Practical Program Evaluation

"The strength of this text is its coverage of practical concerns for consideration by practitioners who are envisioning, planning, and executing program evaluations."

“Chen has the best conceptual framework, and the quality of his writing and analysis are superb. He takes the reader through the essential steps in evaluation, with particularly valuable treatment of stakeholder involvement.”

“In this eminently readable book, Chen presents a strong matrix framework for conceptualizing a full range of evaluation strategies and approaches… The writing is exceptionally clear, accessible to novice evaluators, and, because it is fair-minded and principled, of relevance to seasoned evaluators as well.”

"Professor Chen's Second Edition of Practical Program Evaluation sets a new standard for providing a variety of systematic frameworks for conducting high quality program evaluations. The readers will come away with a detailed understanding of both conventional and cutting-edge approaches. It is a must-read for practicing program evaluators, evaluation scholars, and students of evaluation."

“Huey Chen brings decades of evaluation and experience to this new edition. He continues his innovative and pragmatic thinking about evaluation including identifying, constructing, and testing theories that can work, that is, practical theories. Dr. Chen shows how to blend formative and summative evaluation, process and outcome evaluation, theory and action, and much more. If one desires to articulate and build program theories that work, from the bottom up, and conduct effective evaluations, this rigorous and practical book is for you."

“Dr. Chen’s latest effort offers evaluators a thoughtful expansion on the topics addressed in Practical Program Evaluation (2005) in terms of program theory, logic modeling, and his evaluation typology. New chapters gleaned from the field reveal solution sets for overcoming challenges in a variety of contexts while still balancing scientific and stakeholder needs. This new work provides a solid foundation for the further development of an evaluator’s acumen.”

Huey T. Chen has been a Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 2002.  He was born and raised in Taiwan.  Dr. Chen worked at the University of Akron until 1997, when he joined the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the chief of an evaluation branch. Dr. Chen had taken a leadership role in designing and implementing a national evaluation system for assessing the CDC funded HIV prevention programs, which are based in health departments and community organizations.  Dr. Chen has contributed to the development of evaluation theory and methodology, especially in the areas of program theory and theory-driven evaluations. His book, Theory-Driven Evaluations, has been recognized as one of the landmarks in program evaluation.  In 1998 he received the Senior Biomedical Research Service Award from the CDC. He is also the 1993 recipient of the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for contributions to Evaluation Theory from the American Evaluation Association.

PREFACE SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE BOOK ABOUT THE AUTHOR PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Fundamentals for Practicing Program Evaluation 2. Make Sense of and Select Evaluation Approaches That Work: The Comprehensive Evaluation Typology 3. Logic Models and The Action Model/Change Model Framework (Program Theory) for Describing an Intervention Program PART II: PROGRAM EVALUATION TO HELP STAKEHOLDERS DEVELOP PROGRAM PLAN 4. Assisting Stakeholders in Clarifying Program Scope in the Program Plan 5. Assisting Stakeholders in Clarifying Action Plan of a Program Plan PART III: EVALUATING IMPLEMENTATION 6. Constructive Process Evaluation Tailored for the Initial Implementation 7. Assessing Implementation in the Mature Implementation Stage PART IV: PROGRAM MONITORING AND OUTCOME EVALUATION 8. Program Monitoring and the Development of a Monitoring System 9. Constructive Outcome Evaluations 10. Validity-Focused Outcome Evaluation: The Experimentation Evaluation Approach 11. Real-World Outcome Evaluation: Holistic Effectuality Evaluation Approach 12. Theory-Driven Outcome Evaluation PART V: ADVANCED ISSUES IN PROGRAM EVALUATION 13. Using The Action Model/Change Model Schema To Extend Logic Models Outside The Box 14. Formal Theories vs. Stakeholder Theories in Interventions: Relative Strengths and Limitations 15. Evaluation and Dissemination: Top-Down Approach vs. Bottom-Up Approach