THE PROBLEMS OF ORIGINATION, DEFINITION, AND LEGITIMATION ARE DISCUSSED FROM PERSPECTIVES SHARED BY EVALUATORS AND PUBLIC PROGRAM MANAGERS. THE RECURRING PROBLEM OF PROPER SCOPE AND THE DEFINITION OF PROGRAM EVALUATION ARE EXPLORED, AND A SYNTHESIS OF PREVIOUS DEFINITIONS BASED ON CENTRAL AND CONTRIBUTORY FOCUSES IS SUGGESTED. DISCUSSIONS OF SCOPE, DEFINITION, METHODOLOGY, APPLICATION, AND INTEGRATION ARE COMBINED, NOT ONLY FROM AN IDEALIZED PERSPECTIVE, BUT ALSO FROM A PRACTICAL ONE OF COMPROMISE AND CONTRADICTION. FIRST THE VARIOUS FORMS OF PROGRAM EVALUATION ARE DIFFERENTIATED, INCLUDING EVALUATIVE RESEARCH, CONTINUOUS VERSUS ONE-SHOT EVALUATION, 'HIP-POCKET' AND FORMAL EVALUATION, POLICY RESEARCH, APPLIED RESEARCH, DECISION-ORIENTED RESEARCH, SOCIAL AUDITS, ACTION RESEARCH, OPERATIONS RESEARCH, DISCIPLINE-RELATED RESEARCH, BASIC RESEARCH, 'FRONT-LINE' EVALUATION, UTILIZATION REVIEW, CONTINUOUS MONITORING, AND QUALITY CONTROL. NEXT, EVALUATION DESIGNS AND METHODOLOGIES ARE EXAMINED, WITH ATTENTION TO THEORY, SELECTING A MODEL, SELECTING A DESIGN, EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS, COMPARATIVE DESIGNS, BARGAIN BASEMENT DESIGNS, EVALUATION CRITERIA, DATA SOURCES AND DATA GATHERING TECHNIQUES, VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY, EMERGING APPROACHES TO EVALUATION, EMERGING GOAL ATTAINMENT MODELS, MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AND OTHER MODELS. NEXT, EVALUATION PROBLEMS AND PITFALLS ARE NOTED; EVALUATION PROCESS, EXECUTION OF THE RESEARCH PHASE, COMMUNICATION OF THE RESULTS, IMPLEMENTATION OF EVALUATION FINDINGS, MUTABLE TRUTHS, AND GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION ARE DISCUSSED. NEXT, THE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF EVALUATION EFFORTS ARE UNDERSCORED; THE ORGANIZATIONAL PLACEMENT OF EVALUATIONS, PROGRAM MATRIXES, AND EVALUATIONS AS MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS ARE DISCUSSED. FINALLY, THE ROUTINIZATION OF EVALUATIONS -FROM DATA TO INFORMATION TO AUTOMATION AND FROM AUTOMATION TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND INTEGRATION -- IS DISCUSSED. REFERENCES FOLLOW EACH CHAPTER. AN EPILOGUE AND INDEX ARE PROVIDED. THE EXTENSIVE BILIOGRAPHY IS ARRANGED BY THE FOLLOWING TOPICS: GENERAL INTEREST; METHODS; MODELS AND APPROACHES -- TYPOLOGIES; STATE-OF-THE-ART; EXAMPLES; EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT; RELATED; AND OTHER.