The Fourth Edition of the bestselling Utilization-Focused Evaluation provides expert, detailed advice on conducting program evaluations from one of leading experts. Chock full of useful pedagogy―including a unique utilization-focused evaluation checklist―this book presents Michael Quinn Patton′s distinctive opinions based on more than thirty years of experience.
Key Features of the Fourth Edition
- Provides thoroughly updated materials including more international content; new references; new exhibits and sidebars; and new examples, stories, and cartoons
- Includes follow-up exercises at the end of each chapter
- Features a utilization-focused evaluation checklist
- Gives greater emphasis on mixed methods
- Analyzes the pluses and minuses of the increased emphasis on accountability and performance measurement in government at all levels
- Details the explosion of international evaluation
Intended Audience
Both theoretical and practical, this core text is an essential resource for students enrolled in Program Evaluation courses in a variety of disciplines―including public administration, government, social sciences, education, and management. Practitioners will also find this text invaluable.
Michael Quinn Patton is author of more than a dozen books on evaluation including Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, 4th ed (2015), Blue Marble Evaluation (2020), Principles-Focused Evaluation (2018), Facilitating Evaluation (2018) and Developmental Evaluation (2011). Based in Minnesota, he was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota for 18 years and is a former president of the American Evaluation Association (AEA). Michael is a recipient of the Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Evaluation Practice Award, the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award, and the Research on Evaluation Award, all from AEA He has also received the Lester F. Ward Distinguished Contribution to Applied and Clinical Sociology Award from the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology. In 2021 he received the first Transformative Evaluator Award from EvalYouth. He is an active speaker, trainer, and workshop presenter who has conducted applied research and evaluation on a broad range of issues and has worked with organizations and programs at the international, national, state, provincial, and local levels. Michael has three children―a musician, an engineer, and an evaluator―and four grandchildren. When not evaluating, he enjoys exploring the woods and rivers of Minnesota, where he lives.