Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1 - What Is Program Evaluation and Why Is It Needed? What Is Program Evaluation? Why Is Program Evaluation Needed? Systematic Program Evaluation The Central Role of Evaluation Questions The Five Domains of Evaluation Questions and Methods 2 - Social Problems and Assessing the Need for a Program The Role of Evaluators in Diagnosing Social Conditions and Service Needs Defining the Problem to Be a Addressed Specifying the Extent of the Problem: When, Where, and How Big? Defining and Identifying the Target Populations of Interventions Describing Target Populations Describing the Nature of Service Needs 3 - Assessing Program Theory and Design Evaluability Assessment Describing Program Theory Eliciting Program Theory Assessing Program Theory Possible Outcomes of Program Theory Assessment 4 - Assessing Program Process and Implementation What Is Program Process Evaluation and Monitoring? Perspectives on Program Process Monitoring Assessing Service Utilization Assessing Organizational Functions 5 - Measuring and Monitoring Program Outcomes Program Outcomes Identifying Relevant Outcomes Measuring Program Outcomes Monitoring Program Outcomes 6 - Impact Evaluation: Isolating the Effects of Social Programs in the Real World The Nature and Importance of Impact Evaluation When Is an Impact Evaluation Appropriate? What Would Have Happened Without the Program? The Logic of Impact Evaluation: The Potential Outcomes Framework The Fundamental Problem of Causal Inference: Unavoidable Missing Data 7 - Impact Evaluation: Comparison Group Design Bias in Estimation Program Effects Potential Advantages of Comparison Group Designs Comparison Group Designs for Impact Evaluation Cautions About Quasi-Experiments for Impact Evaluation 8 - Impact Evaluation: Designs With Strict Controls on Program Access Controlling Selection Bias by Controlling Access to the Program Key Concepts in Impact Evaluation When Is Random Assignment Ethical and Practical? Application of the Regression Discontinuity Design Choosing an Impact Evaluation Design 9 - Detecting, Interpreting, and Exploring Program Effects The Magnitude of a Program Effect Detecting Program Effects Examining Variation in Program Effects The Role of Meta-Analysis 10 - Assessing the Economic Efficiency of Programs Key Concepts in Efficiency Analysis Conducting Cost-Benefit Analyses Conducting Cost-Effectiveness Analyses 11 - Planing an Evaluation Evaluation Purpose and Scope Data Collection, Acquisition, and Management Data Analysis Plan Communication Plan Project Management Plan 12 - The Social and Political Context of Evaluation The Social Ecology of Evaluations The Profession of Evaluation Evaluation Standards, Guidelines, and Ethics Utilization of Evaluation Results Epilogue: The Future of Evaluation Glossary References Author Index Subject Index