Section 3.1: Prelude to Evaluation Research

?QuestionPro refers to evaluation research, also known as program evaluation, as research purpose instead of a specific method. Evaluation research is the systematic assessment of the worth or merit of time, money, effort and resources spent in order to achieve a goal. Additionally, evaluation research is a type of applied research, and so it is intended to have some real-world effect. Many methods like surveys and experiments can be used to do evaluation research. The process of evaluation research consisting of data analysis and reporting is a rigorous, systematic process that involves collecting data about organizations, processes, projects, services, and/or resources. Evaluation research enhances knowledge and decision-making, and leads to practical applications.

The three case studies found in this section provide real-world evaluation research for you to see how community psychology practitioners conduct this work in community settings. In Lessons from Conducting an Equity-Focused, Participatory Needs Assessment, Brown et al. describe their process of engaging in community-based collaborative work with the LGBTQIA community in North Texas with a partnership that consisted of a full-time community psychology practitioner, an academic partner, and other stakeholders.

Program Evaluation: A Fundamental Component in Effective Community Practice contributed by Dr. Patricia O’Connor, expands the traditional single-case study format to include multiple mini-case studies from which “lessons learned” are highlighted through evaluation-based practice of community psychology (CP). In this study, CP practitioners and relevant stakeholders who work together to design and implement needed community-based programs.

Our third case story, Showing up and Standing with: An Intersectional Approach to a Participatory Evaluation of a Housing First Program on O’ahu, contributed by Dr. Anna Pruitt takes us to the lovely O’ahu and captures the work conducted in an ongoing five-year participatory evaluation partnership between Housing First program participants, staff, and community psychologist evaluators in the multicultural context of the Island of O‘ahu in Hawai‘i. Using an intersectional lens (Crenshaw, 1989; Weber, 2009), this case study explores the challenges and successes of building this partnership among individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds with varying degrees of power, housing experiences, and mental and physical health issues.