Special Feature Section Research Articles

An introduction to the experimental versus the pragmatic paradigm in evaluation

This article provides a historical and conceptual framework for the six case studies that follow in this Special Feature section. About 100 years ago, psychology led the social sciences in a “Declaration of Independence” from philosophy. This declaration was supported by the development of Comte's philosophy of positivism, which argued for the superiority of knowledge derived from experimental science over that which came from scholarly interpretation and theory that was not empirically based. The theoretical and technological success of the physical sciences during the first half of the 20th century fueled psychology's commitment to the hypothesis-testing, laboratory-based experimental paradigm. However, for a variety of reasons (e.g., the lack of substantive accomplishments of the experimental paradigm in the social sciences and growing criticism of positivism in the philosophy community), over the past 30 years there has been a breakdown of consensus on the use of the experimental paradigm in psychology, and two alternative models have been developed: a pragmatic paradigm and a hermeneutic paradigm, both based on an epistemology of social constructionism. Although the field of program evaluation has attempted from its beginning to maintain a strong link to the experimental paradigm, in recent years it has been forced by its commitment to real-world program impact to adopt in a more systematic manner aspects of the pragmatic and hermeneutic paradigms. This Special Feature section examines the practical implications of adopting aspects of both the experimental and the pragmatic paradigms in a particular evaluation study. Specifically, the authors of the six case studies were asked to describe and analyze their experiences in terms of whether the two paradigms functioned in their study in a contrasting, conflicting, or complementary manner. The authors were asked to consider a variety of areas of impact, such as research design, data collection methodology, the response of peers, and communication of results.

The experimental versus the pragmatic paradigm: Summary and conclusions

In this article I review and draw conclusions from the use of the experimental and pragmatic paradigms in the six case studies presented in this Special Feature section. First, the studies are summarized in terms of the paradigms. They are then analyzed using the conceptual matrix presented in Table 3 of my introductory article to this section. This matrix looks at a study paradigmatically in terms of two cross-cutting dimensions: (a) type of study result with regard to paradigm mix and (b) areas of impact of the paradigm mix, such as the study's theory, data collection methodology, and the relationship the study has to those who funded it. This analysis illustrates two points: (a) The experimental and pragmatic paradigms have different goals that are frequently in competition for the same study resources, (b) The paradigms can function in a fully complementary manner only when there are (as in the Elias study) an explicit and systematic conceptual model for interrelating the two types of goals and a strategy for attaining resources to accomplish both. It is concluded that in planning an evaluation study, researchers should pay attention not only to a program's substantive goals, but also to its epistemological goals—those of both the researchers themselves and the study 's funders and other stakeholders.

Improving occupational safety in a bedding manufacturing plant: A case study in management problem solving

The development and evaluation of a data-based intervention program to reduce work-related injuries in a bedding manufacturing plant are described. This is an example of a “pure” study in the pragmatic paradigm, and therefore this article follows a nontraditional format. It is written for busy corporate managers rather than for social science researchers. [Editor's note: Because this article was written independently of the conceptual framework outlined in Table 3 of my introductory article to this Special Feature section, there is no formal discussion by Rose and Harshbarger of the issues raised by the table. However, these authors did provide feedback to me through personal communication that their report was very positively received by its target audience (company management) because of its clarity of presentation and its simple but dramatic message: significantly improved safety performance and bottom-line savings for the company. In addition. Rose and Harshbarger reported that they were able to follow up this project with similar, very successful safety programs at several other large corporations.]

Special Feature Section: The Dedication of the Alice Hamilton Laboratory for Occupational Safety and Health

Special Feature Section: The Dedication of the Alice Hamilton Laboratory for Occupational Safety and Health

The American Century: A History of the United States since the 1890's

The new edition of this classic text on modern U.S. history brings the story of contemporary America into the second decade of the twenty-first century with new coverage of the Obama presidency and the 2012 elections. Written by three highly respected scholars, the book seamlessly blends political, social, cultural, intellectual, and economic themes into an authoritative and readable account of our increasingly complex national story. The seventh edition retains its affordability and conciseness while continuing to add the most recent scholarship. Each chapter contains a special feature section devoted to cultural topics including the arts and architecture, sports and recreation, technology and education. Adding to the readers' learning experience is the addition of web links to each of these features, providing numerous complementary visual study tools. These links become live, and illustrations appear in full color, in the ebook edition. An American Century instructor site provides instructors who adopt the book with high interest features--illustrations, photos, maps, quizzes, an elaboration of key themes in the book, PowerPoint presentations, and lecture launchers on topics including the Versailles Conference, the Military-Industrial Complex Speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Tet Offensive, and the prospects for a Second American Century. In addition, students have free access to a multimedia primary source archive of materials carefully selected to support the themes of each chapter.