Truckin’ Down the Principles-Focused Evaluation Road: A Review of Michael Quinn Patton’s Principles-Focused Evaluation: The GUIDE

This review of Michael Quinn Patton’s Principles-Focused Evaluation: The GUIDE (Patton, 2017a) examines the organizational structure of Patton’s book and notes the contributions of other evaluators who share their experiences in using principles-focused evaluation with a variety of programs, including ones serving homeless youth, ones seeking solutions to global food issues, and ones working to change journalism. The GUIDE provides a wealth of informative material about Patton’s model, an evaluative tool based on the acronym GUIDE—principles must Guide, be Useful, Inspire, be Developmental, and be Evaluable—plus practice exercises to encourage reflective processing of the material and numerous charts and tables. Patton also cautions readers to avoid a “best practices” mindset by embracing uncertainty, even toward evaluation.