Evaluation in Today’s World

Evaluation in Today’s World: Respecting Diversity, Improving Quality, and Promoting Usabilityby Veronica Thomas and Patricia Campbell stands as a powerful resource for evaluation instructors, practitioners, students, and scholars who desire to understand why and how to conduct socially just and culturally responsive evaluation, and who are looking for an accessible entry point into the discipline as a whole. -- American Journal of Evaluation
Thomas and Campbell present a remarkable and extremely relevant text, responsive to the issues that evaluators are facing right now.... It is the infusion of culturally responsive and socially just practices into each topic that really shines in Thomas and Campbell’s work. For those interested in crafting a useful evaluation with a culturally responsive lens, whether new or experienced in evaluation, this is a must-have in the library. While this book is an obvious choice for a course focused on culturally responsive evaluation, it should not be overlooked for introductory evaluation courses, as the focus on inclusivity of voices and detailed guidance on evaluation structure would serve to inculcate new evaluators into culturally responsive practice while supporting foundational evaluation knowledge. -- Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation

"Very rarely are issues related to race, class and power discussed so eloquently and effectively within an evaluation text."

-- John Ridings

"Evaluation in Today’s World is a much needed, useful and relevant text, which bridges the evaluation process and methods with our cultural, historical and political climate. It integrates diverse activities, methods and applications that will help prepare students to become successful future practitioners and evaluators."

-- Karen Tinsley

"Thomas and Campbell have taken topics that are often only alluded to in program evaluation texts, and brought them to the forefront, highlighting the importance of understanding the diversity of society when developing effective evaluations."

-- Marcus-Antonio Galeste

"Evaluation in Today’s World covers the salient features of research and evaluation in clear language and includes the often overlooked impact of cultural awareness and understanding throughout the research process. In an increasingly multicultural and complex society, the authors have created a resource to help budding researchers evaluate their goals, needs, and biases as they enter this fascinating field."

-- Brenda S. Gerhardt

"This is the most comprehensive text on evaluation that I have seen. The section on ethics challenges students to reflect on their own beliefs and values, and how those might cause bias in evaluation."

-- Sandra Handwerk

"This text provides a strong voice to support the inclusion of social justice issues in evaluation planning, implementation, analysis, and reporting."

-- Debra J. Dirksen