Table of Contents

Preface Overview of the Book Part I: Introduction 1. Fundamentals for Practicing Program Evaluation 2. A Conceptual Framework of Program Theory for Practitioners 3. A Practical Evaluation Taxonomy: Selecting the Evaluation Approach That Works Part II: Program Evaluation to Help Stakeholders Plan Intervention Programs 4. Assisting Stakeholders as They Formulate Program Rationales 5. How Evaluators Assist Stakeholders in Developing Program Plans Part III: Evaluating Implementation 6. Development-Oriented Evaluation Tailored for the Initial Implementation 7. Assessing Implementation in the Mature Implementation Stage Part IV: Program Monitoring and Outcome Evaluation 8. Monitoring the Progress of a Program 9. Evaluating Outcomes: Efficacy Evaluation and Effectiveness Evaluation 10. Theory-Driven Outcome Evaluation 11. Looking Forward References Index About the Author

About the Author

Huey T. Chen has been a Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 2002. He was born and raised in Taiwan. Dr. Chen worked at the University of Akron until 1997, when he joined the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the chief of an evaluation branch. Dr. Chen had taken a leadership role in designing and implementing a national evaluation system for assessing the CDC funded HIV prevention programs, which are based in health departments and community organizations. Dr. Chen has contributed to the development of evaluation theory and methodology, especially in the areas of program theory and theory-driven evaluations. His book, Theory-Driven Evaluations, has been recognized as one of the landmarks in program evaluation. In 1998 he received the Senior Biomedical Research Service Award from the CDC. He is also the 1993 recipient of the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for contributions to Evaluation Theory from the American Evaluation Association.

Reviews

"Practical Program Evaluation presents a useful and usable model for deciding which kind of evaluation activities to undertake in different circumstances. Chen identifies different kinds of evaluation activities that are appropriate for different stages of a program. He also shows how information needs inside and outside the program, as well as a set of possible trade-offs, should affect the choice of evaluation activities. Chen provides a new and important framework for thinking about these fundamental issues. That is no small accomplishment. Like Chen's previous book on theory-driven evaluation, this book should have a major impact on evaluation theory and practice." -- Melvin Mark