Checklists

Procedures for the use of the humble checklist, although no one would deny their utility in evaluation and elsewhere, are usually thought to fall somewhat below the entry level of what we call a methodology, let alone a theory. However, many checklists used in evaluation incorporate a quite complex theory, which we are well advised to uncover—and the process of validating an evaluative checklist is a task calling for considerable sophistication. It is interesting that although this theory is less ambitious than the kind that we normally call program theory, it is often all the theory we need for an evaluation. This entry covers some of the basic features of checklists and their application in evaluation, but it does not claim to exhaust their logic ...