American Journal of Evaluation

The literature contains several models that link types of evaluation use with organizational factors. However, until now, none of them have been thoroughly verified. This study aims to empirically verify the hypotheses proposed by Steven Højlund, who suggests that the type of evaluation use in organizations is determined by the adoption mode of evaluation practice (coercive, mimetic, normative, or voluntary). Qualitative comparative analysis was conducted on 23 cases from departments of Polish municipal administration, revealing the necessary conditions for most types of evaluation use. Instrumental use resulted from voluntary adoption, symbolic use from coercive adoption, and normative adoption—or the absence of coercive factors—led to legitimizing use. The situation was least clear for conceptual use, where we identified three possible combinations of necessary conditions. Although we found some significant relationships between adoption modes and types of evaluation use, the overall explanatory potential of Højlund's model appears to be quite limited.

Tomasz Kupiec

Zuzanna Wrońska

Motivation to Adopt Evaluation Practice as a Determinant of Evaluation Use

采用评估实践的动机作为评估使用的决定因素

Despite studies reporting successful interventions to increase antibiotic prophylaxis compliance, surgical site infections remain a significant problem. The reasons for this lack of improvement are unknown. This review evaluates the internal and external validity of quality improvement studies of interventions to increase surgical antibiotic prophylaxis compliance.Three investigators independently performed systematic literature searches and selected eligible studies that evaluated interventions to improve perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis timing, type, and/or discontinuation. Studies published before the Surgical Infection Prevention project inception in 2002 were excluded. Each study was assessed based on modified criteria for evaluating quality improvement studies (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence) and for facilitating implementation of evidence into practice (Reach-Efficacy-Adoption-Implementation-Maintenance).Forty-six articles met inclusion criteria; 93% reported improvement in antibiotic prophylaxis compliance. Surgical site infections were evaluated in 50% of studies and 65% reported an improvement. Less than 5% of studies used randomization, allocation concealment, or blinding. Nine percent of studies described efforts to minimize bias in the design results and analysis and 13% described a sample size calculation. Approximately one-third of studies described participant adoption of the intervention (26%), factors affecting generalizability (33%), or implementation barriers (37%). Most studies (80%) used multiple interventions; no single intervention was associated with change in compliance. Studies with the lowest baseline compliance showed the greatest improvement, regardless of the intervention(s).The methodology and reporting of quality improvement studies on perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis is suboptimal, and factors that would improve generalizability of successful intervention implementation are infrequently reported. Clinicians should use caution in applying the results of these studies to their general practice.

L Sayrs

InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing Steinar Kvale. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996. 326 pp.

访谈法：定性研究访谈导论——斯泰纳·克瓦尔。加利福尼亚州千橡市：Sage出版社，1996年。326页。

Tarek Azzam

Ralph Renger

From the Section Editors: Diagnosing Evaluations—A Methodological Perspective

来自栏目编辑：诊断评估——方法论视角

The use of complexity-based evaluation methods remains relatively underexplored in the field of evaluation. While increasingly employed to assess complex interventions, Contribution Analysis (CA) continues to suffer from a lack of operationalization. In this article, we propose enhancing the implementation of CA by leveraging Participatory Systems Mapping as a tool to delineate and scrutinize contribution narratives. The research has a dual objective. It aims to experiment with the recently introduced Participatory Systems Mapping method in the field of evaluation while providing a tool for examining contribution narratives. The combination of CA and Participatory Systems Mapping was tested by evaluating a youth employability project. This approach enabled a collaborative and in-depth examination of impact stories and alternative explanations. It proved valuable not only in managing the complexity of the intervention but also in strengthening the implementation of CA.

Salah Eddine Bouyousfi

Miché Ouedraogo

Streamlining Complex Intervention Evaluation Through Participatory Systems Mapping and Contribution Analysis: A Comprehensive Framework for Actionable Complexity Evaluation

通过参与式系统映射和贡献分析简化复杂干预评估：一个可操作复杂性评估的综合框架

Rodney Hopson

Laura R. Peck

From the Co-Editors: That’s a Wrap! Closing Out Our First Volume

来自联合主编：完美收官！第一卷圆满结束

This article reviews the origins and use of the terms quasi-experiment and natural experiment. It demonstrates how the terms conflate whether variation in the independent variable of interest falls short of random with whether researchers find, rather than intervene to create, that variation. Using the lens of assignment—the process driving variation in the independent variable—we distinguish three dimensions: control of assignment by the researcher, rather than by a policy process or naturally occurring event; exogeneity of the assignment process; and directness of the link between assignment and the independent variable. These dimensions generate a typology of causal study designs that we illustrate with examples from the social and health sciences. Our framework can assist researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines to better understand and communicate with one another and, importantly, to recognize opportunities in real-world settings to find or create variation that can be leveraged for valid impact estimates.

Dahlia K. Remler

Gregg G. Van Ryzin

Control, Exogeneity, and Directness: Understanding and Designing Quasi- and Natural Experiments

控制、外生性与直接性：理解和设计准实验与自然实验

Abbreviation
Journal Impact	0.90
Quartiles(Global)	SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY(Q2)

ISSN	1098-2140, 1557-0878
h-index	68

Publication Information	Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.，Publishing cycle: ，Journal Type: journal，Open Access Journals: No
Basic data	Year of publication: 1981，Proportion of original research papers: 90.91%，Self Citation Rate:9.10%， Gold OA Rate: 14.78%

American Journal of Evaluation

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Motivation to Adopt Evaluation Practice as a Determinant of Evaluation Use

InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing Steinar Kvale. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996. 326 pp.

From the Section Editors: Diagnosing Evaluations—A Methodological Perspective

Streamlining Complex Intervention Evaluation Through Participatory Systems Mapping and Contribution Analysis: A Comprehensive Framework for Actionable Complexity Evaluation

From the Co-Editors: That’s a Wrap! Closing Out Our First Volume

Motivation to Adopt Evaluation Practice as a Determinant of Evaluation Use

From the Section Editors: Diagnosing Evaluations—A Methodological Perspective

Streamlining Complex Intervention Evaluation Through Participatory Systems Mapping and Contribution Analysis: A Comprehensive Framework for Actionable Complexity Evaluation

From the Co-Editors: That’s a Wrap! Closing Out Our First Volume

Control, Exogeneity, and Directness: Understanding and Designing Quasi- and Natural Experiments