Research on evaluation use: a review of the empirical literature from 1986 to 2005

This paper reviews empirical research on the use of evaluation from 1986 to 2005 using Cousins and Leithwood’s 1986 framework for categorizing empirical studies of evaluation use conducted since that time. The literature review located 41 empirical studies of evaluation use conducted between 1986 and 2005 that met minimum quality standards. The Cousins and Leithwood framework allowed a comparison over time. After initially grouping these studies according to Cousins and Leithwood’s two categories and twelve characteristics, one additional category and one new characteristic were added to their framework. The new category is stakeholder involvement, and the new characteristic is evaluator competence (under the category of evaluation implementation). Findings point to the importance of stakeholder involvement in facilitating evaluation use and suggest that engagement, interaction, and communication between evaluation clients and evaluators is critical to the meaningful use of evaluations.