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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Who Needs Goals? An Analog Experiment Comparing Goal-Based Evaluation And Goal-Free Evaluation Utility, Alayna Zielinski, Brandon W. Youker Ph.D Jul 2014

Who Needs Goals? An Analog Experiment Comparing Goal-Based Evaluation And Goal-Free Evaluation Utility, Alayna Zielinski, Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

The poster highlights the results of an analog experiment that compared to approaches to program evaluation: goal-based evaluation and goal-free evaluation. Which approach had more utility per the evaluation client?


Using Service Learning In The Teaching Of And Research On Program Evaluation, Brandon W. Youker Ph.D, Nicholas Bayer Bs, Allyssa Ingraham Bs Feb 2014

Using Service Learning In The Teaching Of And Research On Program Evaluation, Brandon W. Youker Ph.D, Nicholas Bayer Bs, Allyssa Ingraham Bs

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Most students who are planning for a career in the health and human services are required to complete a course on program evaluation. This article describes a graduate-level service learning course whereby the instructor divided students into small evaluation teams and assigned the teams one of two distinct models by which to evaluate the same non-profit organization. The teams were assigned either goal-free evaluation or success case method; and they conducted their respective evaluations independently and simultaneously. Each team was responsible for disseminating their findings to the program via a written report in addition to an oral presentation. At the …


Goal-Free Evaluation: A Potential Model For The Evaluation Of Social Work Programs, Brandon W. Youker Ph.D, Allyssa Ingraham B.S. Sep 2013

Goal-Free Evaluation: A Potential Model For The Evaluation Of Social Work Programs, Brandon W. Youker Ph.D, Allyssa Ingraham B.S.

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Goal-free evaluation (GFE) is an evaluation model where the evaluator is deliberately kept from the stated (or implied) goals and objectives of the program; this is accomplished by appointing a screener to keep goal-related information from the goal-free evaluator. Screening the evaluator from program goals is designed to control bias inherent in goal-based evaluation (GBE), a bias that contaminates the evaluator’s ability to see the program’s true outcomes and true merit. Although GFE has been around for more than half a century, GBE continues to dominate evaluation practice and the literature on GFE remains sparse and highly theoretical. This article …


Goal-Free Evaluation: A Potential Model For The Evaluation Of Social Work Programs, Brandon Youker Dec 2012

Goal-Free Evaluation: A Potential Model For The Evaluation Of Social Work Programs, Brandon Youker

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Goal-free evaluation (GFE) is an evaluation model where the evaluator is deliberately kept from the stated (or implied) goals and objectives of the program; this is accomplished by appointing a screener to keep goal-related information from the goal-free evaluator. Screening the evaluator from program goals is designed to control bias inherent in goal-based evaluation (GBE), a bias that contaminates the evaluator’s ability to see the program’s true outcomes and true merit. Although GFE has been around for more than half a century, GBE continues to dominate evaluation practice and the literature on GFE remains sparse and highly theoretical. This article …


The Abcs Of Gfe, Brandon Youker Nov 2012

The Abcs Of Gfe, Brandon Youker

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Goal-free evaluation (GFE) is the process of determining something’s merit intentionally without reference to its stated goals and objectives. The following PowerPoint presentation describes GFE and discusses preliminary attempts at operationalization. The video concludes with a lively discussion where audience members challenge Dr. Youker on GFE's feasibility and merit. . *This presentation is available at The Evaluation Center's website archived as an Evaluation Café presentation: http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/2012/11/goal-free-evaluation-an-analog-experiment-comparing-goal-free-evaluation-and-goal-based-evalation-utility/


Values And Goal-Free Evaluation: A Case Study, Brandon Youker Dec 2004

Values And Goal-Free Evaluation: A Case Study, Brandon Youker

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

How does a goal-free evaluator deal with values? Which values? Whose values? This presentation argues that the goal-free evaluator takes a consumerist perspective. Thus the evaluator's values are in serving the program's consumers and satisfying the consumers' needs.