This investigation measured evaluation utilization in a large state agency and used a case study approach to investigate conditions that relate to utilization of evaluation reports. One significant contribution of this study was development of a strategy to measure influence of evaluation information on decisions and implementation status of recommendations. The measurement strategy produced scale values for reports, enabling a comparative rating of evaluation reports in terms of utilization. The ratings identified high-use and low-use reports. / Contrast of high-use and low-use reports provided a basis for assessing the potency of various utilization predictors reported in the literature. The results indicated that relevance to decision-making is a major factor influencing utilization in this context. Other variables clearly supported by this study included political and organizational circumstances, focus on manipulable variables and user characteristics. Some evidence suggested support for user involvement in study formulation, credibility of information, evaluator credibility in terms of program knowledge, and quality as important variables. / The findings also indicated that content of evaluation information is an important factor to consider in investigations of utilization. Recommendations in high-use studies were less variable in content compared to recommendations in low-use studies, and they tended to focus on program eligibility issues, service improvements, or improvements in management. Surprisingly, the findings suggest that policy-oriented recommendations and recommendations requiring interprogram or interagency action, even though harder to implement, had more influence on the decisions to implement the recommendations than the less challenging recommendations requiring only action by program managers. / The validity of the findings is enhanced by the procedures used to ensure reliability of the data and by the researcher's prior experience with the agency studied. The applicability of these findings to a general theory of utilization, however, is limited by the restricted setting of this investigation. It is recommended that further research expand the investigation of utilization, through contrast of high- and low-use studies, to other sizes and types of organizations. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: A, page: 1704. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75799 |
| Contributors | BARRIOS, NINA BROWN., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 208 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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