Evaluation and Research

American Evaluation Association (AEA)
PO Box 704
Point Reyes, CA 94956
888-311-6321;
AmEvalAssn@aol.com
www.eval.org

AEA is the major professional association for evaluators and sponsors a wide variety of activities and resources including an annual conference, a job bank, a number of listservs and topical interest groups on various topics including alcohol, drug abuse and mental health and empowerment.

Dressed-down Research Terms: A Glossary for Non-Researchers
Teresa Rittenhouse, Suzanne Cutler and Jean Cambell
Missouri Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Nancy Birney 314-644-7913; birneyn@mimh.edu

This document identifies terms commonly used in academic, technical and/or clinical writing about mental health research and defines them in language that is accessible to a broader audience, particularly including C/S/R’s who have not had specialized training in research.

Evaltalk E-mail Listserv

An e-mail listserv featuring lively discussion of evaluation issues. Participants often write in with particular evaluation problems and receive advice from listserv members. Discussions of broader evaluation issues also occur. To subscribe, send an e-mail to: LISTSERV@ualvm.ua.edu. In the body of the message, write the single line: SUBSCRIBE EVALTALK <first name> <last name>. You will then receive an e-mail message asking you to confirm your subscription.

Evaluation: A Systematic Approach
Peter Rossi and Howard Freeman
Sage Publications, 1999

The "classic" textbook on evaluation which has been updated and published in many editions. This book is aimed at a beginner audience and gives a broad overview of evaluation, starting with key concepts and then presents detailed information on many different types of evalution.

Case Study Research
Robert Yin
Sage Publications, 1994

A primer on case study methodology. Yin argues that most case studies fail because the investigator thinks like a survey researcher rather than an experimenter seeking to replicate her findings. The book considers design, analysis and interpretation issues.

Evaluation Skills for Families Initiative
Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
1101 King Street, Suite 420
Alexandria, VA 22314
Elaine Slaton
703-684-7710

The Federation’s Evaluation Skills for Families Initiative is sponsoring a series of courses for family members on issues of research and evaluation. The courses are designed to help families understand, work in and lead evaluation efforts. Both prescheduled regional trainings and individualized trainings are available.

Government Performance Information Consultants (GPIC) Evaluation Clearinghouse
www.members.home.net/gpic/evalwebindex.htm

A website whose mission is to "put all the web links on the topic of evaluation in one place." The site has links divided into the following categories: general, government, education, health, international, social services, social research and other. Although they have not quite reached their goal yet, there are many useful links.

From Lab Rat to Researcher: The History, Models and Policy Implications of Consumer/Survivor Involvement in Research
Jean Campbell, Ruth Ralph and Robert Glover
National Association of State Mental Health Directors (NASMHD), 1993
66 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 302
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-739-9333

This document summarizes a presentation made at the Fourth Annual National Conference of State Mental Health Agency Services Research and Program Evaluation. The piece synthesizes research on and by mental health consumers/survivors and evaluates the policy implications of consumer involvement in the development and implementation of mental health research.

New Directions for Evaluation
Jossey-Bass Publishers
800-956-7739
www.jbp.com

A quarterly journal in which each issue is devoted to a particular topic in evaluation. The articles are generally accessible and sometimes present primers on useful techniques or approaches. Individual issues or annual subscriptions can be ordered from the publisher.

Missouri Institute of Mental Health Program in Consumer Studies and Training
500 Arsenal Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63139
www.cstprogram.org

The Program in Consumer Studies and Training is committed to developing a strong and informed consumer and family voice in all aspects of mental health policy, research and services. The Program is involved in a number of existing consumer-driven research projects including serving as the coordinating center for an 8-site knowledge development program designed to evaluation the extent to which consumer-operated services are effective in improving the outcomes of adults with serious mental illness. The organization and its website have a broad array of consumer-oriented and relevant resources.

Outcomes Assessment in Clinical Practice
Lloyd Sedere and Barbara Dickey (editors)
Williams and Wilkins, 1996

A comprehensive resource for understanding and applying mental health outcomes assessment. It presents an overview of the information on a variety of instruments and methods for integrating outcomes assessments into clinical practice.

Realistic Evaluation
Ray Pawson and Nick Tilley
Sage Publications, 1997

This book lays out a "realist" direction for evaluation. The authors argue that traditional positivist approaches focus too heavily on "whether" a program works at the expense of understanding "how" it works. Their alternative emphasizes understanding how complex social contexts interact with program elements in shaping real outcomes. Not just a theoretical work, this book provides "how to" advice on conducting realist evaluation.

Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health
Portland State University
PO Box 751
Portland, Oregon 97202
503-725-4040
www.rtc.pdx.edu

The Center’s activities focus on improving services to families whose children have mental, emotional or behavioral health disorders through a set of related research and training programs. The Center and its web site offer a host of resources including fact sheets, computerized databases and state-by-state resource files. The Center has compiled an extensive glossary of research terms that is available on their web site.

Social Experimentation
Donald Campbell and Jean Russo
Sage Publications, 199

A "user-friendly" presentation of Campbell’s most influential writings on the design and analysis of social experiments and quasi-experiments. Topics include validity, theories of experimentation, designs and analysis issues.

The Evaluation Center @ HSRI
Human Services Research Institute
2336 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-876-0426
www.hsri.org/eval/eval.html

Funded by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services, the Evaluation Center @ HSRI provides technical assistance in the area of evaluation to states and non-profit private entities for improving mental health service delivery. The Center provides an array of services including consultation, resource materials and training. The Center also supports several topical evaluation networks (computerized listservs) on outcomes, legal and forensic issues, managed behavioral health care and multi-cultural issues.

Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text
Michael Patton
Sage Publications, 1997

This book focuses on evaluations that generate information that is immediately useful for practice and policy. Presented in an accessible, non-technical manner. Patton provides a range of tools to develop inexpensive and relevant evaluation designs.

Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods
Leonard Bickman and Debra J. Rog (editors)
Sage Publications, 1997

A useful handbook of research methods that covers a variety of design and data collection topics. This book is aimed at professional researchers.