Evaluation Methodology Basics

“Amidst the wash of methods books available to evaluators, Davidson’s book provides powerful techniques for asking and answering the important foundational questions in any program evaluation.” – Doug Leigh“This is a very well written book that offers a unique perspective on long-practiced evaluation techniques and presents several new, potentially very useful, techniques that return “valuation” to the evaluation process.” – Greg Roberts“What is evaluation-specific logic and methodology?  This book answers that question in a way that is persuasive, accessible, and understandable.  It presents a set of principles and procedures to guide the task of blending descriptive data with relevant values to draw explicitly evaluative conclusions. The book makes a significant contribution to positioning evaluation as a unique and special field of inquiry and judgment.” – Michael Quinn Patton“Evaluation Methodology Basics is yet another excellent book from Sage. This would be a good book to use for a graduate-level course in evaluation techniques or as a template for anyone who is new to the techniques of program evaluation.” – Annette M. Matthews“The text is not only a great introduction for novices, but a toolbox with new perspectives for conducting sound evaluation that integrates values with facts into evaluative conclusions. As such Evaluation Methodology Basics should be on every evaluator′s shelf.” – Daniela Schroeter“I welcome this student-friendly text to complement my favorite checklists.  This text develops the core checklist framework to provide evaluation methodology basics for, presumably mainly, introductory courses on program evaluation.” – Colin Sharp

E. Jane Davidson is an internationally recognized evaluation specialist, best known for developing evaluation rubrics as a methodology for drawing conclusions about quality and value. She has also made significant contributions in the areas of causal inference for qualitative and mixed methods, and in synthesis methodologies for evaluation.Dr. Davidson is sought after internationally as a speaker and workshop presenter for her signature approach of methodologically robust but refreshingly practical evaluation with breathtaking clarity.She has presented keynotes and invited workshops in the US, Canada, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.She is former Associate Director of the internationally recognized Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University, where she launched and directed the world’s first fully Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation. She was the 2019 recipient of the American Evaluation Association’s prestigious Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award.