A service delivery program and its evaluation. A case study in the sociology of applied research

Descriptions are rare of instances in which true experimental designs have been implemented in evaluating ongoing programs. This article is a case study of a health service delivery program and the classical pretest-posttest randomized experiment that evaluated it. The main theses are (1) that the research developed was based on the values and interests of the persons and institutions involved, and concordance in interests and values among the several parties was responsible for success in implementing the rigorous experimental design; and (2) that the program being evaluated and the research evaluation affect each other in significant ways, some intended and others unanticipated.