What are the advantages and disadvantages of an internal evaluator?
Introduction to Evaluation
Part
1
This initial section of our text provides the background necessary for the begin- ning student to understand the chapters that follow. In it, we attempt to accom- plish three things: to explore the concept of evaluation and its various meanings, to review the history of program evaluation and its development as a discipline, and to introduce the reader to some of the factors that influence the practice of evaluation. We also acquaint the reader with some of the current controversies and trends in the field.
In Chapter 1, we discuss the basic purposes of evaluation and the varying roles evaluators play. We define evaluation specifically, and we introduce the reader to several different concepts and distinctions that are important to evalua- tion. In Chapter 2, we summarize the origins of today’s evaluation tenets and prac- tices and the historical evolution of evaluation as a growing force in improving our society’s public, nonprofit, and corporate programs. In Chapter 3, we discuss the political, ethical, and interpersonal factors that underlie any evaluation and em- phasize its distinction from research.
Our intent in Part One is to provide the reader with information essential to understanding not only the content of the sections that follow but also the wealth of material that exists in the literature on program evaluation. Although the con- tent in the remainder of this book is intended to apply primarily to the evaluation of programs, most of it also applies to the evaluation of policies, products, and processes used in those areas and, indeed, to any object of an evaluation. In Part Two we will introduce you to different approaches to evaluation to enlarge your understanding of the diversity of choices that evaluators and stakeholders make in undertaking evaluation.
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Evaluation’s Basic Purpose, Uses, and Conceptual Distinctions
Orienting Questions
1. What is evaluation? Why is it important?
2. What is the difference between formal and informal evaluation?
3. What are some purposes of evaluation? What roles can the evaluator play?
4. What are the major differences between formative and summative evaluations?
5. What questions might an evaluator address in a needs assessment, a process evaluation, and an outcome evaluation?
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an internal evaluator? An external evaluator?