The evaluation of social policy began in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s, and reached the UK by the early 1970s (Everitt and Hardiker 1996:42-43) by which time British social policy was focused on Beveridge's 'Welfare State' (Jones 1991:134). The term 'evaluation' has many definitions (Alkin 1990:81-3), but for the purposes of this essay, I will use Patton's broad definition of evaluation as 'any effort to increase human effectiveness through systematic data-based inquiry' (1990:11). Evaluation research …showed first 75 words of 3324 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3324 total…Theory and Practice in Human Services. Buckingham: Open University Press. Tilley N (1999) Project Evaluation: Problems and Pitfalls. In Marlow A and Pearson G (eds) Young People, Drugs and Community Safety, pp 90-98. Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing Ltd. Town SW (1973) Action Research and Social Policy: some Recent British Experience. In Bulmer M (ed) Social Policy Research (1978), pp 160-185. London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press Ltd. Whyte WF (1984) Learning From The Field. Newbury Park, California: Sage.