In order to "cut through the jargon of the multifaceted field of evaluative research", 21 evaluation models representing a range of possibilities were identified (via literature review) and compared in terms of purpose and five basic phases applicable to rural development. Evaluation was defined as "the systematic examination of a program in operation for the purpose of improvement", and rural development was identified as encompassing programs directed at reducing rural/urban disparities via planned change. Attempting to utilize a common framework or sequence of phases, each model was compared via the following base phases: (1) Program Descriptions (description of goals, objectives, operation, environment, etc.); (2) Criteria Formulation (critical program areas identified and performance standards established); (3) Evidence Gathering (data collected for each of the specified evaluative criteria, instruments constructed, and appropriate statistical analyses made); (4) Judgment Making (judgment of criteria against data to determine program performance as minimum, expected, or exceptional); (5) Dissemination (summative and formative evaluations utilized by program operators and/or others). The imPlications for rural development were identified in terms of facilitating program change, improvement, monitoring, and/or justification. (JC)