Program theory evaluation: Practice, promise, and problems
Abstract
The historical development of program theory evaluation, current variations in theory and practice, and pressing issues are discussed.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Cites
Utilization-Focused Evaluation
(2018) · The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation · doi:10.4135/9781506326139.n729 · Cited by 2,315 · see citing works
Chen, H.-T. (1990) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,227 · see citing works
Evaluation : methods for studying programs and policies
Weiss, C. H. (1997) · Cited by 931 · see citing works
Evaluation Research: Methods of Assessing Program Effectiveness.
Rieker, P. P., & Weiss, C. H. (1975) · Social Forces · doi:10.2307/2576100 · Cited by 688 · see citing works
How Can Theory-Based Evaluation Make Greater Headway?
Weiss, C. H. (1997) · Evaluation Review · doi:10.1177/0193841x9702100405 · Cited by 484 · see citing works
The functions of program theory
Bickman, L. (1987) · New Directions for Program Evaluation · doi:10.1002/ev.1443 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
Theory as method: small theories of treatments
Lipsey, M. W. (1993) · New Directions for Program Evaluation · doi:10.1002/ev.1637 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
Measuring Program Outcomes: A Practical Approach
Roberts, N. S. (1998) · Journal of Park and Recreation Administration · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Evaluative Research: Principles and Practice in Public Service and Social Action Progr
Suchman, E. A. (1968) · Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) · Cited by 223 · see citing works
Evaluability assessment: Developing program theory
Wholey, J. S. (1987) · New Directions for Program Evaluation · doi:10.1002/ev.1447 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Evaluation Research: Methods of Assessing Program Effectiveness.
Rothbart, G. S., Weiss, C. H., Rossi, P. H., & Williams, W. L. (1975) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2062250 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Holloway, S. (1981) · Administration in Social Work · doi:10.1300/j147v04n04_01 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Driving toward theory in program evaluation: More models to choose from
Lipsey, M. W., & Pollard, J. A. (1989) · Evaluation and Program Planning · doi:10.1016/0149-7189(89)90048-7 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Long Term Outcomes to Family Caregiver Empowerment
Bickman, L., Heflinger, C. A., Northrup, D. A., et al. (1998) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1023/a:1022937327049 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Bickman, L. (1990) · New Directions for Program Evaluation · Cited by 79 · see citing works
(2005) · Encyclopedia of Evaluation · doi:10.4135/9781412950558.n542 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Utilization-Focused Evaluation
(2004) · The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods · doi:10.4135/9781412950589.n1060 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Answering the Why Question in Evaluation: The Causal-Model Approach
Petrosino, A. J. (2000) · Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation · doi:10.3138/cjpe.015.001 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationA Strategy for the Evaluation of Activities To Reduce Maternal Mortality in Developing Countries
Ward, V. M., Maine, D., McCarthy, J. S., et al. (1994) · Evaluation Review · doi:10.1177/0193841x9401800404 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Process evaluation of complex interventions: Medical Research Council guidance
Moore, G. F., Audrey, S., Barker, M., Bond, L., Bonell, C., Hardeman, W., Moore, L., O'Cathain, A., Tinati, T., Wight, D., et al. (2015) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.h1258 · Cited by 6,204 · see citing works
Using Programme Theory to Evaluate Complicated and Complex Aspects of Interventions
Rogers, P. J. (2008) · Evaluation · doi:10.1177/1356389007084674 · Cited by 999 · see citing works
Self-citationDemystifying theory and its use in improvement
Davidoff, F., Dixon-Woods, M., Leviton, L., & Michie, S. (2015) · BMJ Quality & Safety · doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2014-003627 · Cited by 714 · see citing works
A Systematic Review of Theory-Driven Evaluation Practice From 1990 to 2009
Coryn, C. L. S., Noakes, L. A., Westine, C. D., & Schröter, D. C. (2011) · American Journal of Evaluation · doi:10.1177/1098214010389321 · Cited by 531 · see citing works
Johnson, V. A., Ronan, K. R., Johnston, D. M., & Peace, R. (2016) · Risk Analysis · doi:10.1111/risa.12545 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Weitzman, B. C., Silver, D., & Dillman, K.-N. (2002) · American Journal of Evaluation · doi:10.1177/109821400202300402 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Mookherji, S., & LaFond, A. (2013) · Evaluation · doi:10.1177/1356389013495212 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rogers, P. J., Petrosino, A., Huebner, T. A., & Hacsi, T. A.
- Affiliations
- RMIT University (AU)
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (US)
- Wested (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Venue
- New Directions for Evaluation
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2000-09
- Volume
- 2000
- Issue
- 87
- Pages
- 5-13
- ISSN
- 1097-6736 (ISSN-L)
- 1534-875X
- OpenAlex
- W2101445519
- Cited by
- 274
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 9.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- New Directions for Evaluation (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Evaluation and Performance Assessment
- Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
- Keywords
- program theory, assessment practices, evaluation theory, program evaluation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review