Methodological Trends in Research on Evaluation

The wide array of methodologies and analysis techniques available to evaluators presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Whereas practicing evaluators have an ever‐growing collection of methodologies from which to choose, those seeking to take stock of recent research on the set of evaluation methodologies appropriate for a given situation are faced with a daunting task. Although a number of empirical research on evaluation studies have proposed innovative methodologies, relatively few studies offer comparisons of the relative utility of these methods. Moreover, a systematic review of the empirical research on evaluation methodology has not been published. Using a general inductive approach, this chapter systematically examines 65 peer‐reviewed articles published in the American Journal of Evaluation to uncover themes and trends in research on evaluation methodologies and techniques. The present chapter provides a description of the reviewed literature, identifies the methodological themes addressed by the articles in this sample, and addresses the gaps in the current literature.