Scholars from different disciplines cover a wide range of issues, such as functions of program theory, the interface between theory and methods, strategies for formulating theory, cost and resource constraints, different types of theory-driven evaluations, and the future implications of such evaluations.

Introduction: Interfacing Theory and Practice in Evaluations by Huey-tsyh Chen and Peter H. Rossi Concepts and Nature of Theory-Driven Evaluations Four Types of Theory That Can Guide Treatment Evaluations by John W. Finney and Rudolf H. Moos Theory-Driven Metaevaluation by William R. Shadish, Jr. Research Strategies and Methods Pattern Matching in Theory-Driven Evaluation: A Field Example from Psychiatric Rehabilitation by William M. K. Trochim and Judith A. Cook Testing Theories in Theory-Driven Evaluations: (Tests of) Moderation in All Things by Melvin M. Mark and David A. Hofmann Theory-Driven Meta-analysis: Prospect and Practice by Dave S. Cordray The Role of Theory in Doing Case Study Research and Evaluations by Robert K. Yin Theory in Evaluation: We Think Therefore, We Theorize (An Ethnographer's Perspective) by David M. Fetterman Applications in Program Policy Planning and Implementation Using Research and Theory in Developing Innovative Programs for Homeless, Individuals by Debra Rog and Robert B. Huebne Evaluating New Dawn and Pegasus Using Chen and Rossi Multigoal, Theory-Driven Approaches by Dennis Palumbo and Peter Gregware Using Program Theory in Quality Assessments of Children's Mental Health Services by Keith A. Peterson and Leonard Bickman Applications in Impact Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis The Importance of Theory in Selection Modeling: Incorrect Assumptions Mean Biased Results by David Rindskopf Quasi-experiments and Causation Probing by Huey-tsyh Chen and Lung-ho Lin Research-Based Theory for Educational Planning and Evaluation by Herbert J. Walberg and Arthur Reynold Meta-analysis in Evaluation: Moving from Description to Explanation by Mark W. Lipsey Theory-Driven Approaches to Cost-Benefit Analysis: Implications of Program Theory by Ann Scott and Lee Sechrest Select Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

This book reveals the importance of theory in program evaluation and analyzes the nature and implications of theory-driven evaluations. Covered are: functions of program theory, strategies for formulating theory, cost and resource constraints, different types of theory-driven evaluations, and their future implications.

HUEY-TSYH CHEN is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Akron. He is the author of Theory-Driven Evaluations (1990) and has written at some length on theory-driven evaluations of policies and programs.PETER H. ROSSI is Professor of SADRI at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the author of Down and Out in America: The Origins of Homelessness (1989) and co-author of Natural Hazards and Public Choice: The State and Local Politics of Hazard Mitigation (1982), among other works.