Boris B. Volkov

Research on Evaluation Use A Review of the Empirical Literature From 1986 to 2005

This paper reviews empirical research on the use of evaluation from 1986 to 2005 using Cousins and Leithwood’s 1986 framework for categorizing empirical studies of evaluation use conducted since that time. The literature review located 41 empirical studies of evaluation use conducted between 1986 and 2005 that met minimum quality standards. The Cousins and Leithwood framework allowed a comparison over time. After initially grouping these studies according to Cousins and Leithwood’s two categories and twelve characteristics, one additional category and one new characteristic were added to their framework. The new category is stakeholder involvement, and the new characteristic is evaluator competence (under the category of evaluation implementation). Findings point to the importance of stakeholder involvement in facilitating evaluation use and suggest that engagement, interaction, and communication between evaluation clients and evaluators is critical to the meaningful use of evaluations.

Deciding When to Put Grandma in the Nursing Home Measuring Inclinations to Place Persons With Dementia

For caregivers of persons with dementia, estimating when that person should be placed in long-term care is difficult. Health care providers also find it hard to give an exact time as to when the person should be placed. Using data from 197 caregivers working with the Dementia Care Services Project in North Dakota, we show that asking the caregiver about their inclination to place can be equated to asking them for a specific time to place (κ = .616). Using the probability density function of time to place we were able to translate it into inclination. This inclination is easier information for the caregiver to provide and places fewer burdens on the caregiver and patient. It also provides the health care provider with a measure of time to help advise caregivers and recommend interventions and provide service organizations with measures of cost savings to support the impact of outreach and intervention.