THE TOPIC OF ACCOUNTABILITY IN EVALUATION WAS THE MAJOR FOCUS OF A CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY ALCOHOL, DRUG ABUSE, AND MENTAL HEALTH ADMINISTRATION HELD IN 1974. PAPERS PRESENTED BY CONFERENCE SPEAKERS WERE REVISED BY THEIR AUTHORS AND THEN EDITED FOR PUBLICATION IN THIS BOOK. EVALUATION RESEARCH IS DEFINED AS THE ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS AND THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN APPRAISING SUCCESS. TO CARRY OUT EVALUATION, A SET OF GOALS FOR A SERVICE IS ESTABLISHED AND A COMPARISON BETWEEN GOALS AND SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGH MEASUREMENT IS MADE. EVALUATION MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO GO BEYOND COMPARISON AMONG SERVICES OF SIMILAR AGENCIES OR PRACTITIONERS TO COMPARE SERVICES IN RELATION TO COSTS. EVALUATION STUDIES PROVIDE BOTH THE IMPETUS AND THE INFORMATION TO FACILITATE PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT. BECAUSE EVALUATION STUDIES ARE EXPENSIVE, TIME CONSUMING, AND REQUIRE HIGHLY TRAINED PERSONNEL, IT IS UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT THAT EVERY PROGRAM OR SERVICE AGENCY WILL UNDERTAKE AN EVALUATION. EVALUATION IN THIS CASE MUST BE DISTINGUISHED FROM A MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT OPERATES TO PROVIDE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE COST, QUALITY, MAGNITUDE, AND OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF THEIR PROGRAM. EIGHTEEN CHAPTERS IN THE BOOK ARE ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO FOUR PARTS: (1) THEORY AND OVERVIEW--PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS IN EVALUATION (ALCOHOL, DRUG ABUSE, AND MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS), STATE OF THE TECHNICAL ART IN EVALUATION, QUICK REFERENCE OUTLINE OF EVALUATION WORK, TECHNIQUES OF OUTCOME EVALUATION, AND EVALUATION RESEARCH IN MENTAL HEALTH; (2) EVALUATION IN PRACTICE--COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO VALUATION AND COMMUNITY RESEARCH, PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO AND TECHNIQUES IN EVALUATION, COST-EFFECTIVENESS STUDY IN CALIFORNIA, DEVELOPMENT OF A GENERIC COST-EFFECTIVENESS METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING PATIENT SERVICES OF A COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER, AND DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT STRATEGY FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION IN A COMPREHENSIVE HUMAN SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM; (3) EVALUATION TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO INDIVIDUAL FIELDS--APPLICATIONS OF EVALUATION, ALCOHOLISM EVALUATION OVERVIEW, FEDERAL EVALUATION AND PROJECT PERFORMANCE, AND PROCESS AND OUTCOME MEASUREMENT USING GOAL ATTAINMENT SCALING; AND (4) CRUCIAL ISSUES IN EVALUATION--RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS OF EVALUATORS, EVALUATION IN RELATION TO POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION, TRAINING FOR EVALUATORS, AND SERVICE ADMINISTRATOR'S VIEW OF EVALUATION. NOTES ARE PROVIDED AT THE END OF CHAPTERS, AND AN INDEX IS INCLUDED. SEE ALSO NCJ 51612-51615.