The Sage Handbook of Evaluation

The Sage Handbook of Evaluation

by IanShaw (Author), Ian Shaw (Author)

Synopsis

'This handbook thoroughly covers all aspects of evaluation, yet isn't too technical to understand. It offers everything an organization needs to know to get the most out of evaluation' - Nonprofit World

`The Handbook succeeds in capturing and presenting evaluation's extensive knowledge base within a global context. In so doing it provides a useful, coherent and definitive benchmark on the field's diverse and dynamic purposes, practices, theories, approaches, issues, and challenges for the 21st century. The Handbook is an essential reference and map for any serious evaluation practitioner, scholar and student anywhere in the world' - Michael Quinn Patton, author of Utilization-Focused Evaluation

`Readers of this volume will find a set of texts that provide an evocative overview of contemporary thinking in the world of evaluation. This is not a book of simple tips. It does justice to the complex realities of evaluation practice by bringing together some of the best practitioners in the world to reflect on its current state. It is theoretically sophisticated yet eminently readable, anchored in evaluation as it is undertaken in a variety of domains. It is the kind of book that startles a little and makes you think. I highly recommend it' - Murray Saunders, University of Lancaster

In this comprehensive handbook, an examination of the complexities of contemporary evaluation contributes to the ongoing dialogue that arises in professional efforts to evaluate people-related programs, policies and practices.

The SAGE Handbook of Evaluation is a unique and authoritative resource consisting of 25 chapters covering a range of evaluation theories and techniques in a single, accessible volume. With contributions from world-leading figures in their fields overseen by an eminent international editorial board, this handbook is an extensive and user-friendly resource organised in four coherent sections:

Role and Purpose of Evaluation in Society;

Evaluation as a Social Practice;

The Practice of Evaluation;

Domains of Evaluation Practice.

The Handbook of Evaluation is written for practicing evaluators, academics, advanced postgraduate students and evaluation clients and offers a definitive, benchmark statement on evaluation theory and practice for the first decades of the 21st century.

$29.95

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Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 630
Edition: 1
Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
Published: 25 Mar 2013

ISBN 10: 1446270556
ISBN 13: 9781446270554

Media Reviews
`The Handbook succeeds in capturing and presenting evaluation's extensive knowledge base within a global context. In so doing it provides a useful, coherent and definitive benchmark on the field's diverse and dynamic purposes, practices, theories, approaches, issues, and challenges for the 21st century. The Handbook is an essential reference and map for any serious evaluation practitioner, scholar and student anywhere in the world'


- Michael Quinn Patton,
author of Utilization-Focused Evaluation

`Readers of this volume will find a set of texts that provide an evocative overview of contemporary thinking in the world of evaluation. This is not a book of simple tips. It does justice to the complex realities of evaluation practice by bringing together some of the best practitioners in the world to reflect on its current state. It is theoretically sophisticated yet eminently readable, anchored in evaluation as it is undertaken in a variety of domains. It is the kind of book that startles a little and makes you think. I highly recommend it'
- Murray Saunders,

University of Lancaster

The Handbook is very successful in presenting an accurate, well-informed and authentic picture of evaluation in the early 21st century and its likely future directions. Readers in the evaluation community should find many of the essays stimulating and rewarding.


Evaluation Journal of Australasia

Author Bio
Ian Shaw took an undergraduate degree in sociology at the time when the discipline was expanding rapidly in Western countries. He worked as a Probation Officer for a few years before moving to Cardiff University and much later to the University of York. He has - happily for him - never lost the nagging challenges that a social science agenda brings. He has had published perhaps seventy papers in peer reviewed journals, written or edited about twenty books, and completed about fifty chapters for collections. He led the development of the European Conference for Social Work Research and was the first chair of the European Social Work Research Association until 2015. He initiated the international journal Qualitative Social Work. The rather mis-titled Evaluating in Practice (Ashgate) is, he suspects, the most original argument he has accomplished. 2014 saw the publication of his first extended research methods text, Doing Qualitative Research in Social Work (Sage. With Sally Holland). His Social Work Science (2016. Columbia University Press) is perhaps the most demanding manuscript he has tackled thus far. A four-volume 'Major Work' on Social Work Research (Sage 2015. With Jeanne Marsh and Mark Hardy) consists of 67 papers that they think are in the first rank of importance from any period in social work. Much of his recent work builds on a sabbatical to undertake a historical study of the relationship of social work and sociology, which took him to the University of Chicago in 2011. His garden, cooking, Dylan and a very good church take as much time as he can give. My research interests focus on the intersections of social science and social policy. I work in the domain of educational and social program evaluation, and I seek to advance the theory and practice of alternative forms of evaluation, including qualitative, democratic, and mixed methods evaluation approaches. My current work emphasizes evaluation as a venue for democratizing dialogue about critical social and educational issues, with a focus on conceptualizing evaluation as a public good. Melvin M. Mark is professor of psychology at the Pennsylvania State University, where he also is Head of the Department of Psychology. He has served as President of the American Evaluation Association (AEA). He was Editor of the American Journal of Evaluation (and is now Editor Emeritus). A social psychologist, Dr. Mark has wide ranging interests related to the theory, methodology and practice of evaluation, as well as a general interest in the application of social psychology to evaluation and applied social research. Dr. Mark's awards include the American Evaluation Association's Lazarsfeld Award for Contributions to Evaluation Theory. He is author of more than 125 articles and chapters in books. Among his books are Evaluation: An integrated framework for understanding, guiding, and improving policies and programs and the co-edited volumes Social Science and Social Policy; SAGE Handbook of Evaluation; What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice; Evaluation in Action: Interviews with Expert Evaluators; and Social Psychology and Evaluation.