Implementation and evaluation of service programs in community settings.

Comments that the implementation process can be divided into 3 phases: (a) gaining program entry, (b) obtaining approval for and implementing research procedures, and (c) resolving the methodological problems affecting program evaluation that arise in natural settings. Meeting these challenges requires a combination of clinical research skills and political sensitivity to the values, goals, and practices of social organizations. Broadly speaking, the change agent must overcome several obstacles to success in natural settings. These obstacles include the agency's emphasis on service and the complex nature of social systems that confounds the effects of innovation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)