Review Essay: Evaluation as Practical Hermeneutics—or The Long and Stony Road from a Theory of Practice to Evaluation Practice

Authors

  • Christian Lüders Deutsches Jugendinstitut

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-5.1.634

Keywords:

qualitative social research, evaluation, practical hermeneutics

Abstract

Contrary to what one might have ex­pected from its title, Evaluation Practice Reconsidered by Thomas A. SCHWANDT is a highly theoretical and largely programmatic volume. Its focus is on an attempt to understand evaluation as a variant of practical hermeneutics, with the result that the book is not so much concerned with the actual practice as with a metatheoretical frame­work of evaluation. This framework is interesting and in some respects stimulating, and leads readers on to further issues, but those who are interested in methodological issues and expect answers to their practical research problems should not be misled by the title: evaluation practice, in the sense of the expectations, methods and challenges of everyday research practice, is mentioned only in passing. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0401291

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Author Biography

Christian Lüders, Deutsches Jugendinstitut

Dr. Christian LÜDERS is head of the Department of Youth and Youth Services at the German Youth Institute in Munich. His scientific interests include child and youth services research, qualitative research, evaluation research, theory of social work, theory of pedagogical knowledge and sociology of science.

Published

2004-01-31

How to Cite

Lüders, C. (2004). Review Essay: Evaluation as Practical Hermeneutics—or The Long and Stony Road from a Theory of Practice to Evaluation Practice. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-5.1.634

Issue

Section

Methodology and Methods