Evaluation Fundamentals: Insights Into Program Effectiveness, Quality, and Value

by Arlene Fink

The Third Edition of Arlene Fink's Evaluation Fundamentals teaches the basic concepts and vocabulary necessary to do program evaluations and review the quality of evaluation research to make informed decisions about methods and outcomes to meet scientific and community needs. Dr. Fink thoroughly examines such issues as how to justify evaluation questions and set standards of effectiveness, design studies, identify best practices, and conduct ethical research. The book contains numerous examples of evaluation methods, as well as evaluation reports. It also includes practice exercises and suggested readings in print and online. Individuals can use the New Edition successfully on their own or in small or large groups.



"The text is extremely well organized. . . The concepts are easy to follow and the explanations are excellent."

--Sharon K. Drake, Iowa State University "Dr. Fink did an outstanding job of introducing concepts and practice of program evaluation in a way that anyone can understand. Those who are interested in program evaluation will enjoy this book regardless of their field of study."

--Young Ik Cho, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee "The key strength of this book is the introduction of the key concepts, terms, and considerations that are needed for an evaluation study. These introductions are concise, understandable, and in logical order."

--Richard C. Maurer, University of Kentucky

Hardcover

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Arlene Fink (Ph.D.) is Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the Langley Research Institute. Her main interests include evaluation and survey research and the conduct of research literature reviews as well as the evaluation of their quality. Dr. Fink has conducted scores of literature reviews and evaluation studies in public health, medicine, and education. She is on the faculty of UCLA's Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and is a scientific and evaluation advisor to UCLA's Gambling Studies and IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling & Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer) programs. She consults nationally and internationally for agencies such as L'institut de Promotion del la Prevention Secondaire en Addictologie (IPPSA) in Paris, France, and Peninsula Health in Victoria, Australia. Professor Fink has taught and lectured extensively all over the world and is the author of over 135 peer-reviewed articles and 15 textbooks.