Conducting and Using Evaluative Site Visits New Directions for Evaluation, Number 156

Editors’ Notes 7
Randi K. Nelson, Denise L. Roseland

1. A Guiding Typology for Site Visits 11
Melissa Chapman Haynes, Nora F. Murphy, Michael Quinn Patton

This chapter presents a typology of site visits including examples of site visits that vary across the eight typology categories.

2. Site Visits: Conversations for Practice 21
Corey Newhouse, Denise Roseland, Frances Lawrenz

This chapter discusses three case studies of site visits used in evaluations in the context of the typology presented in Chapter 1 and produces five practical considerations for incorporating site visits into evaluation practice.

3. Recipe for Conducting Quality Accreditation Site Visits 33
Stanley Capela, Joseph M. Frisino

The authors describe the site-visit process as it currently exists for organizations seeking accreditation from the Council on Accreditation and share key ingredients of high-quality accreditation site visits.

4. Site Visits: Necessary Evil or Garden of Eden? 45
Donna R. Podems

By drawing on experiences gathered outside of the United States, the author suggests adding four additional standards to Patton’s 2015 draft standards for site visits, which are humor, honesty, humility, and humanity.

5. Stakeholder Perspectives on Site-Visit Quality and Use 57
Randi K. Nelson

This chapter explores quality and practices in site visits from the perspectives of evaluation practitioners, commissioners, and program staff involved in evaluative and accreditation site visits in U.S. and global contexts.

6. Training Needs of Site Visitors 75
Melissa Chapman Haynes, Ashley Johnson

The authors provide a framework for the training needs of site visitors based on training for accreditation visits, the literature on the psychological development of expertise, and interviews with site visitors.

7. Revised Site-Visit Standards: A Quality-Assurance Framework 83
Michael Quinn Patton

Based on reflection on the chapters in this volume and feedback from others, this chapter presents a revised framework for site-visit standards with the use of a quality-assurance approach.

INDEX 103

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