Program Evaluation Prism: Using Statistical Methods to Discover Patterns - Softcover

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MARTIN LEE ABBOTT, PhD, is Professor of Sociology at Seattle Pacific University, where he also serves as Executive Director of the Washington School Research Center, an independent research and data analysis center funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Abbott has held positions in both academia and industry, focusing his consulting and teaching in the areas of program evaluation, applied sociology, statistics, and research methods.

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A hands-on treatment of essential statistical tools for data interpretation and evaluation in research

Across various disciplines, it is important for researchers and professionals to have an advanced understanding of evaluation methods and procedures in order to identify the most valuable meanings and results from gathered data. The Program Evaluation Prism presents a thorough yet accessible guide to the use of regression and correlation methods for formulating questions and dissecting data in order to achieve effective problem solving in evaluation research. Providing detailed coverage in an accessible manner, this book presents the statistical tools necessary to find unobserved patterns that affect daily life, while also guiding readers to discover the dynamics hidden in their own research.

The book begins with a basic introduction to evaluation methodology and its ability to recognize embedded patterns of meaning in research data. Subsequent chapters explore the statistical tools that can be applied irrespective of the design used to generate this data, such as correlation, regression, multiple regression, and detection of extreme scores. The author also provides in-depth coverage of techniques that are not extensively covered in the current literature on the topic, including:

• coding categorical data

• conducting interaction analyses

• order-of-entry methods

• data cleaning

• part and partial correlation

Real-world analyses incorporate meaningful social issues into the discussed techniques, and a final chapter discusses the Practical Application problems found throughout the book. Discover Note and Research Steps sections illustrate how using statistical processes can unveil unobserved patterns and assist readers with identifying such trends in their own data. SPSS® output is included throughout, and a related FTP site features large and small data sets for application of the book's procedures, SPSS® lab exercises, and access to modules and materials from the author's own coursework.

The Program Evaluation Prism serves as an excellent book for courses on program evaluation and research methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable reference for practitioners, consultants, and researchers who conduct data analysis in the fields of education, psychology, business, and public health.