Chapter 1: Introduction
Who is the book for?
What do you need to be able to carry out an evaluation?
Evaluation research
Small-scale evaluation research
The literature search
The Internet
Using the book
A note on ′Tasks′
Chapter 2: Evaluation: The What and the Why
What is evaluation?
Why evaluate?
Evaluation and social research
What do they think they want?
What are they going to find credible?
Chapter 3: The Advantages of Collaboration
Stakeholders
Other models of involvement
Using consultants
Persuading others to be involved
When is some form of participatory evaluation indicated?
Chapter 4: Evaluation Designs
Different approaches to evaluation
Needs assessment
Outcome evaluation
Process evaluation
Combining process and outcome approaches
Formative and summative evaluation
Efficiency evaluation
Reviews
Program monitoring
Theory-based evaluation
An interim summing up
Chapter 5: Designing Your Evaluation
Reviewing the ′literature′
Research questions
Methods of data collection
Data quality
Sampling
Prespecified and emergent designs
Doing a shoe-string evaluation
Chapter 6: Ethical and Political Considerations
Ethical issues
The problem of unintended consequences
Evaluations involving children and other vulnerable populations
Ethical issues in online research
Ethical boards and committees
The politics of evaluation
Chapter 7: Practicalities
Time budgeting
Gaining access
Getting organized
Getting help and support
Chapter 8: Dealing with the Data
Coding data
Analysis and interpretation of quantitative data
Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data
Chapter 9: Communicating the Findings
Evaluation reports
Facilitating the implementation of evaluation findings
Chapter 10: Taking it further
Further reading
Postscript
Appendix A: Chapter Tasks
Appendix B: Simple Evaluations
Colin Robson is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Human &
Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield. He
directed a series of local, regional and national research and
evaluation projects, mainly in aspects of special educational
needs, at Huddersfield in association with the Hester Adrian
Research Centre, University of Manchester. He subsequently was a
supervisor for over twenty research students, mainly at Doctoral
level, covering a wide range of disciplines - education, social
work, management, music, and aspects of health, including nursing,
midwifery and osteopathy, while developing and leading a
postgraduate programe in Social Research and Evaluation. More
recently he was, for over a decade, chief Consultant at the Centre
for Educational Research and Innovation at OECD in Paris, for
projects evaluating and comparing national systems for the
education of students with disabilities, learning and behavioural
difficulties and social disadvantages, and a follow-up project for
Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union.
A masterfully written text making complex issues approachable and
very workable! Robson’s personable style as if engaged in a
conversation with the reader entices and enlightens. It is rare to
find a text that to such an extent combines user-friendliness and
an engaging style without compromising scientific stringency,
ethics or practical usefulness and common sense. This is indeed a
treasure trove for students and professionals of any kind and
everywhere whose study or work involves people in groups and
organisations in need of development, change or just a healthy
reality check on how their organisation is doing.
*Roland S Persson*
This is a marvelous book. It communicates clearly and directly to
the reader, making the subject accessible and usable rather than
abstruse or forbidding. Robson excels in thinking with the
reader and getting the reader to think along with him, so that
reading his work seems like collaborating with a helpful
mentor. Supported by many helpful diagrams and charts, he
uses real-world situations, contexts, examples, and research
literature to give the reader an understanding of how she might go
about conducting actual research using this book as a guide.
He discusses the challenges a researcher can face in conducting
evaluations, such as getting those being studied to collaborate in
the research project, and the strengths and weaknesses, benefits
and pitfalls of so doing. And it is of great value that his focus
is specifically on small-scale evaluation, because that is the type
of evaluation in which a student or budding researcher is most
likely to be involved. Robson is a great demystifier and
guide--other research texts would benefit greatly from adopting
Robson′s style of thinking, writing, and guiding.
*Jeremy J. Shapiro*
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