Meeting the need for practical evaluation approaches: an introduction - Kathryn E. Newcomer, Harry P. Hatry, and Joseph S. Wholey Part one: Evaluation design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches Assessing the feasibility and likely usefulness of evaluation - Joseph S. Wholey Designing and using process evaluation - Mary Ann Scheirer Using qualitative approaches - Sharon L. Caudle Outcome monitoring - Dennis P. Affholter Constructing natural "experiments" - Debra J. Rog Convincing quasi-experiments: the interrupted time series and regression-discontinuity designs - Richard J. Marcantonio and Thomas D. Cook Ethical and practical randomized field experiments - Michael L. Dennis Synthesizing evaluation findings - David S. Cordray and Robert L. Fisher Part two: Practical data collection procedures Use of ratings by trained observes - John M. Greiner Designing and conducting surveys - Thomas I. Miller The systematic use of expert judgement - Harvey A. Averch Acting for the sake of reserch: the use of role - playing in evaluation - Margery Austin Turner and Wendy Zimmermann How to use focus groups - Debra L. Dean Managing field data collection from start to finishe - Demetra Smith Nightingale and Shelli Balter Rossman Collecting data from agency recors - Harry P. Hatry Part three: Practical data analysis Using statistics appropriately - Kathryn E. Newcomer Using regression models to estimate program effects - Charles S. Reichardt and Carol A. Bormann Benefit - cost analysis in program evaluation - James Edwin Kee Part four: Evaluation for maximun effectiveness Making evaluation units effective - Eleanor Chelimsky Managing evaluation projects step by step - James B. Bell Evaluators as change agents - Richard C. Sonnichsen Making a splash: reporting results effectively - Michael Hendricks Maximizing the use of evaluation results - Reginald Carter Conclusion: Improving activities and results - Harry P. Hatry, Kathryn E. Newcome, and Joseph S. Wholey