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Substantive issues in evaluation research have more or less followed a general trend, evolving from a macro- to a micro-orientation. Early evaluation concerns at the macro-level principally dealt with the complexities of research design. Current micro-level research is largely concerned with technical issues related to the accurate measurement of change. It is suggested that in the future, evaluation research should continue this macro- to micro-evolution by (1) reconciling current differences in operationalizing the measurement of types of change at the individual and group levels of analysis, (2) drawing on studies dealing with time-order error to further understanding of scale recalibration, and (3) investigating questions of "time interval" and "measurement span" associated with longitudinal research designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of both corporate and government-sponsored social programs has been accompanied by an increasing emphasis on program evaluation. These evaluations have, however, been criticized for subjectivity and bias. This paper explores the sources of this subjectivity and bias along with underlying value issues through three evaluation case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a quasi-experimental evaluation research design which has been applied to an Organization Development project in an Illinois suburban school district. The design has been implemented as an integral part of the O.D. activities scheduled during the school year, September, 1976 - June, 1977. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests that due to the value-laden nature of social issues, managerial values, as a framework or schema, play an important role in the social issue identification and evaluation processes. This results in this paper show the relationship between managerial values and subsequent evaluation of social issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, evaluation research on demonstration projects seems to have little impact on policy decisions. This paper delineates components of evaluation research design to increase technological diffusion and policy impact of demonstration projects, and the rationale behind their inclusion. They include: 1) input from administrators regarding focal issues to be included in evaluation design; 2) organizational measures as an overlay upon technological measures; 3) multiple, typical demonstration sites; 4) testing alternative treatments; 5) replication of the demonstration for feedforward learning; 6) improved communications between researchers and administrators through journalistic reporting and observation by policy level representatives; and 7) sponsorship of demonstrations by a committee representing the organizational network, rather than by a single organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on participatory communication suggests that health development should take account of beneficiaries' autonomy in gaining control over their living environment and in improving their health. The emphasis on dialogue implies a need to develop new measures of communication for program evaluation indicating citizen input. This paper applies the theory of communicative action to evaluate dialogue in health programs. It is premised on the idea that even public information campaigns can be perceived as more or less dialogic. The applied research context was a government-sponsored smoking control campaign in Singapore. An online survey explored citizen assessments of the validity of the campaign, the perceived opportunities to express opinions, and public support for the smoking control campaign. Citizen perceptions of government communicative orientations successfully predicted their support for the anti-smoking campaign. Findings of this study provided both practical and analytical insights into dialogue assessment of health programs. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although evaluation plays a significant role in virtually all areas of modern life, evaluation often works very differently in different settings, which is important because different forms of evaluation can lead to consequences that go well beyond evaluation itself. In this paper, I examine why different fields use different evaluation methods, and why different fields have different evaluative cultures, through a comparative study of figure skating and music. Drawing on a variety of qualitative data, including 50 in-depth interviews with figure skating and music insiders, I suggest that fields like figure skating that are prone to conflict, publicity, vulnerability, distrust, and outside pressure are more likely to operate under a shared evaluative culture that is built around more mechanical evaluation methods, while fields like music with higher levels of privacy and lower levels of vulnerability and outside pressure are more likely to develop multiple evaluative cultures that are built around less mechanical evaluation methods. In addition to extending previous work on evaluation, this study addresses a number of timely issues, including accountability, discretion, and performance measurement, all of which affect many areas of society beyond sport and the arts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]