Credible and Actionable Evidence

The Foundation for Rigorous and Influential Evaluations

Stewart I. Donaldson, Christina A. Christie, Melvin M. Mark

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781483306254
• eBook ISBN: 9781483355085
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Research in Education
• Index: Social Sciences

Addressing one of the most important and contentious issues challenging applied research and evaluation practice today—what constitutes credible and actionable evidence?—this volume offers a balanced and current context in which to analyze the long-debated quantitative-qualitative paradigms. In the Second Edition, the contributors, a veritable "who's who" in evaluation, discuss the diversity and changing nature of credible and actionable evidence; offer authoritative guidance about using credible and actionable evidence; explain how to use it to provide rigorous and influential evaluations; and include lessons from their own applied research and evaluation to suggest ways to address the key issues and challenges. Reflecting the latest developments in the field and covering both experimental and non-experimental methods, the new edition includes revised and updated chapters, summaries of strengths and weaknesses across varied approaches, and contains diverse definitions of evidence. Also included are two new chapters on assessing credibility and synthesizing evidence for policy makers. This is a valuable resource for students and others interested in how to best study and evaluate programs, policies, organizations, and other initiatives designed to improve aspects of the human condition and societal well-being.  

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Acknowledgements
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Detailed Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About the Editors
• About the Contributors
• Part I Introduction
• 1 Examining the Backbone of Contemporary Evaluation Practice Credible and Actionable Evidence
• 2 Social Inquiry Paradigms as a Frame for the Debate on Credible Evidence
• 3 How People Judge the Credibility of Information Lessons for Evaluation From Cognitive and Information Sciences
• Part II Credible and Actionable Evidence: The Role of Randomized Experiments
• 4 When Getting It Right Matters The Struggle for Rigorous Evidence of Impact and to Increase Its Influence Continues
• 5 Randomized Controlled Trials A Gold Standard or Gold Plated?
• 6 Demythologizing Causation and Evidence
• Part III Credible and Actionable Evidence: Perspectives From a Range of Evaluation Designs and Methods
• 7 When and How Qualitative Methods Provide Credible and Actionable Evidence Reasoning With Rigor, Probity, and Transparency
• 8 Seeing Is Believing Using Images as Evidence in Evaluation
• 9 Credibility, Policy Use, and the Evaluation Synthesis
• Part IV Credible and Actionable Evidence: General Perspectives
• 10 How Evidence Earns Credibility in Evaluation
• 11 Actionable Evidence in Context Contextual Influences on Adequacy and Appropriateness of Method Choice in Evaluation
• 12 Credible Evidence of Effectiveness: Necessary but Not Sufficient
• 13 Credible and Actionable Evidence A Framework, Overview, and Suggestions for Future Practice and Research
• Appendices Scriven’s Argument Against the Superiority of RCTs for Estimating Program Effects: Summary and Critique
• Author Index
• Index
• Publisher Note