Unpacking black boxes: Mechanisms and theory building in evaluation Astbury, Brad and Leeuw, Frans L. 2010, Unpacking black boxes: Mechanisms and theory building in evaluation, American journal of evaluation, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 363-381, doi: 10.1177/1098214010371972. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Unpacking black boxes: Mechanisms and theory building in evaluation Author(s) Astbury, Brad Leeuw, Frans L. Journal name American journal of evaluation Volume number 31 Issue number 3 Start page 363 End page 381 Total pages 19 Publisher Sage Place of publication London, Eng. Publication date 2010-09 ISSN 1557-0878 Keyword(s) theory-driven evaluation social and behavioral mechanisms realism program theory Summary There is growing interest in the concept of ‘‘mechanism’’ across many areas of the social sciences. In the field of program and policy evaluation, a number of scholars have also emphasized the importance of causal mechanisms for explaining how and why programs work. However, there appears to be some ambiguity about the meaning and uses of mechanism-based thinking in both the social science and evaluation literature. In this article we attempt to clarify what is meant by mechanisms in the context of program evaluation by identifying three main characteristics of mechanisms and outlining a possible typology of mechanisms. A number of theoretical and practical implications for evaluators are also discussed, along with some precautions to consider when investigating mechanisms that might plausibly account for program outcomes. Language eng DOI 10.1177/1098214010371972 Field of Research 169999 Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified Socio Economic Objective 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2010, Sage Publications Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30064439 Document type: Journal Article Collection: Population Health Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Fri, 13 Jun 2014, 12:15:14 EST Fri, 13 Jun 2014, 15:54:14 EST Fri, 20 Jun 2014, 15:23:56 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 144 times in TR Web of Science Cited 148 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 101 Abstract Views, 2 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Fri, 13 Jun 2014, 12:15:13 EST

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