Program Evaluation

Embedding Evaluation into Program Design and Development

Susan P. Giancola

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781071918289
• eBook ISBN: 9781071918319
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Evaluation & Assessment in Education
• Index: Social Sciences

This text aims to build evaluation capacity by increasing knowledge about evaluation and improving skills to conduct evaluations. The book's embedded approach uses program theory to understand relationships between activities and objectives, logic modeling to represent the program's theory, and an evaluation matrix to structure the evaluation within the program. The approach is systematic and focused on continuous improvement. The Second Edition adds topics suggested by users of the book, incorporates content that the author has added to her own classes, and covers emerging areas in evaluation since the publication of the first edition such as artificial intelligence and equity in evaluation. A companion website at http://edge.sagepub.com/Giancola2e includes a number of instructor resources including editable PowerPoint slides and assignments.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Acknowledgements
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Brief Contents
• Detailed Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About The Author
• About the Contributors
• Section I Introduction
• 1 Evaluation Matters
• 2 History of Evaluation
• 3 Evaluation Ethics
• 4 Evaluation Ideologies and Approaches
• Section II Embedded Evaluation – Planning And Design
• 5 Define, Part 1: Understanding the Program
• 6 Define, Part 2: Modeling the Program
• 7 Plan, Part 1: Planning the Evaluation
• 8 Plan, Part 2: Designing the Evaluation
• Section III Embedded Evaluation – Implementation And Use
• 9 Implement, Part 1: Implementing the Evaluation
• 10 Implement, Part 2: Analyzing the Data
• 11 Interpret: Interpreting the Results
• 12 Inform and Refine: Using Evaluation Results
• Section IV Resources
• 13 Case Study Applications
• 14 Logic Model Examples
• Appendices Special Topics
• Appendix A: An Integrated MERLA (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning, and Adapting) Framework for Evidence-Based Program Improvement
• Appendix B: Community Needs Assessment Among Latino Families in an Urban Public Housing Development
• Appendix C: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Advance Implementation Science: Potential Opportunities and Cautions
• Appendix D: How Mixed-Methods Research Can Improve the Policy Relevance of Impact Evaluations
• Appendix E: Learning, Unlearning, and Sprinkling In: Our Journey with Equitable Evaluation
• Glossary
• References
• Index