THE PUBLIC DECISIONMAKING PROCESS IS DISCUSSED, ESPECIALLY THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROBLEM AND ISSUES IN PRIORITIZING RESOURCES AND DETERMINING WHICH PROGRAMS SHOULD BE KEPT, REVISED, OR DROPPED. A REVIEW OF APPRAISING THE RESULTS OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMS AND ASSESSING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES ENCOMPASSES FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS, SUCH AS ASCERTAINING USERS' NEEDS AND DETERMINING VALID OBJECTIVES, AS WELL AS SUCH FACTORS AS MAKING VALID COMPARISONS, DEVELOPING A RANGE OF ALTERNATIVES, DETERMINING THE IMPACT OF CONSTRAINTS, AND CHECKING COMPLETENESS OF THE ASSESSMENT. THE COST OF ADOPTING ALTERNATIVES, TYPE OF DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT TO BE USED, GENERALIZABILITY AND STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS, TYPE OF MEASUREMENT TOOL USED, AND CLARITY AND TIMELINESS OF STATED FINDINGS ARE COVERED AS POINTS IMPORTANT TO EVALUATION. EXAMINATION OF PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF MANAGING AND PERFORMING STUDIES INCLUDES FORMULATING AN AGENDA OF STUDIES, CONDUCTING A STUDY, AND COMMUNICATING STUDY RESULTS. A GLOSSARY OF PERTINENT TERMS AND AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE APPENDED.