The paper examines issues related to analysis of cost effectiveness in human service research. Distinctions are made between cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-benefit analysis. A review of research focuses on 214 cost effectiveness studies in three human service program areas: early intervention for handicapped children, mental health programs, and special education programs. Evaluation of the research revealed that the term "cost effectiveness" has been frequently used, but only a small portion of the articles actually presented cost effectiveness data per se. Five criteria were applied to 22 studies categorized as cost effectiveness articles; a relatively low percentage adequately met all the criteria. Problems typically found included: not specifying valuation methods, developing cost effective ratios with the inclusion of nonbudgeted costs, and not comparing two more program alternatives in developing these ratios. (CL)