Small-Scale Evaluation: Principles and Practice

How can evaluation be used most effectively, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the various methods? Colin Robson provides guidance in a clear and uncluttered way. The issue of collaboration is examined step-by-step; stakeholder models are compared with techniques such as participatory evaluation and practitioner-centred action research; ethical and political considerations are placed in context; and the best ways of communicating findings are discussed. Each chapter is illustrated with helpful exercises to show the practical application of the issues covered, making this an invaluable introduction for anyone new to evaluation.

Colin Robson is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Human & Health Sciences at the University  of Huddersfield. He directed a series of local, regional and national research and evaluation projects, mainly in aspects of special educational needs, at Huddersfield in association with the Hester Adrian Research Centre, University of Manchester. He subsequently was a supervisor for over twenty research students, mainly at Doctoral level, covering a wide range of disciplines - education, social work, management, music, and aspects of health, including nursing, midwifery and osteopathy, while developing and leading a postgraduate programe in Social Research and Evaluation. More recently he was, for over a decade, chief Consultant at the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation at OECD in Paris, for projects evaluating and comparing national systems for the education of students with disabilities, learning and behavioural difficulties and social disadvantages, and a follow-up project for Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union.