Trochim, William

(b. 1952, Chicago, Illinois). Ph.D. Methodology and Evaluation Research, Northwestern; M.A. Experimental Psychology, Southern Connecticut University; B.A. Psychology, Loyola University (Mundelein College).

Trochim is Professor, Department of Policy Analysis and Management, and Director of the Office for the Management of Not-for-profit Institutions at Cornell University. He also holds an appointment as Visiting Scientist with the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences of the National Cancer Institute, the largest of the National Institutes of Health.

His contributions to evaluation are, broadly, in the area of applied social research methodology, with an emphasis on program planning and evaluation methods. Among experimentalists, he is well known for his work in quasiexperimental alternatives to randomized experimental designs, especially the regression discontinuity and regression-point displacement designs. In terms of research theory, he has extended the theory of validity through his articulation and investigation of the idea of pattern matching. In multivariate and applied contexts, he is recognized for the development of a multivariate form of concept mapping, a general method for mapping the ideas of a group of people on any topic of interest that integrates traditional group processes (e.g., brainstorming, Delphi, focus groups, nominal group technique) with state-of-the-art statistical methods (e.g., multidimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis).

He has written several books, including a widely used introductory research methods text, The Research Methods Knowledge Base, and its online companion, Bill Trochim's Center for Social Research Methods. This text and its Web-based version are clear, appropriately nuanced, and transdisciplinary. They provide guidance to novice and experienced evaluators in many fields. He is also the developer of the Concept System® software and methodology and co-owner of a company, Concept Systems Incorporated, that licenses the software and provides training and consulting services to support the method.

Trochim has been an active member of the American Evaluation Association, serving multiple terms on its board.