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Use of Evaluation Research Methods in Planning and Policy Contexts

University of Illinois at Chicago

Evaluation research methodology has been dominated by the hypothesis testing tech niques and structured data collection methods of the social sciences. Increasingly, these methods are found to be inadequate The data collection methods are difficult to adapt to real world contexts. The reports of analyses often have had little to contribute to the policy development context in which evaluation results are used. New standards for assessing the appropriate use of re search methodology are emerging in what may be called the "pragmatists' paradigm" Within this paradigm a new set of research skills gain importance; probabilistic, explor atory, and qualitative research are gaining new respectability Criteria for judging the quality of research employing these ap proaches and skills are needed — and emerging in professional literature. The shrinking and decentralization of public sector programs are hastening the accept ance of new research paradigm.

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