Small-Scale Evaluation

Principles and Practice

Colin Robson

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781412962483, 9781412962476
• eBook ISBN: 9781526417909
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

Evaluation research can assess the value and effectiveness of interventions and innovations involving people. While this has often been on a grand scale, this book focuses on small-scale projects carried out by an individual or small group, typically lasting for weeks or at most a few months, at a local rather than national level. Using limited jargon and featuring integrated, real-world examples, this second edition offers a clear, accessible background to evaluation and prepares you to undertake your own small-scale evaluation research project.

Key features include discussion of:

• Different approaches to evaluation and how to choose between them
• The advantages and disadvantages of randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
• Realist evaluation and its increasing importance
• The centrality of ethical and political issues
• The influence and opportunity of the Internet
   

Tightly focused on the realities of carrying out small-scale evaluation, Small-Scale Evaluation is a highly practical guide covering the needs of both social scientists and others without this background.

Colin Robson is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Human & Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Publisher Note
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Sidebar List
• Dedication
• About the author
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Evaluation: The What and The Why
• 3 The Advantages of Collaboration
• 4 Evaluation Designs
• 5 Designing Your Evaluation
• 6 Ethical and Political Considerations
• 7 Practicalities
• 8 Dealing with the Data
• 9 Communicating the Findings
• 10 Taking it Further
• Appendix A Chapter Tasks
• Appendix B Simple Evaluations
• References
• Index