Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Evaluation Review
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Birckmayer, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Weiss, C. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Birckmayer, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Weiss, C. H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Theory-Based Evaluation in Practice

What Do We Learn?

Johanna D. Birckmayer

Poudre Health Services District

Carol Hirschon Weiss

Harvard University

Theory-based evaluation (TBE) explores the how and why of program success or failure. Advocates of TBE claim that it produces information unavailable in traditional process and outcome studies. This article examines six published papers of TBEs. It finds that the authors of the papers do not always make explicit the relation of their data to the theory of the program. Nevertheless, it was evident in one or more cases that TBE identified unnecessary program components, located intermediary changes, raised new questions, contributed to a paradigm shift, highlighted the difficulties of taking successful pilot programs to scale, and provided clarity and focus for the evaluation. Interestingly, in none of the studies was the original theory completely right. Lessons for the future of TBE are drawn.

Evaluation Review, Vol. 24, No. 4, 407-431 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/0193841X0002400404
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 American Journal of EvaluationHome page
F. J. G. Janssens and I. F. de Wolf
Analyzing the Assumptions of a Policy Program: An Ex-ante Evaluation of ''Educational Governance'' in the Netherlands
American Journal of Evaluation, September 1, 2009; 30(3): 411 - 425.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 EvaluationHome page
D. Hart, G. Diercks-O'Brien, and A. Powell
Exploring Stakeholder Engagement in Impact Evaluation Planning in Educational Development Work
Evaluation, July 1, 2009; 15(3): 285 - 306.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 HEALTH PROMOT INTHome page
M. Dooris
Healthy settings: challenges to generating evidence of effectiveness
Health Promot. Int., March 1, 2006; 21(1): 55 - 65.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 American Journal of EvaluationHome page
E. B. Nance
Multistakeholder Evaluation of Condominial Sewer Services
American Journal of Evaluation, December 1, 2005; 26(4): 480 - 500.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 EvaluationHome page
H. F. Hansen
Choosing Evaluation Models: A Discussion on Evaluation Design
Evaluation, October 1, 2005; 11(4): 447 - 462.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 American Journal of EvaluationHome page
S. R. Rosas
Concept Mapping as a Technique for Program Theory Development: An Illustration Using Family Support Programs
American Journal of Evaluation, September 1, 2005; 26(3): 389 - 401.
[Abstract] [PDF]