Defining Evaluation II

I'm looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts on the definition of evaluation, thoughts on the required reading, and how they might be using these in real life.

"This week’s discussion is around other broad concepts in Evaluation. For example, what does evaluation mean? How to define evaluation? We are also looking at how to make distinctions about different terminology: Needs Assessment, Monitoring, Outcome Studies, Testing, Measurement, and Assessment."

-- Ana-Paula, Welcome to Week 3 Online Discussion

I highlighted pages 7 and 9 of Fitzpatrick, J., Sanders, J. & Worthen, B. (2011). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (4th ed.). They seem to define the word evaluation for the book. The book includes the dictionary definition, a research definition, and a methods-based definition for  evaluators with external stakeholders.

Defining "Evaluation"

Contents

1. Foreword
   • Note to class
   • Ana-Paula Quote
   • Fitzpatrick Book Reference
2. Definitions of 'Evaluation' by Various Resources
   • Google Definition of Evaluation
   • Wikipedia Definition of Evaluation
   • University of North Carolina Greensboro Evaluation Resources
   • Handbook of Human Performance Technology
3. Discussion Questions and Response
   • Question 1. How does Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen (2011) define “evaluation”?
   • Question 1. How does Kirkpatrick (1998) define “evaluation”?
   • Question 1. How does Newby (1992) define “evaluation”?
   • Question 2. What are the differences and similarities in the meanings, contexts and scopes of their definitions?
4. Resources

Audible Enhancements Wish List

Every time anything bad happens to my app or it updates I lose my list of listened to books. With over 800 books, this means I also have a hard time telling which books are all of a sudden missing. It means that I'm not sure which books still need read and I must spend a hour or more figuring it out. I also have multiple tablets, ipad/android, with similar issues.