Theory-driven evaluation

[7] Theory-driven approaches can also improve the validity of evaluations, for instance leading to more precise estimates of impact in randomized controlled trials.

[9] Chen (1990)[10] wrote the first comprehensive introduction to conducting theory-driven evaluations, for example explaining how to develop a program theory of change and the different types of design.

The essential characteristic is that the theory points out a causal relationship between a process A and an outcome B.Consequently, the terms theory-driven and theory-based evaluation are often used interchangeably in the literature.

Chen and Rossi (1983) illustrate as follows:[21] It advances evaluation practice very little to adopt one or another of current global theories in attacking, say, the problem of juvenile delinquency, but it does help a great deal to understand the authority structure in schools and the mechanisms of peer group influence and parental discipline in designing and evaluating a program that is supposed to reduce disciplinary problems in schools.

The action model specifies how staff and delivery organizations deliver the intervention to beneficiaries: The full-range of research methods has been argued to apply.

Knowing how such exogenous factors affect outcomes makes it possible to construct more precise estimates of experimental effects by controlling for such exogenous variables.It has been argued that theory-driven evaluation focusses too much on statistical approaches, such as randomized experiments, quasi-experiments, and structural equation modelling;[28] however, a case has also been made for the importance of qualitative methods, particularly when developing program theories and understanding implementation.

[29] There is also methodological debate concerning whether realist evaluations, considered a particular kind of theory-driven approach, may include randomized controlled trials in any form.