Drawing on their extensive experience in large scale project management, Patricia Burch and Carolyn Heinrich clearly articulate an agenda for program and policy evaluation that is designed to ensure actionable evidence of the effectiveness of a program and its implementation is generated for all stakeholders. The examples they provide, while not minimizing the challenges of employing a mixed methods approach, will convince readers of the practicality and value of iteratively integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches throughout the entire evaluation process, from initial design through data integration and analysis to dissemination of research findings. We can all learn from their experiences, so generously shared.
This rich and sophisticated book provides a wealth of insights and practical guidelines that will enhance the work of both novice and experienced researchers. Burch and Heinrich show the way to making mixed methods research more relevant and more rigorous.
This is a very useful book for researchers and evaluators contemplating or already using mixed methods in policy research and evaluation, as well as for those teaching applied evaluation courses.
In this book, Burch and Heinrich have successfully explained how a mixed methods approach can be applied to policy analysis and evaluation. I highly recommend it for scholars applying mixed methods to the study of public policy issues. This book should be required reading for all public policy students and researchers. The book’s biggest strength is its emphasis on the practicalities of integrating different methods throughout the life cycle of a research project. For example, all the chapters end with discussion questions, which force the reader to think through and better understand how the material presented might apply to their own work. The book is also illustrated with rich case studies (mostly from the education and social welfare arenas) to aid understanding.This practical text equips students, researchers, and policymakers in the social sciences with the tools they need for applying mixed methods in policy research and program evaluation, from design, through data collection, and dissemination. Emphasizing the "how-to"—the set of conceptual and active tasks carried out by mixed methods researchers—the book is illustrated with rich case studies from the authors’ own research projects in education and public policy. These examples help readers identify and explain policy and program impacts and better understand the "why" and "how" of observed effects. Throughout the book, the authors describe challenges that both beginners and advanced scholars are likely to encounter when doing mixed methods research and recommend practical tools available to address them.
SAGE Publications Inc
