This article from the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation is an introduction to the special edition focusing on the evaluation of complex interventions. By exploring the experiences of informed evaluators, the introduction provides an overview of complex interventions and the different approaches that can be used to evaluate them.
"If complexity exists, what strategies should be employed to address it? Two opposite approaches are complexity reduction and complexity absorption. Traditionally, complexity reduction is seen as a prudent and appropriate evaluation approach. By reducing complexity, the evaluator may achieve clarity, create focus, and develop practical ideas for users of the evaluations...
This special issue is divided into two major sections. The first section describes the practices of researchers experienced in the evaluation of complex interventions in the healthcare field…
The second section presents a synthesis of transferred knowledge and offers a cross-sectional reading of the different approaches described in the first section of this special issue." (Zimmerman, Dubois, Houle, Lloyd, Mercier , Brousselle & Rey, 2011)
Sources
Zimmerman, B. J., Dubois, N., Houle, J., Lloyd, S., Mercier , C., Brousselle, A., & Rey, L. (2011). How does complexity impact evaluation?. The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 26(3), V - XX. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4891190/pdf/nihms2581.pdf