| Abstract: | The impacts of evaluation exercises on people and services being evaluated are examined, including those that are unintended. Using the example of a parents' centre in central London, the paper asks whether evaluators are measuring the right things, whether the resulting ‘evidence’ is valid, and what effects an evaluation may have on the service. It seeks to identify the features of research and evaluation exercises that are most likely to justify the time spent on data collection by leading to improvements in services for children and families. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
