Evaluation in the Face of Uncertainty
Anticipating Surprise and Responding to the Inevitable
Jonathan A. Morell
HardcoverPaperbacke-bookprint + e-book
Hardcover
orderAugust 11, 2010
ISBN 9781606238585
Price: $74.00 303 Pages
Size: 6" x 9"
Paperback
orderAugust 12, 2010
ISBN 9781606238578
Price: $49.00 303 Pages
Size: 6" x 9"
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Unexpected events during an evaluation all too often send evaluators into crisis mode. This insightful book provides a systematic framework for diagnosing, anticipating, accommodating, and reining in costs of evaluation surprises. The result is evaluation that is better from a methodological point of view, and more responsive to stakeholders. Jonathan A. Morell identifies the types of surprises that arise at different stages of a program's life cycle and that may affect different aspects of the evaluation, from stakeholder relationships to data quality, methodology, funding, deadlines, information use, and program outcomes. His analysis draws on 18 concise cases from well-known researchers in a variety of evaluation settings. Morell offers guidelines for responding effectively to surprises and for determining the risks and benefits of potential solutions.