Evaluation Foundations Revisited

Cultivating a Life of the Mind for Practice

Business & Finance, Management & Leadership, Decision Making & Problem Solving
Cover of the book Evaluation Foundations Revisited by Thomas Schwandt, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Schwandt ISBN: 9780804795722
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: June 17, 2015
Imprint: Stanford Business Books Language: English
Author: Thomas Schwandt
ISBN: 9780804795722
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: June 17, 2015
Imprint: Stanford Business Books
Language: English

Evaluation examines policies and programs across every arena of human endeavor, from efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS to programs that drive national science policy. Relying on a vast array of methods, from qualitative interviewing to econometrics, it is a "transdiscipline," as opposed to a formal area of academic study. Accounting for these challenges, Evaluation Foundations Revisited offers an introduction for those seeking to better understand evaluation as a professional field. While the acquisition of methods and methodologies to meet the needs of certain projects is important, the foundation of evaluative practice rests on understanding complex issues to balance. Evaluation Foundations Revisited is an invitation to examine the intellectual, practical, and philosophical nexus that lies at the heart of evaluation. Thomas A. Schwandt shows how to critically engage with the assumptions that underlie how evaluators define and position their work, as well as how they argue for the usefulness of evaluation in society. He looks at issues such as the role of theory, how notions of value and valuing are understood, how evidence is used, how evaluation is related to politics, and what comprises scientific integrity. By coming to better understand the foundations of evaluation, readers will develop what Schwandt terms "a life of the mind of practice," which enables evaluators to draw on a more holistic view to develop reasoned arguments and well fitted techniques.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Evaluation examines policies and programs across every arena of human endeavor, from efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS to programs that drive national science policy. Relying on a vast array of methods, from qualitative interviewing to econometrics, it is a "transdiscipline," as opposed to a formal area of academic study. Accounting for these challenges, Evaluation Foundations Revisited offers an introduction for those seeking to better understand evaluation as a professional field. While the acquisition of methods and methodologies to meet the needs of certain projects is important, the foundation of evaluative practice rests on understanding complex issues to balance. Evaluation Foundations Revisited is an invitation to examine the intellectual, practical, and philosophical nexus that lies at the heart of evaluation. Thomas A. Schwandt shows how to critically engage with the assumptions that underlie how evaluators define and position their work, as well as how they argue for the usefulness of evaluation in society. He looks at issues such as the role of theory, how notions of value and valuing are understood, how evidence is used, how evaluation is related to politics, and what comprises scientific integrity. By coming to better understand the foundations of evaluation, readers will develop what Schwandt terms "a life of the mind of practice," which enables evaluators to draw on a more holistic view to develop reasoned arguments and well fitted techniques.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book Dilemmas of Modernity by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book An Unpromising Land by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book Pesos and Politics by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book Inequality in the Promised Land by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book The Rhetoric of Error from Locke to Kleist by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book At the Chef's Table by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book The Institutional Imperative by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book The Moral Power of Money by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book The Dragon in the Room by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book The Burnout Society by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book Anonymous Agencies, Backstreet Businesses, and Covert Collectives by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book Leadership Dispatches by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book The Sun Never Sets by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book From Hot War to Cold by Thomas Schwandt
Cover of the book Global Responses to Maritime Violence by Thomas Schwandt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy