Relied on by over 90,000 readers as the text on how to design, implement, and appraise the utility of social programs through the use of evaluation methods, Evaluation, 7th Edition has been completely revised to include the latest techniques and approaches to evaluation as well as guidelines for how evaluations should be tailored to fit programs and social contexts. Plus, throughout this new edition, there is more focus on evaluation diagnostic procedures. New to this Edition: - The four chapters on impact assessment have been completely revised to give more attention to outcome measurement - An at-length discussion of program theory, including a section about detecting program effects and interpreting their practical significance. - Augmented and updated discussion of major evaluation designs - A detailed exposition of meta-analysis as an approach to the synthesis of evaluation studies - Consideration of alternative approaches to evaluation - Many examples of successful evaluations - Discussion of the political and social contexts of evaluation activities.In addition, the entire text has been edited to make it more compact and readable, and the key concepts and glossary sections have been restructured for ease of use.