Getting the Facts - A Fieldwork Guide for Evaluators and Policy Analysts

• NCJ Number: 71062
• Author(s): J T Murphy
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 223 pages
• Sale Source: Goodyear Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Goodyear Public Policy Analysis and Management Series

Annotation

This text is an introduction to the evaluation of government programs through fieldwork methods or data collection techniques (intensive interviewing, transient observation, and document analysis).

Abstract

Intended for professionals who must do short-term evaluations containing more than summary judgments about program outcomes, the introductory chapter outlines some basic questions concerning program goals, standards of comparison, and indicators to measure the level of goal achievement; collection of relevant data; and recommendations for program improvement. Methods for scouting the scene and the reasons for doing it are discussed, and site selection involving exploratory and hypothesis-guided evaluation is described. The process of getting in and staying in is also described in terms of understanding the relationship between the program evaluators and host agencies. Other chapters cover some major sources of bias and error and some general ways of dealing with them, some important techniques of intensive interviewing, and two additional data-gathering procedures, transient observation and document analysis. A final chapter focuses on the substance of conclusions and recommendations and outlines recommendations considered questionable. In addition, some evaluation standards are set forth, including those of validity, trustworthiness, fairness, usefulness, and the adoption of good writing standards. Notes for each chapter and a bibliography of approximately 140 citations are provided.