Preventing the Misuse of Evaluation (New Directions for Evaluation)

The purpose of this issue of New Directions for Program Evaluation is to discuss the misuse of evaluation. Although the use of evaluation has been a more popular topic, we find that evaluators have mentioned misuse for some time and that it is a common concern among evaluators. All of the contributions in this volume recount instances in which the evaluation process or the evaluation findings were misused. The emphasis of each is not on discussing concepts or tracing the history of misuse. Rather, the authors tell their own stories regarding misuse. There are two findings that should interest readers. First, in each instance, the problems surrounding misuse are usually not methodological issues. Instead, misuse is an issue of human relations and often of political pressure. Second, these chapters relate situations with which evaluators can identify. Two of the chapters are from the field of criminal justice, two are from social work, one is from psychology, and two are from education. Unfortunately, experiences with misuse appear to be common to all fields.