Evaluating Practicecontinues to be the most comprehensive practice evaluation text available.   Focusing on single-system designs, Evaluating Practice, 6/e presents clear guidelines on conceptualizing and measuring problems, developing practice-oriented evaluation designs, understanding and analyzing data, and ethical guidelines for practice evaluation.    This text is unsurpassed among human service evaluation texts for bringing clarity to evaluation procedures.

Table of Contents:
Preface   Prologue     Part I  What Are You Getting Into?  1  Integrating Evaluation and Practice   Introduction to Single-System Designs   What Are Single-System Designs?  Evidence-Based Practice Single-System Designs and Classical Research: The Knowledge-Building Context  Single-System Evaluation, Qualitative Research, and Quantitative Research  Advantages of Using Single-System Designs in Practice  A Walk through the Evaluation Process  Summary      Part IIConceptualizing and Measuring Targets and Objectives/Goals   2  Basic Principles of Conceptualization and Measurement   Introduction  What Is Conceptualization?  What Is Measurement?  Definition as a First Step in Measurement  Can Everything Be Measured?  Key Characteristics of All Measures  Summary    3   Specifying Problems and Goals     Introduction: From General Problems to Specific Targets of Intervention  Specifying Client Concerns: Identifying and Clarifying Problems and Potentials  Specifying Goals and Objectives Using Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) to Establish Goals  Setting Goals in Groups  Problems and Issues in Setting Goals  Summary    4  Developing a Measurement and Recording Plan   Introduction  Steps in Developing a Recording Plan  Charting: Putting Your Information on Graphs  Problem-Oriented Records (POR) Use of Computers in Evaluation and Practice  Summary    Computer Assisted Social Services (CASS): A User’s Guide  Appendix: Installing CASS  5   Behavioral Observation     Introduction  General Guidelines for Behavioral Observation  Sampling Behaviors  Instruments for Recording Behaviors  Ensuring Accurate Observations  Methods of Recording Behavior  Analog Situations  Recording Behavior in Groups  Summary    6    Individualized Rating Scales     Introduction  Uses of Individualized Rating Scales  Constructing and Using Individualized Rating Scales  Summary    7     Standardized Scales   Introduction  What Are Standardized Scales?  Selecting a Standardized Scale  Administering a Standardized Scale  Some Available Standardized Self-Report Scales  Some Available Standardized Scales for Practitioners  Some Available Standardized Scales for Relevant Others  Some Available Standardized Scales for Independent Observers  Do-It-Yourself Scales  Using Standardized Scales in Groups  Computer Management of Standardized Scales  Summary  Appendix  Computer Assisted Assessment Package (CAAP): A User’s Guide    8  Logs   Introduction  Types of Client Logs  Putting Qualitative and Quantitative Information Together  Introducing Clients to Logs  Practitioner Logs Maximizing and Verifying the Reliability and Validity of Logs  Summary    9     Reactivity and Nonreactive Measures   Introduction  Reactivity of Measures  Unobtrusive (Nonreactive) Measures  Summary    10    Selecting a Measure     Introduction Considerations in Deciding on a Measure  Use of Multiple Measures  Selecting a Measure  Summary    Part III Evaluation Designs   11    Basic Principles of Single-System Designs     Introduction  An Example Connecting Practice and Evaluation Designs  Purposes of Single-System Designs Unique Characteristics of Single-System Designs  Causality in Single-System Designs  External Validity and Generalizability  Overview of Single-System Designs Summary    12    Baselining   Introduction  Purposes of the Baseline  Types of Baselines  How Long Should Baselining Continue?  When Are Baselines Not Necessary?  Issues Regarding Baselining  Summary   13    From the Case Study to the Basic Single-System Design: A-B     Introduction  Case Studies or Predesigns Design A-B: The Basic Single-System Design  Summary    14    The Experimental Single-System Designs: A-B-A, A-B-A-B, B-A-B   Introduction Basic Experimental Designs  Summary    15    Multiple Designs for Single Systems   Introduction  Multiple-Baseline Designs: Across Problems, Clients, or Settings  Multiple-Target Designs Variations on Multiple Designs  Summary    16   Changing Intensity Designs and Successive Intervention Designs   Introduction  Changing Intensity Designs: A-B1-B2-B3  Successive Intervention Designs: A-B-C, A-B-A-C, A-B-A-C-A  Summary    17    Designs for Comparing Interventions   Introduction  Alternating Intervention Design: A-B/C-(B orC)  Interaction Design: A-B-A-B-BC-B-BC  Summary    18   Selecting a Design   Introduction Framework for Selecting a Design  Needed: A Design for All Seasons  Creativity in Single-System Designs: Making Your Own Designs  Evaluation in Minimal-Contact Situations  Single-System Designs in Managed Care: The Stretch Design  Trouble-Shooting: “Okay, I Understand Everything That You Said, but My Case Is Different.”  Summary    Part IV Analyzing Your Results   19   Basic Principles of Analysis   Introduction  Distinguishing Effort, Effectiveness, and Efficiency  Significance—Practical, Statistical, and Theoretical  Evaluating Goal Achievement  Issues in Analysis of Data  Computer Analysis of Data for Single-System Designs  The Issue of Autocorrelation  Tools in Analysis of Data  Summary    20   Visual Analysis of Single-System Design Data   Introduction  Definition of Terms  Basic Patterns and Implications  Visual Inspection of Raw Data  Interpreting Ambiguous Patterns  Problems of Visual Inspection  Creating a Chart with SINGWIN  Summary    21    Descriptive Statistics   Introduction  Measures of Central Tendency  Measures of Variation  Using Measures of Central Tendency and Variability to Graph Group Data Computing and Graphing Measures of Central Tendency and Variation with SINGWIN  Measures of Trend Measures of Effect Size  Optimal Uses and Cautions for Specific Descriptive Statistics  Summary    22    Tests of Statistical Significance for Single-System Designs   Introduction  Proportion/Frequency Approach  Three-Standard-Deviation-Band Approach (X-Moving-Range-Chart)  Chi-Square  Conservative Dual-Criteria (CDC) Approach  t-Test  General Considerations in Using Tests of Statistical Significance  Optimal Uses and Cautions for Specific Analytic Procedures  Summary    23     Computer Analysis of Single-System Design Data   Chapter Overview  Starting SINGWIN  Exiting SINGWIN  Getting the Big Picture  Using Specific Procedures  Appendix: Installing Singwin  Summary    24    Selecting a Procedure for Analyzing Data   Introduction  Framework for Selecting a Procedure for Analyzing Data  Other Statistical Considerations  Nonstatistical Considerations  Limitations  Summary    Part V The Challenge of Single-System Designs 25    Not for Practitioners Alone     Introduction  Special Applications of Single-System Designs  Recent Criticisms of Single-System Evaluation  For the Client  For the Administrator  For Educators and Students  Summary    References Name Index Subject Index