Evaluating Social Policy

• • "A week-by-week guide to the topics you will explore in this subject will be provided in your study materials."

Equivalent subjects

You cannot enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:

• MAQ-SOCX818-Evaluation and the Policy Process

Others

Admission to MPSP or MPASR or GradCertPASR or GradDipPASR (OUA) NCCW (pre-2020 units) SGYX818, SOC818, SOCX818 NCCW (2020 and onwards) SOCI8020 Evaluating Social Policy

Special requirements

• OtherDetails -

  Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.

This subject was previously known as SOCX818 Evaluation and the Policy Process.

Evaluation is among the most common, and possibly most useful, forms of applied social research. It involves using research methodologies to systematically assess a policy or program to set criteria. This unit surveys key topics and practice-based skills widely used in evaluation research that have potential applications in the public, non-profit, and for-profit private sectors. As this field of research is expansive, the unit primarily draws on case studies from social policy - public interventions that are amongst those that have most bearing on the everyday lives of the citizenry - to provide focus for class sessions and assessments. The unit proceeds in four modules. The first module provides context by engaging with key understandings of social policies and programs. The second module introduces key evaluation tools and skills for understanding programs and focusing research. The third module focuses on issues in designing and carrying out evaluations, from small-scale projects to those analysing 'big data'. And, the fourth module discusses the politics of evaluation and evidence in policy making to draw out key political and ethical questions. Across these four modules, you will gain a clear understanding of key elements of evaluation research design, as well as the potential uses and misuses of this form of applied social policy research.

• Online journal (20%)
• Research report (40%)
• Take home examination (40%)