Terminology of programme theory in evaluation

This tickles me (Funnell & Rogers, 2011, pp. 23-24):

Over the years, many different terms have been used to describe the approach to evaluation that is based on a “plausible and sensible model of how the program is supposed to work” (Bickman, 1987b):

• • • Chains of reasoning (Torvatn, 1999)
    • Causal chain (Hall and O’Day, 1971)
    • Causal map (Montibeller and Belton, 2006)
    • Impact pathway (Douthwaite et al., 2003)
    • Intervention framework (Ministry of Health, NZ 2002)
    • Intervention logic (Nagarajan and Vanheukelen, 1997)
    • Intervention theory (Argyris, 1970; Fishbein et al., 2001)
    • Logic model (Rogers, 2004)
    • Logical framework (logframe) (Practical Concepts, 1979)
    • Mental model (Senge, 1990)
    • Outcomes hierarchy (Lenne and Cleland, 1987; Funnell, 1990, 1997)
    • Outcomes line
    • Performance framework (Montague, 1998; McDonald and Teather, 1997)
    • Program logic (Lenne and Cleland, 1987; Funnell, 1990, 1997)
    • Program theory (Bickman, 1990)
    • Program theory-driven evaluation science (Donaldson, 2005)
    • Reasoning map
    • Results chain
    • Theory of action (Patton, 1997; Schorr, 1997)
    • Theory of change (Weiss, 1998)
    • Theory-based evaluation (Weiss, 1972; Fitz-Gibbon and Morris, 1975)
    • Theory-driven evaluation (Chen and Rossi, 1983)

Suggested citation: Fugard, A. (2023, October 14). Terminology of programme theory in evaluation [blog post]. https://andifugard.info/terminology-of-programme-theory-in-evaluation/

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