Book review: Principles-focused evaluation: The GUIDE
| Author | Ruth Pitt |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X18785028 |
| Published date | 01 June 2018 |
| Date | 01 June 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Book review |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X18785028
Evaluation Journal of Australasia
2018, Vol. 18(2) 132 –134
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1035719X18785028
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Book review
Michael Quinn Patton, Principles-focused Evaluation: The GUIDE. New York, NY: The Guilford
Press, 2018. ISBN 9781462531820; ISBN 9781462531905 (pbk/hbk); 433 pp., US$42.50 pbk/
US$89.25 hbk
Reviewed by: Ruth Pitt, Evaluation Unit, Department of Social Services, Australia
Principles-Focused Evaluation: The GUIDE is the latest offering from influential
evaluator (and keynote speaker at this year’s Australasian Evaluation Society confer-
ence) Michael Quinn Patton.
Evaluators familiar with Patton’s previous work (such as Developmental Evaluation:
Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use and Utilization-
Focused Evaluation) will not need to see the name on the cover to know the author.
The text exemplifies Patton’s instantly recognizable style, with diversions, quotations,
asides from “Halcolm” and “exhibits.” Whether this is a bug or a feature is a matter of
taste. But what is most definitely a feature, and is also instantly recognizable as
Patton’s style, is the presentation of a novel evaluation approach that aims to fill a gap
he has identified while engaging with the real-world challenges of organizations who
find that “traditional” evaluation approaches don’t meet their needs.
Principles-focused evaluation is evaluation where the evaluand is principles. The
resulting evaluation questions may center on meaningfulness (are the principles mean-
ingful and actionable?), adherence (are the principles being followed?), or outcomes
(are the principles leading to the desired results?).
The idea is simple to describe, but much more difficult to apply. As Patton acknowl-
edges “well-articulated, clear, meaningful, inspirational and evaluable principles are
powerful, beautiful, and rare” (p. 58). In the same way that evaluators increasingly find
themselves supporting design-stage work to clarify goals, logic models, and theories of
change, the evaluators working on principles-focused evaluation will need to support
organizations to clearly articulate their principles. This further broadens the potential
scope of an evaluator’s role. For many, this will require adding more skills to their tool-
box, moving into the sphere of organizational development and strategic facilitation.
For me, principles-focused evaluation seems particularly important for organiza-
tions who argue that how they are working is as important as what they are doing. As
an example: I worked with an organization supporting Indigenous high school stu-
dents into tertiary education with a program grounded in cultural pride. Their
785028EVJ0010.1177/1035719X18785028Evaluation Journal of AustralasiaBook review
book-review2018
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