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TIG stands for Topical Interest Group, and TIGs comprise an integral part of the American Evaluators Association (AEA). Each TIG has its own focus, and most have their own offices and special events. All TIG activities are coordinated through AEA, and TIGs take part in AEA's annual conference. Conference paper proposals are sent to the corresponding TIG, who then sets up a series of sessions for the conference.
A list of TIGs can be viewed on the AEA website, located here. Contact individual TIGs to learn more about them. To join a TIG, contact the AEA office.
Purpose and scope of the TIG
The program theory TIG is an organized group of AEA members dedicated to using program theory to improve the design, implementation, and evaluation of social and educational programs. The purpose of the TIG is to provide leadership and serve as a clearinghouse of information concerning theoretical and practical issues related to theory-based evaluation. Finally, the TIG seeks to establish collaborative relationships with other TIGs in AEA, especially in conference and professional programming.
Mission and Purpose
The program theory and theory-driven evaluation TIG has three objectives:
1) Assemble: To bring together evaluators of similar interest for the purpose of sharing ideas, thoughts, and experiences on theory-based evaluation and theory-driven evaluation.
2) Instruct: To educate evaluators on what theory-based evaluation entails, and what program theory means.
3) Collaborate: To work with other topical interest groups in encouraging the integration of evaluation approaches and views.
What is program theory?
Program theory explains how stakeholders believe a social or educational program will achieve its desired goals. Chen (1990) defines program theory as "a specification of what must be done to achieve the desired goals, what other important impacts may also be anticipated, and how these goals and impacts would be generated." Program theories are typically represented as diagrams that indicate the casual relationships among programmatic actions, outcomes, and other intervening factors. Donaldson (2001) names four sources of program theory: prior theory and research, implicit theories of those close to the program, observations of the program, and exploratory research to test critical assumptions.
What are theory-based evaluations?
Theory-based evaluations evaluate not only the end result of a program, but also the program theory itself: the intermediate steps to reach that end result. Donaldson (Fitzpatrick 2002) names three levels that are being addressed and evaluated: actions, immediate outcomes, and long-term outcomes. Thus, the evaluation will explore the process of achieving a program's goals and the effectiveness of each step in the process, all in addition to addressing whether or not the goals themselves have been achieved..
Chen, Huey-Tsyh. (1990). Theory-Driven Evaluations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Donaldson, S.I. (2001). Mediator and moderator analysis in program development. In S. Sussman (Ed.), Handbook of program development for health behavior research. (pp. 470-496). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Fitzpatrick, Jody. (2002). Dialogue with Stewart Donaldson. American Journal of Evaluation, 23(3), 347-365.
TIG Organization
In accordance with AEA's bylaws, the TIG has official elections once every three years. The administration currently consists of two Co-chairs and one conference program chair. Finally, the TDE TIG hosts a yearly business meeting/conference panel at the annual AEA conference.
Membership
To join the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and this TIG, click here
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