"In Fourth Generation Evaluation, Guba and Lincoln present a strong, unequivocal argument for the epistemological, methodological, and ethical superiority of their refined constructivist inquiry paradigm for the political and practical demands of program evaluation."

--Jennifer Greene, Cornell University

"I would warmly recommend it as stimulating and challenging reading."

--Systems Practice

"I consider Fourth Generation Evaluation to be an exceptionally daring and insightful book. It has done more than most books to further loosen the grip of liberal, instrumental ''common sense'' (i.e., ideology) that has constricted the field of evaluation for the past 30 years. The book?s idealism is energizing and must only be matched, as the authors certainly know, by yet more hard-headed analysis. Its radical ambitions are inspiring if not always apparently achievable. However, fair is fair: radical ends demand radical means."

--Evaluation Practice

Fourth Generation Evaluation represents a monumental shift in evaluation practice. Guba and Lincoln point to the inherent problems faced by previous generations of evaluators--politics, ethical dilemmas, imperfections and gaps, inconclusive deductions--and lay the blame for failure and nonutilization at the feet of the unquestioned reliance on the scientific/positivist paradigm of research. Fourth Generation Evaluation, a more informed and sophisticated approach, moves beyond science to include the myriad human, political, social, cultural, and contextual elements that are involved. Based upon relativism, a unity between knower and known, and a subjective epistemology, the authors show how fourth generation evaluation unites the evaluator and the stakeholders in an interaction that creates the product of the evaluation. Differing from previously existing generations, this new approach moves evaluation to a new level, whose key dynamic is negotiation. The constructivist paradigm is espoused by the authors and shown to offer multiple advantages, including empowerment and enfranchisement of stakeholders, as well as an action orientation that defines a course to be followed. Not merely a treatise on evaluation theory, Guba and Lincoln also comprehensively describe the differences between the positivist and constructivist paradigms of research, and provide a practical plan of the steps and processes in conducting a fourth generation evaluation.

This is a book that no evaluator can afford to ignore and an important advance in the study of applied research.

The Constructivist Credo is a set of foundational principles for those wishing to conduct social science research within the constructivist paradigm. They were distilled by Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba from their many writings on this topic and are provided in the form of 150 propositional statements. After Guba's death in 2008, the Credo was completed by Lincoln and is presented here. In addition to the key principles of constructivist thought, the volume also contains an introduction to constructivism, an intellectual biography and complete bibliography of Guba's work, and a case study using constructivism, showing how the paradigm can be applied to a research study.

The Constructivist Credo is a set of foundational principles for those wishing to conduct social science research within the constructivist paradigm. They were distilled by Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba from their many writings on this topic and are provided in the form of 150 propositional statements. After Guba's death in 2008, the Credo was completed by Lincoln and is presented here. In addition to the key principles of constructivist thought, the volume also contains an introduction to constructivism, an intellectual biography and complete bibliography of Guba's work, and a case study using constructivism, showing how the paradigm can be applied to a research study.

"An interesting, well written, fascinating critique of positivism. I wish this would be sufficient to put the nails in the coffin of positivism once and for all."

--Ian I. Mitroff, University of Southern California

"This book provides a clear discussion of the essential elements of positivism and post-positivism. It also provides a useful set of guidelines for conducting research within the framework of naturalism. Lincoln and Guba reveal the chinks in the armor of conventional methodological ideas. Their writing draws on a vast array of examples and provides a new vocabulary for thinking about method."

--Shulamit Reinharz, Brandeis University

"This book will interest graduate students and educational researchers as well as social scientists struggling with qualitative and quantitative methodologies. A breath of fresh air."

--Choice

"Overall, this volume serves as a good introductory text in naturalistic inquiry and field research courses."

--International Journal of Intercultural Relations

"The book itself is a good illustration of our inclination towards and our need of more general descriptions. . . . If one wants to inform oneself about the paradigmatic discussion and the development of research methodology within the area of studies of social fields, it is a very interesting book."

--Instructional Science

Showing how science is limited by its dominant mode of investigation, Lincoln and Guba propose an alternative paradigm--a "naturalistic" rather than "rationalistic" method of inquiry--in which the investigator avoids manipulating research outcomes. A "paradigm shift" is under way in many fields, they contend, and go on to describe the different assumptions of the two approaches regarding the nature of reality, subject-object interaction, the possibility of generalization, the concept of causality, and the role of values. The authors also offer guidance for research in the field (where, they say, naturalistic inquiry always takes place). Useful tips are given, for example, on "designing" a study as it unfolds, establishing "trustworthiness," and writing a case report. This book helps researchers "both to understand and to do naturalistic inquiry." Of particular interest to educational researchers, it is valuable for all social scientists involved with questions of qualitative and quantitative methodology.

"The contributors and editor of this work are to be commended for their successful efforts in delineating many of the concerns current within education and in calling for frank debate on these issues by all interested parties. Furthermore, they have stimulated good scholarship by readily admitting to the current state of affairs being one of more questions than answers and more confusion than clarity. They thus remind us that the search for knowledge is one fraught with conflict in a public arena. "The appropriate audience for this volume is assessed to be the reader who derives satisfaction from critical thinking. It would be appropriate for graduate students in education, human services, social sciences, or theology, or any person committed to the endeavor and process of education. "The Paradigm Dialog is one of those rare books that simultaneously stretches the mind while projecting one into self-reflection. For the applied practitioner, whether teacher, counselor, or consultant, the possibility of gaining further insight into the underlying assumptions which constrain one's pedagogy or practice is highly possible upon a critical reading." --The Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling Is scientific positivism, long the reigning paradigm for research in the social sciences, the "best way" to conduct social research? This is the central question examined in The Paradigm Dialog. Recently three key challengers have appeared--postpositivism, critical theory, and constructivism. All three offer researchers new methodological approaches, and all three present fundamental questions that must be addressed. Can research be conducted between paradigms? Are they equally useful in answering questions of applied research? What constitutes good, or ethical, research in each? In this volume, these and other significant questions are examined by a multidisciplinary group of leading figures in qualitative research. Not surprisingly, there is no agreement on the "best" paradigm question, but the dialog offered in this compelling volume deftly explores important issues in selecting the proper paradigm for tackling a variety of research questions. With a group of contributors that reads like a veritable who's who in qualitative research, The Paradigm Dialog is a must for anyone conducting research in the social sciences.