The Evaluation of Broad-Aim Programs
A Cautionary Case and a Moral
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9764776 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert S Weiss (corresponding author), Martin Rein (0000-0002-2670-2815) |
| Year | 1969 |
| Volume | 385 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 133-142 |
| Publication date | 1969-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271626938500112 |
| OpenAlex | W2116521681 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
It is often assumed that the ideal study-design for evaluation of the effectiveness of a social program would be a controlled experiment. A case study is presented of an evaluation-research project which utilized such a design. The project encountered both technical difficulties and intraorganizational friction, which, it is argued, are virtually inherent in the utilization of an experimental design for the appraisal of the effects of a broad-aim, largely unstandardized, and inadequately replicated action-program. Among the technical difficulties are problems in the identification of criteria, problems having to do with the exclusion of alien variables, problems associated with the changing form of the intervention, and problems associated with the limitations of the experimental form as a source of new knowledge. Among the sources of intraorganizational friction are the constraints on stimulus-modification imposed by the experimental commitment, the tendency of operationalizations of aims to become aims in their own right, and the comparative ignorance regarding what the action-program is doing on the part of a research group which is concentrating on the collection of baseline data. A plea is made for evaluation which would be more qualitative and process-oriented
Ignorance · Management science · Plea · Political science · Engineering · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
Evaluation of family planning program performance
Assessing the impact of planned social change
Systemic Perspectivism
Ex Post Facto Evaluation of Neighborhood Organization Programs
The Demonstration Project as a Research & Change Strategy
Research Data as Aides in Formulating Agency Policy
The object of one's passion
Anthropology and Planning
Supermarkets and Culture Clash
Different approaches to the evaluation of programs and services
Work A ctivities, Settings, Methodologies, and Perceptions
The Politics of Social Research
Systematic evaluation of criminal justice projects
Equitable Evaluation through Investigative Sociology
Do not cry wolf until you are sure
The Politicization of Evaluation Research
Classification decisions within psychogeriatric day care
Models and Methods in Evaluation Research
Professional, organizational, and social barriers to primary prevention
Built Space as Story
Qualitative Analysis In Evaluation Research
Human Rights and Human Subjects
Sociologist as Sleuth
Evaluation research
A Program for Disadvantaged Youth in an Israeli Development Town
| Unique citing works | 25 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,45 |
| Citation span | 1970 - 2002 (33) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 24 |