom or on the job, solid guidance on navigating around the dilemmas that arise when dealing with stakeholders and with sticky ethical challenges. This text fills a need in training evaluators not met by current textboooks."
—Kathryn E. Newcomer, George Washington University
"A timely introduction to how evaluators go about the business of evaluation. Evaluation in Action will be useful for evaluators at all stages, experienced and new, and for students."
"As one of the few collections of evaluator applied reasoning and practical insights, this volume is a useful resource for students, practitioners,and theorists/methodologists who want to better understand how evaluators think in practice and make decisions; how flow of workand events arising in the field shape the nature and use of evaluation theory, method, and practice."
My students really enjoyed this book. It made program evaluation come alive.
Versatile text for a variety of disciplines. Only criticism is font size not the easiest to read.
This book is used in a prerequisite class and will be a secondary course text for this course. It is clear and flexible and provides a bridge between courses in our sequence.
This text offers useful insight into the process and uses of evaluation.
