Transformative Research and Evaluation

I've been searching for the right text for my master's-level course entitled Research in Community Settings. I've just finished reading this book, and I think it is terrific! It is just right for a course in which students will be engaging in community-university partnerships as well as learning to think critically about research.--Robb Travers, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

As the world becomes more interconnected and diverse, our research methods need to keep up with changes. Mertens writes beautifully about conducting research in the service of social justice, using a transformative lens and focusing clearly on each step in the process. This book illustrates why Mertens is so highly regarded for her writing that links research methods theory with practice. I highly recommend this book for researchers and graduate students across the social and human sciences.--John W. Creswell, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Mertens focuses on using research and evaluation to transform people’s lives and communities. Including historically excluded and marginalized people in the processes of generating and using knowledge is transformative not only for research participants, but also for the researchers and evaluators who engage with them. The genius of Mertens's comprehensive approach resides in the way she makes transformative inquiry accessible and inclusive yet intellectually robust and methodologically rigorous. She invites us into the transformative process, changing the ways we both think about and conduct research and evaluation. This book is for anyone open to seriously engaging the transformative power of inclusive inquiry.--Michael Q. Patton, author of Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Fourth Edition

Mertens gets to the heart of how to ground research and evaluation projects in a social justice framework, in line with multiple disciplinary perspectives that embrace a transformative paradigm. This book will challenge students--including those who have not previously questioned their basic societal beliefs and assumptions--to explore diversity and oppression issues in new ways. I appreciated the inclusion of truly diverse groups, including ethnocultural minority groups and others, in the discussions of the various research and evaluation projects. The international examples and perspectives were very refreshing, too.--Gary W. Harper, Department of Psychology, DePaul University

With the increase in awareness of diversity, a book like this one is long overdue. This is the first book I have read that comprehensively discusses how to approach evaluation using strategies that are culturally appropriate and inclusive of diverse communities. Mertens provides a holistic and inclusive way of thinking about research methodology. She does a wonderful job of explaining the transformative paradigm in lay language.--Katrina L. Bledsoe, Associate Project Director, Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Washington, DC

This important book assembles the complex array of procedures, perspectives, and priorities associated with transformative research and evaluation. It blends the many voices and illustrations available in the literature to assist the reader in identifying what is possible in this important new paradigm. Significant cross-cultural and international examples of studies that truly warrant the label of 'transformative' are incorporated.--Melvin E. Hall, Department of Educational Psychology, Northern Arizona University

- This is the first book that specifically addresses research methodology for the transformative perspective....Although the book prioritizes an educational focus, it has relevance beyond education and scholars from management disciplines can add a practical and penetrating reading to their research toolbox....The audience encompasses novice researchers and evaluators, advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, more experienced teachers and evaluators....This book reminds us all that social research is embedded within a system of values and the myth of objective and value-free research should be discharged. It demonstrates how to blend science and action in an attempt to solve specific problems and promote social change. --Organizational Research Methods, 11/1/2008