Contents | 1. Essence | 2. Aproaches | 3. Process | 4. Measuring outcomes | 5. Paradoxes
6. Examples | 7. Jargon | 8. Checklist | 9. Practice tips | 10. Resources

10. Resources and links

There is a large international literature on evaluation. The following books and links are a few starting points.

Practice overview

For those people interested in an overview of evaluation theory and practice. If you only wanted to read one book on evaluation it would be:

Patton, Michael Quinn. Utilization-Focused Evaluation, The New Century Text (3rd Ed), Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, London, 1997.

This is a theoretical and practical book. The book on the one hand raises many of the fundamental issues about evaluation and on the other has enough practical examples and practice suggestions to be useful

If you were interested in qualitative evaluation and wanted to read a second book on evaluation it would be:

Patton, Michael Quinn. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, (3rd Ed), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, London, 2002.

This book provides a broad overview of qualitative methods in evaluation. For those doing qualitative interviewing Chapter 7 (90 pages) is an excellent introduction with extensive practical tips and advice.

Approaches to evaluation

Owen John, M and Rogers, Patricia J (1999). Program Evaluation Forms and Approaches 2nd Edition. Allen and Unwin. Sydney

Practical pointers

For those interested in practical help and suggestions:

Australian Youth Foundation and Dr Colin Sharp, START Do-It-Yourself Evaluation Manual, The Australian Youth Foundation, Sydney, 1996 (Available from Australian Youth Foundation). (86pp)
This manual is a do-it-yourself evaluation guide for organisations and individuals involved in conducting programs. It aims to assist organisations to design and use evaluation as an integral tool to enhance the success of projects, for the planning stages to completion and final reporting. The manual is written for project managers and/or staff whose primary responsibility is running the project.

Hawe, P, Degeling, D & Hall J. Evaluating Health Promotion, Maclennan+Petty, Sydney, 1993

Although this book is written for people working in health promotion it is also a very useful reference for basic concepts and tools of evaluation. It includes chapters on identifying outcomes, focus groups and questionnaires.

Wadsworth, Yoland. Everyday Evaluation on the Run, 2nd Edition , Allen & Unwin 1997. (115pp)

This introduction to program evaluation is written for people working in the human services field. It describes a range of strategies that can be used by non-specialist evaluators and shows how evaluation can be built into busy everyday practice.

Wadsworth, Yoland. Do It Yourself Social Research, 2nd Edition, Allen & Unwin, 1997 (114pp)

This book is a useful companion to Everyday evaluation on the run. It includes practical help on strategies such as questionnaires.

Specific Strategies

For those people interested in specific evaluation strategies there are usually books written on specific strategies and approaches, e.g.

Sample surveys
Australian Bureau of Statistics, An Introduction to Sample Surveys, A Users Guide, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999

Research with children
Greig, Anne and Taylor, Jayne (1999) Doing Research with Children, Sage Publications, California, 1999.

Focus groups
Greenbaum, Thomas L. (1998) The Handbook for Focus Group Research (2nd Edition), Sage Publications, California

Narrative research
Lieblich, Amia & Tuval-Mashiach, Rivka & Zibler, Tamar (1998) Narrative Research, Reading, Analysis and Interpretation, Sage publications, California

Internet resources

Community Builders
This site is an interactive electronic clearing house for everyone involved in community level social, economic and environmental renewal including community leaders, community & government workers, volunteers, program managers, academics, policy makers, youth and seniors.
The site is at:
communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au
On of the resources at this site is:
Strengthening Rural Communities Resource Kit, Strengthening Communities Unit, NSW Premier’s Department.

Discussion Lists

Govteval

Evaltalk

EVALTALK is an open, unmoderated list for general discussion of evaluation and associated issues sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and hosted by The University of Alabama. Over a thousand evaluation professionals and students from around the world subscribe to EVALTALK and a number of prominent scholars in the field regularly participate in the discussions. EVALTALK provides an opportunity for subscribers: To learn about recent trends, practices, publications, and job opportunities in the field of evaluation To ask questions about current evaluation projects and share experiences To engage in debates on evaluation theory and practice, and related topics To become more familiar with a diverse group of practitioners from around the globe

To subscribe to EVALTALK, send an e-mail (no subject) to LISTSERV@BAMA.UA.EDU The body of the message should read: SUBSCRIBE EVALTALK yourFirstName yourLastName

Evaluation societies

The Australasian Evaluation Society (AES) is a professional organisation for evaluation practitioners and managers from all levels of government and the wider business community, academics and other individuals interested in evaluation. It holds an international conference each year which enables members to share their evaluation experiences and to participate in seminars conducted by overseas and Australian presenters. Regional groups undertake their own programs of activities including addresses and seminars by international evaluation practitioners.

The American Evaluation Association   is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation.

Canadian Evaluation Society The Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) is made up of a diverse group of individuals who share a common interest in evaluation. Over 1300 individuals and organisations from all regions of Canada and throughout the world belong to CES.

Electronic Resources

A very useful starting point for general evaluation resources is ELECTRONIC RESOURCES FOR EVALUATORS compiled by Catherine Callow Elwell.

World Bank  This site has good international coverage on reference material relating to evaluation.