About the Author

Thomas A. Schwandt is Professor and Chair, Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he also holds an appointment in the Department of Educational Policy Studies. He is the author of Evaluation Practice Reconsidered (Peter Lang, 2002); Evaluating Holistic Rehabilitation Practice (Kommuneforlaget AS, 2004); Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry (3rd ed. Sage, 2007), and with Edward Halpern, Linking Auditing and Meta-evaluation (Sage, 1988). He has co-edited Exploring Evaluator Role and Identity (with Katherine Ryan, Information Age Press, 2002), Knowledge Production: The Work of Educational Research in Interesting Times (with Bridget Somekh, Routldege, 2007), and Evaluating Educational Reforms: Scandinavian Perspectives (with Peder Haug, Information Age Press, 2003). In 2002 he received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award from the American Evaluation Association for his contributions to evaluation theory. He is a member of the National Research Council’s Standing Committee on Social Science Evidence for Use.