The pressing need for data on the immediate, midrange, and longterm outcomes of psychiatric treatment demands new and viable research approaches. The outcome study in psychiatric evaluation research is discussed with emphasis on overcoming some of the methodological problems encountered in conducting research in the natural setting. When carefully planned to coincide with use of a standardized record keeping system, outcome evaluation can become a routine part of ongoing evaluation activities. Outcome research in nonexperimental situations can be a vital accompaniment to controlled studies of treatment outcome in the endeavor to compile cumulative data on the outcome of psychiatric treatment.