Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
American Journal of Evaluation
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
1098214008326557v1
30/1/80    most recent
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Coryn, C. L. S.
Right arrow Articles by Hanssen, C. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Notes

Adding a Time-Series Design Element to the Success Case Method to Improve Methodological Rigor

An Application for Nonprofit Program Evaluation

Chris L. S. Coryn

Western Michigan University, chris.coryn{at}wmich.edu

Daniela C. Schröter

Nexus Market Research, Inc

Carl E. Hanssen

Hanssen Consulting, LLC

Brinkerhoff's Success Case Method (SCM) was developed with the specific purpose of assessing the impact of organizational interventions (e.g., training and coaching) on business goals by analyzing extreme groups using case study techniques and storytelling. As an efficient and cost-effective method of evaluative inquiry, SCM is attractive in other contexts as well, although few examples of such uses are to be found in the published literature. However, modifications of the SCM concept and design are sometimes necessary for implementing the approach in nonprofit environments where business goals are not necessarily an explicit objective. This method note demonstrates how SCM was modified and extended to a social service context, in which the program evaluated was aimed at reducing chronic homelessness and unemployment. Modifications included defining success in a nonprofit setting and adding a time-series element to the design features of traditional SCM to increase methodological rigor.

Key Words: success case method • case studies • outcome evaluation • impact evaluation • evaluation methodology • time-series

This version was published on March 1, 2009

American Journal of Evaluation, Vol. 30, No. 1, 80-92 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1098214008326557
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?