Evaluating social policies
Do methodological approaches determine the policy impact
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11197833 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Øyunn Syrstad Høydal (0000-0002-0406-3645, Oslo Business School, Faculty of Social Sciences OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Norway, corresponding author), Anne Grete Tøge (0000-0001-9905-951X, Oslo Business School, Faculty of Social Sciences OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Norway) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 954-967 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/spol.12682 |
| OpenAlex | W3119362233 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 45 |
Over the last decades, evidence‐based public policy has emerged as a concept and field of research, presenting methodological approaches from the natural sciences as the ideal. However, empirical and interdisciplinary research on the relationship between methodological approaches and policy impact remains scarce. The aim is to investigate whether the impact of evaluations on development of new ideas and policies depends on methodological approaches. Data are drawn from a survey among policy‐makers ( n = 222) in six Norwegian agencies. Applying linear regression models, we analyse whether ‘evaluations provide new ideas and perspectives’ and if ‘evaluations play a major role as a foundation for policy‐making’, and if these aspects depend on the reason for conducting the evaluation and the type of data collection. The civil servants report strong belief in evaluations' impact on policy and development of new ideas; however, this is more or less independent of type of methodological approaches. Exceptions are evaluation using observational data, interviews, or case studies and evaluations conducted with the intention of obtaining new knowledge. The article brings new empirical knowledge regarding the way different methodological approaches contribute to the usefulness of evaluations. Supporting the criticism of a rigid understanding of the meaning of evidence
Criticism · Economics · Empirical research · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Foundation (evidence · Management science · Meaning (existential · Norwegian · Political science · Positive economics · Public policy · Sociology · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Health Policy Implementation Science · Law · Psychology · Public Policy and Administration Research
Evaluation of Social Interventions with People with Disabilities
Implementing individual placement and support in Norway. From vocational rehabilitation to an employment scheme
The differential impact of evidence types in policy decisions
Policy capacity
Why do some academic articles receive more citations from policy communities
Evaluation
Policy Evaluation in Europe
Using evidence
What works?Evidence-based policy and practice in public services
Regression with Dummy Variables
The Myth of Research-Based Policy & Practice
What Works?
Fixed Effects Regression Models
Beyond Evidence-Based Policy in Public Health
Health policy-makers' perceptions of their use of evidence
A systematic review of barriers to and facilitators of the use of evidence by policymakers
Current Empirical Research on Evaluation Utilization
Reconceptualizing evaluation use
What Constitutes “Good” Evidence for Public Health and Social Policy-making? From Hierarchies to Appropriateness
The Political Uses of Expert Knowledge
A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book aboutQualitative Research
Social Science and the Evidence-based Policy Movement
An evaluation paradox in social work? An empirical study of evaluation use in connection with temporary programmes in Swedish social work
Evaluation use in evaluation systems – the case of the European Commission
Four Waves of Evaluation Diffusion
Evidence producing organizations
Discovering Process Use
Evaluation models and evaluation use
Building Evidence in Challenging Contexts
Have We Learned Anything New About the Use of Evaluation
Beyond Use
Research on Evaluation Use
The Threshold and Inclusive Approaches to Determining “Best Available Evidence”
The Troubled Families Programme
Evidence for public health policy on inequalities
The political use of knowledge in the policy process
Technocracy Reinvented
Policy Practitioners' Accounts of Evidence-Based Policy Making
Social Insurance as Fiscal Policy and State-Building Tool
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |