Books like Qualitative research & evaluation methods by Michael Quinn Patton

A comprehensive guide to the research process in the social sciences, emphasizing practical tools and techniques.

A revised textbook that equips students, researchers and practitioners with practical examples of qualitative methods such as participant observation, interviewing, and document analysis for evaluation research.

Designing Qualitative Research, 2nd edition, delivers clear guidance on conceptualizing and planning robust, defensible qualitative studies, covering key areas like data collection, management, analysis, and proposal feasibility.

Prom publisher's website: "Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, now in its seventh edition, has assumed the role of a true classic in its domain." -- LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH Since Peter H. Rossi, Mark W. Lipsey, and Howard E. Freeman first published Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, more than 100,000 readers have considered it the premier text on how to design, implement, and appraise social programs through evaluation. In this completely revised Seventh Edition, the authors include the latest techniques and approaches to evaluation as well as guidelines to tailor evaluations to fit programs and social contexts. This bestselling text covers the full range of evaluation topics, including: - Framing evaluation questions - Uncovering program theory - Studying implementation - Designing impact assessments - Assessing program costs and benefits - Understanding the politics of evaluating With decades of hands-on experience conducting evaluations, the authors provide scores of examples to help students understand how evaluators deal with various critical issues. They include a glossary of key terms and concepts, making this the most comprehensive and authoritative evaluation text available. Thoroughly revised, the Seventh Edition now includes: - Substantially more attention to outcome measurement - Lengthy discussions of program theory, including a section about detecting program effects and interpreting their practical significance - An augmented and updated discussion of major evaluation designs - A detailed exposition of meta-analysis as an approach to the synthesis of evaluation studies - Alternative approaches to evaluation - Examples of successful evaluations - Discussions of the political and social contexts of evaluation.

Can evaluation be used to improve programs? Can it contribute to program effectiveness? Do evaluators bear any responsibility for evaluation use and program improvement? This skillfully honed revision by master storyteller and evaluator, Michael Quinn Patton, answers these questions and provides the most comprehensive review and integration ever done of the vast literature on evaluation use and practice. Entirely rewritten, this edition offers readers a full-fledged evaluation text from identifying primary users of an evaluation to focusing the evaluation, making methods decisions, analyzing data, and presenting findings. Both practical and theoretical, Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text, Third Edition tells how to conduct program evaluations and why to conduct them in the manner prescribed. Each chapter contains a review of the relevant literature and actual case examples to illustrate major points.

The highly acclaimed first edition of Richard Krueger's Focus Groups has become the standard introduction to this widely used technique. Retaining its focus on applied research and its step-by-step approach to planning and conducting a successful focus group, this new edition has been expanded to offer broader coverage on analyzing focus group results and exploring various collaborative approaches. It also includes additional material on questioning strategies, moderator roles, selecting participants, and accounting for cultural diversity within a focus group.

Explores the foundations, theoretical frameworks, and methodological practices that shape qualitative research, placing them within the broader context of social science inquiry.

An accessible guide to five major qualitative research approaches—narrative, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study—yoked to research design principles and ethics.