This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Vartiainen, P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

On the Principles of Comparative Evaluation

University of Vaasa, Finland, piva{at}uwasa.fi

This article discusses both the methodological and theoretical principles involved in comparative evaluation. The term comparative evaluation refers to research in which an evaluation and the findings of the evaluation process are set in a comparative framework. The principles on which the comparative evaluation process should be based, however, are not always clear. This article analyses the content of these principles and begins with a discussion of the purpose and function of comparative evaluation. This is followed by an analysis of four different principles common to the method of comparative evaluation: selection of the evaluation object; the level of comparison; conceptual comprehension; and the analysis of the findings of an evaluation. When these principles are applied to the comparative evaluation study, the study most likely produces comparable and reliable information for organizational development work.

Key Words: analytical comparison • comparative evaluation • illustrative comparison • methodological principles

Evaluation, Vol. 8, No. 3, 359-371 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/135638902401462484


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. L. S. Coryn, J. A. Hattie, M. Scriven, and D. J. Hartmann Models and Mechanisms for Evaluating Government-Funded Research: An International Comparison American Journal of Evaluation, December 1, 2007; 28(4): 437 - 457. [Abstract] [PDF]