Evaluation Essentials

“Alkin, Vo, and Christie invite you into 26 sessions (A–Z) where they guide, coach, and mentor you through the challenging evaluation landscape to conduct high-quality, useful evaluations. Follow their guidance. Practice their coaching tips. Absorb their mentoring wisdom. You will gain confidence as a practitioner, and like the authors—like me—you might just fall in love with evaluation.”

—Michael Quinn Patton, PhD, Director, Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Saint Paul, Minnesota


“Imagine being new to evaluation and having the opportunity to learn about the field from three generations of evaluators, each bringing their own perspective and considerable experience as scholars and practitioners. This book provides students and new evaluators with a comprehensive breakdown of the many processes involved in evaluation, including evaluation design, writing evaluation questions, collecting and analyzing data, and reporting to diverse audiences. My students love this text—they feel engaged and connected to the authors from the moment they open it. The third edition gives additional attention to working in sociopolitical and cultural contexts and building evaluation relationships with diverse participants, and has updated readings and thought questions throughout. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the practice of evaluation in a fun and easy-to-read format.”

—Jill Anne Chouinard, PhD, Professor and Director, School of Public Administration, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada


“This book is a gem for newcomers to evaluation. It adopts a user-oriented approach, with the third edition adding an emphasis on justice and equality and offering practical advice for how to take a transformative stance. I use this text in my introductory evaluation course each spring, and I am thrilled to see the updates in the third edition. The book clarifies the complexities of evaluation in an engaging, conversational style, making it an invaluable resource for students and practitioners.”

—Shannon Sampson, PhD, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, University of Kentucky


“Like its predecessors, the third edition of Evaluation Essentials is written in a conversational voice that engages readers in ways other evaluation texts do not—students may even begin to truly enjoy reading about evaluation! Despite its friendly tone, the text is comprehensive and thorough. The authors have done an amazing job of incorporating concepts that apply throughout the evaluation process, from developing good evaluation questions to engaging stakeholders, collecting and analyzing data, and ensuring that final reports get used to make programs better. This text would be appropriate as the sole text in any introductory evaluation course, or as a supplement to refresh skills of students in more advanced courses.”

—Bernard A. Steinman, PhD, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Wyoming


“Students in my Introduction to Program Evaluation course have always enjoyed the readability of this text, and I am pleased to see the third edition. I'm also excited to see Christina Christie as a wonderful addition to the author team. Some key organizational changes in the third edition improve the flow overall. The emphasis on addressing exactly how and where use can take place and how the evaluator fits into this process is essential. Overall, the enhanced attention to users and use is excellent.”

—Carl Westine, PhD, Department of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Charlotte